Forward Corey Kispert is set to return after missing the last five games, giving the Washington Wizards another piece to the rotation against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Fresh off a 20-point win vs. Brooklyn on Friday, the Washington Wizards will look to stay hot when they take the court for game two of its three-game homestand, this time against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday for a 6 PM tip-off. And they got a mixed bag of injury news in the team's injury report released on Saturday afternoon.
After missing the last five games with what the team described as hamstring tightness, forward Corey Kispert is set to return to the active roster on Sunday. Kispert last played on Dec. 23 vs. Charlotte, playing just 13 minutes in his first game back after suffering a thumb injury in late November against Atlanta.
The string of injuries for the former first-round pick out of Gonzaga marked one of several injuries for an at-times short-handed Wizards roster, though head coach Brian Keefe watched his team begin to overcome the piling losses once key players like Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly were able to make their return to the court.
Of course, one key piece during the Wizards' recent resurgence has been Kyshawn George, but he has been ruled out for the third consecutive game with a left hip flexor strain.
The Wizards will also be without Cam Whitmore, who remains out with right shoulder deep vein thrombosis.
Tristan Vukcevic also enters tipoff ruled questionable due to illness. He has not logged a minute in the last four games and combined for five minutes against Toronto and Charlotte after finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds in 27 minutes against the Spurs on Dec. 21.
Washington will now look for its second consecutive win of the 2026 in the second and final meeting against the Minnesota Timberwolves this season after the Wizards fell, 120-109, back on Nov. 19.
Washington has won four of their last five games, marking the first time the franchise has reached that feat since February of 2023 when the team won four games over an eight day stretch. Washington is also 6-4 over their last ten games as Ben Strober dove into whether the team was winning too much as of late.
Justin Champagnie led the way in Friday's win over Brooklyn with a season-high 20 points, one of six players to finish in double figures and one of three players to hit two or more threes in the win. It was the latest collective effort in what proved to be a dominant win against an injury-plagued Brooklyn squad, though it provided credence to Washington's young core beginning to blossom.
"I think that's been happening a lot lately," head coach Brian Keefe said of the team's collective efforts after Friday's win. "I think we talked about that pregame. Everybody's contributing to these games. AJ stepped up. Will Riley had a good game. We obviously saw [Justin Champagnie] in there but everybody's contributing. Marvin [Bagley III], we don't talk about a lot, he's contributing big time, too. Everybody's leaving an imprint on the game. That's what we want to do but they're doing it together and that's how we want to grow our team. It's a team sport."