Washington Wizards Rookie Optimistic About Teams Future

Coming out of the University of Illinois, Will Riley was the 21st pick in a loaded 2025 NBA draft class. The Washington Wizards saw the potential in Riley who was a young, athletic and twitchy wing who could create his own shot both on and off the dribble. 

Fast forward to March, and Riley is one of Washington's BEST core pieces, as he's arguably been the best rookie on the team since after the all-star break. 

On March 20, 2026, Riley hopped on 106.7 The Fan with B-Mitch and Finlay, and seemed ecstatic about his first year in Washington and his growth and development overall. 

Riley was asked by Finlay on how he is feeling about the team so far, in which Riley responded, "I feel like we're in a really great spot. I feel like all of us are growing, we're all young, we got a lot of development, good floor balance. So I feel like we got a lot of room to grow and we got a bright future ahead." 

With their 16-53 record, Washington currently sits 1.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers for the worst record in basketball through 69 games. However, the development of Washington's young core has been apparent this year, with players such as Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly and Riley taking tremendous strides, something Riley alluded to. 

Finlay followed that up by asking Riley what it's been like being part of Washington's young core:

"Honestly it's really good. I think it helps my development especially I feel like having a bunch of younger guys on the team is very good so we can grow together, learn together and just pick up little things together. We're not in this alone, we all have each other's backs to lean on so it's good," said Riley. 

Although Washington has had minimal success this season, the team chemistry is already evident, and they will only continue to grow and gel more as the years go on. One player that has already helped the team's chemistry has been all-star point guard, Trae Young.

Finlay asked Riley what it's been like to play alongside Young, in which he responded, "He opens a lot of opportunities for all of us, he attracts so much attention on the floor. It's very easy to play with him, he's a very good playmaker, he'll find you. He's a really good leader/role model so he's been helping me with my development especially, and ya know he's just a really good teammate."

Riley will continue to grow and get better as the season goes on. He is currently averaging 8.9 PPG, 2.6 RPG and 1.6 APG on 43.5% FG, 34.3% 3FG and 77.5% FT. 

However, Riley's stats as a starter have been wildly impressive, as in ten starts, the rookie is averaging 15.9 PPG, 4 RPG and 2.5 APG on 45.5% FG, 42.9% 3FG and 67.9% FT. 

Riley is emerging into a special player in Washington, and today's interview only reemphasizes that based on his work ethic and drive to get better.