After dominating his final Summer League games, Chris Livingston is fighting to reclaim his NBA trajectory. Will his offensive surge earn a roster spot among Washington’s crowded wing rotation?
Everybody has a different path to the NBA. Some are top recruits that go to the best schools and get drafted in the lottery. Others grind their way from the ground up. Some are late bloomers.
For Chris Livingston, he was the 16th ranked high school player in the class of 2022, but his career hasn't panned out the way he's expected it to.
However, after bouncing around the NBA and G-League since 2023, Livingston found himself on the Washington Wizards Summer League team where he displayed his ability to still play basketball at a high level.
Now, he's set himself up for an opportunity to make the NBA once again.
© Ken Blaze-Imagn ImagesStanding at 6'6" 220 lbs, Livingston possesses the size to play the wing in the NBA, and he displayed that throughout Summer League.
Livingston averaged 14.4 PPG throughout five games of Summer League, and flashed his ability to get downhill, finish through contact and provide a bit of floor spacing.
Livingston finished his Summer League campaign on a high note, scoring 61 points combined in his final three games. However, his volume was much higher in these games as AJ Dybantsa, Will Riley and Tre Johnson sat out.
Livingston's ability to put the ball in the basket is very impressive, but will it be enough to lock up a spot on Washington's 15 man roster?
While Livingston's name carries a lot of a weight due to his high school accolades, you can't ignore the fact that he hasn't been able to play meaningful minutes in the NBA since being drafted in 2023.
I believe Livingston is a good basketball player, but is he better than the 450 players on standard contracts in the NBA right now? I don't think so.
Additionally, I don't think there's a spot for Livingston on Washington's 15-man roster as they already have a surplus of NBA ready wings in AJ Dybantsa, Kyshawn George, Will Riley, Bilal Coulibaly, Cam Whitmore, Khris Middleton and Tre Johnson.
With that being said, I believe Livingston could be a massive beneficiary of developing on the Capital City Go Go G-League team as he'll be able to play more minutes and have a much higher volume of shots.
While Livingston's Summer League campaign was impressive, it's hard to believe that Washington's front office actually believes that he could contribute to their NBA roster.
It will be interesting to see how Washington manages Livingston, such as if they hand him a two-way contract or just cut ties with him.
Regardless, he put himself back on the map with a strong summer showing.
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