Despite the loss on Saturday afternoon, the Washington Wizards youth made NBA history against the Charlotte Hornets
The Washington Wizards dropped its ninth consecutive game after Saturday's comeback efforts fell short against Charlotte in a 119-115 finish, the third loss against the divisional foe this season. Washington will get one last chance at redemption in the fourth and final meeting set for Feb. 22, but the Wizards also made NBA history ahead of tipoff.
Washington rolled out a starting five with an average age of 20.64 years old, marking the youngest average age of a starting lineup since the league began tracking starting lineups beginning in 1970-71.
The previous youngest lineup in NBA history? Oklahoma City back on April 10, 2021 just prior to their ascent as the Thunder went on to select Josh Giddy and Aaron Wiggins among their four draft picks just two months later. With likely a pair of first round picks, Washington is hoping for similar results led by an executive in general manager Will Dawkins, who ascended to become an integral role of the Thunders' front office during their rebuilding phase.
While the move was partly made possible with Bilal Coulibaly sidelined for a fifth consecutive game due to a back injury, it marks a sign of what lies ahead after president of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger pointed to the next steps for the franchise in the months to come.
"As we embark on the second half of the season with the Wizards, we are paying very close attention to the developmental gains of our young athletes. We are coming upon a time, mostly within the next six to 18 months, where we have to declare which of our youngest players can make material contributions to our eventual contention and which will make their most meaningful contributions somewhere else. Unfortunately, there are only so many roster spots and so many minutes on an NBA basketball team and we need to know what a lot of these guys can do."
Will Riley drew his first career NBA start alongside Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson and Alex Sarr in the historic lineup. George struggled to get in a rhythm in the loss and finished with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while Tre Johnson set a new career-high with 26 points with six of his eight made shots coming from three. Sarr finished with 24 points for his third 20-plus scoring game this season while Bub Carrington added 15 points on eight assists and 5-of-11 shooting from three.
Winger noted that Riley "hasn't gotten the opportunities" with head coach Brian Keefe previously addressing the logjam at the wing, though that's opened up slightly over the last two months with Cam Whitmore sidelined for the remainder of the season due to blood clots. But for a franchise now looking to begin putting the pieces together for an on-court turnaround, it makes the next phase after the "deconstruction phase" is officially complete.
With the loss, Washington now has sole possession of the worst record in the NBA with all eyes set to shift toward the top-eight protected pick in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft.