Washington rookie Will Riley speaks with the media on his recent success.
After winning back-to-back games against the Indiana Pacers following the all-star break, the Washington Wizards have now lost four straight games.
Washington is coming off of a 134-125 defeat against the Toronto Raptors on February 28, 2026, but saw significant signs of growth from some of their younger talent.
Washington's front office led by Michael Winger and Will Dawkins have done a tremendous job at restocking their roster with high upside players, with the latest breakout being 20 year-old breakout wing Will Riley. Drafted 21st overall in the 2025 NBA Draft out of the University of Illinois, Riley has used his size and twitchiness to be an offensive engine for Washington.
Riley is coming off an excellent month of February where he averaged 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists on 47.0% FG and 37.5% from three.
Against Toronto on Saturday night, Riley had another strong performance where he led Washington with 19 points on 6/10 FG in 35 minutes of action.
After the game, Riley spoke with the local Washington media on his performance and growth throughout the season.
Washington Wizards sideline reporter Chase Hughes asked Riley what it's been like to get more opportunities as a primary ball handler and initiator of the offense:
"I feel like it's helping my game progress a lot. Over time, just dealing with especially when smaller guards are on me, I feel like it's helping me progress, tighten up my handle, making reads under pressure. I feel like it's a lot different than practice because I'm getting an in game rep, so yeah it's been really helping me a lot," said Riley.
Hughes followed that up by asking Riley how he's found recent success at getting to the free throw line:
"I know because I'm a skinner guy so guys are gonna try to get up under me, try to be ultra aggressive, so I can only use that to my advantage and just create off that, create off the bump so that type of stuff. Guys are gonna be super handsy, so making reads off that to draw fouls, it's helped me a lot," said Riley.
In the month of February, Riley has shot 77.5% from the free throw line on 3.3 attempts per game -- a 1.7 shot increase from the month of January.
Riley has slowly emerged as a top player in Washington's young core, and with extended playing time, he could become one of the best players on this team going forward.