AJ Dybantsa, Will Riley, Tre Johnson headline the Washington Wizards' roster in 2026 Summer League, set to kick off on Thursday night
For the first time in over half a decade, the Washington Wizards will have playoff expectations after an extremely effective rebuild from general manager Will Dawkins.
After adding former All-Stars in Trae Young and Anthony Davis, drafting AJ Dybantsa number one overall, adding a proven big man in DeAndre Ayton and having one of the best young cores in the league, Washington is destined to bring basketball relevance back to the city of D.C.
However, the first step in doing so is seeing linear development from their young core, specifically with Tre Johnson, Will Riley, Jamir Watkins, Julian Reese and now AJ Dybantsa and Felix Okpara.
These players will be able to display their talents and development at the Las Vegas Summer League, starting Thursday, July 9th an 9:00 PM EST against the Utah Jazz.
With that being said, here are three things to lookout for throughout Washington Wizards Summer League.
#1: The Two-Way Ability of AJ Dybantsa
It's no secret that Dybantsa can put the ball in the basket, as he led all of college basketball in points per game last season with 25.2. However, one of Dybantsa's pre-draft concerns was with his defense.
While Dybantsa is expected to score the basketball at a high level in the NBA, many scouts and analysts have expressed that they'd like to see him use his long and athletic frame to defend on the perimeter and block shots inside.
It will be interesting to see how much of an effort Dybantsa gives on the defensive end throughout summer league, especially on Thursday as he'll be facing the number two overall pick in Darryn Peterson.
#2: Sophomore Breakouts
Washington had an extremely impressive 2025 NBA Draft, where they found not one but two potential All-Star talents in Tre Johnson and Will Riley.
With a full year of NBA hoops beneath their belt, Johnson and Riley are poised to make a leap in their sophomore year, with summer league being extremely telling as whether or not they're ready to take that next step.
While wins and losses also do matter to him, Tre Johnson is putting a premium on his defensive improvement in Summer League while Will Riley also eyes the chance to step into a veteran role on a roster filled with young talent looking to take that next step. While both Johnson and Riley are expected to get opportunities on the ball, the chances to showcase that growth ahead of year two will be available to both.
#3: Battle for a Roster Spot
Summer league is the time for undrafted players to showcase why they're deserving of a roster spot.
For Washington, they have a handful of talented young players that are on the cusp of making the final 15 man roster, such as Jamir Watkins, Julian Reese, Leaky Black, Kadary Richmond and others.
Washington already finalized its trio of two-way players with rookie Felix Okpara joining Julian Reese and Jamir Watkins ahead of 2026-27, but how they fare could begin to assess who has the upper-hand in the frontcourt for likely the final roster spot. Whether undrafted rookies like Seth Trimble, John Camden or Keshawn Murphy can also impress enough to round out the G League roster under first-year Go-Go head coach Tevon Saddler will be answered through the rest of the month.
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