Despite dropping their sixth straight game, Julian Reese has done well to fill a void in the frontcourt for the Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards dropped their sixth consecutive game after being outmatched by Orlando on Tuesday night en route to a 126-107 loss on the road. But it did feature some good.
Will Riley led the way again after finishing with a team-high 19 points on 61.5% shooting, the third time over his last five games that the rookie has shot 60% or better from the field. Jaden Hardy finished with 18 points in 22 minutes, marking his seventh consecutive game scoring 11 points or more. But Tuesday also marked the first time that new Wizards center Julian Reese began to look comfortable in his second game.
Reese, signed by the team over the weekend, finished with nine points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes in Tuesday's loss. The University of Maryland graduate entered the fourth quarter on double-double watch after totaling nine points and seven rebounds, but the rookie center proved largely capable on both ends of the floor one night after totaling three steals in his NBA debut.
"Super solid. He's just learning our system and he's done really well with that, give the coaches credit and him for studying that stuff," head coach Brian Keefe said of the rookie. "We can run our offense through him. He's got - you can see his passing ability. He's big. He's physical. He's a good rebounder. I think he's given us some good minutes here.
Reese has stepped in to fill a key void in the front court with no timeframe for Anthony Davis to make his Wizards debut, while star center Alex Sarr has remained sidelined due to the hamstring injury that held him out of the Rising Stars Game last month.
But Reese was not a new name to everyone along the Wizards roster. That includes Will Riley, an Illinois product who squared off against Reese at Maryland during the 2024-25 season. It ended up being one of Reese's best nights as a Terp after finishing with a game-high 17 rebounds, while he and current New Orleans Pelicans forward Derik Queen combined for 52 points in the road win.
"He's a great player. I played him in college and he killed us. I already knew about him before," Riley added.
The next time Reese takes the floor, he will do so with a new teammate with Trae Young set to make his Wizards debut when Washington hosts the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.