While the Washington Wizards remain among the worst teams in the NBA this season, LeBron James pointed out the chance to change the narrative next season with Anthony Davis and Trae Young in the fold
The Washington Wizards opened the post-All Star break portion of their schedule with a 112-105 win over the Indiana Pacers at home on Thursday night, moving the team to 15-39 on the season and the tenth home win of the season. Washington will now looking to repeat that in the second of a back-to-back against the Pacers on Friday night.
Of course, they'll return to the court shorthanded once again with Anthony Davis and Trae Young among the Wizards still sidelined, though the Wizards announced an update on Young will be provided next week with Davis to be re-evaluated in two weeks.
While the outlook on the rest of Washington's 2025-26 season remains focused on development and draft position, the outlook for next season drastically changed within the span of one month. Enough for LeBron James to also highlight the Wizards "have some pieces" on his podcast with Steve Nash while discussing moves around the NBA.
"I'm interested to see what they do and how it all comes together. With [Anthony Davis] obviously we know the talent level is out of this world. Trae [Young], with his ability to play pick-and-roll game, ability to shoot the ball, his lob threat," James said.
"I love the young kid from France [Alex Sarr] they have on their team too...great touch, great feel for the game. Love the kid [Kyshawn] George as well, young kid, pretty good player. And also the rookie kid that they got from Texas, Tre Johnson."
Of course, all three mentioned players are fresh off a selection in the Rising Stars game with Bub Carrington replacing Sarr due to a hamstring injury that is expected to sideline him for at least another week.
But it's also the latest shred of evidence pointing to the growing respect for the Washington Wizards, who drew praise as a potential playoff team next season with Young and Davis anchoring a young core with another season of development under their belts.
The added question becomes what the likely next marquee piece the front office is able to add through the draft with Washington's top-eight protected pick in position to come to fruition ahead of optimistic lottery odds for a top four overall pick.
Sarr is leading the team with 17.2 points and 7.8 rebounds while he's one of four players in the NBA averaging two or more blocks per game. George sits second on the team in scoring, though finished with just six on 3-of-10 shooting in 19 minutes on Thursday night.
Still, how the rest of the roster develops ahead of a pivotal offseason is reason why the Wizards have drawn increased optimism among both the fanbase and across the league as fans await their first look of Trae Young and Anthony Davis in a Wizards uniform on the floor. Davis made his first appearance inside Capital One Arena on Thursday night where the team honored him with a video tribute, hours after the team announced his updated injury status.