The Washington Wizards brought in Anthony Davis and Trae Young to drag the franchise out of the cellar and back into relevance. That move made sense on paper, especially for a team that has finished with 18 or fewer wins in each of the past three seasons.
But preseason has a way of revealing where the future is really headed, and in Washington, the young guys are starting to look too good to ignore. The rise is already putting pressure on the Davis-Young setup.
AJ Dybantsa is the name drawing the loudest buzz. The No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft led all Division I players in scoring as a true freshman during the 2025-26 season, and now he’s flashing real three-level scoring potential in preseason. He’s not just promising; he looks like someone who can eventually climb past both veterans in the team’s offensive pecking order.
Kyshawn George is right there with him. Washington’s breakout player in 2025-26 before injuries interrupted his run, George has picked up the thread quickly. He’s scoring, setting up teammates, and shooting efficiently, and he turned in 21 points in 25 minutes against the Brooklyn Nets most recently.
Neither Dybantsa nor George is ready to carry the Wizards to the playoffs by themselves right now. But they’re also not as far away as they might appear, and that matters because the supporting cast around them is showing real signs of life too.
Alex Sarr gives Washington a real interior piece to work with. The big man has mostly flown under the radar, but he brings defensive effort and came off a season in which he improved his slash line from .394/.308/.679 as a rookie to .482/.333/.692. If that kind of growth keeps rolling, he profiles as a starting center who can help on both ends.
That’s where the tension starts to build. Sarr’s development helps the Wizards, but it can also make Davis easier to imagine moving out of the picture down the line. The same basic math applies across the roster: if the young core keeps getting better, Washington may not be able to keep everyone in the roles they have now.
Tre Johnson is another piece pushing this conversation forward. He’s a long shooter with three-level scoring upside, and his strong preseason has only added to the belief that he can matter in a big way.
Bilal Coulibaly has also shown signs of progress as a defensive specialist who appears to have improved as a shooter, even if it’s only preseason. Bub Carrington is in the mix too, and he’s motivated. Put all of that together and Washington has a group with real promise.
The problem is that Davis and Young still sit at the center of it all. Minutes and touches are going to be limited with those two running the show. Davis will turn 34 in March, and Young’s ball-dominant style comes with defensive tradeoffs that are hard to miss.
That leaves the Wizards with a pretty clear question: how long does this setup make sense if the young players keep growing and the team still isn’t winning enough to justify easing the stars aside?
If Davis and Young lead Washington back to the playoffs, that changes the conversation. If they’re willing to give up some of their touches as the kids come on, that helps too.
But the pressure is there now, because Dybantsa changes the equation. Washington didn’t just add a star prospect - it added another piece the franchise may eventually have to build around.
And that means the clock is already running.
In Other News...
Wizards Just Got A Harsh Reminder Of Anthony Davis Importance
Anthony Davis has already given the Wizards a quick glimpse of why he matters so much to what they are trying to build, flashing scoring, defense and playmaking in the first two preseason games. Washington has also been experimenting with a double-big look that features Davis alongside Deandre Ayton and Alex Sarr, a size-heavy approach that could change the shape of the rotation if it starts to click.
The problem is how thin everything can look when one of those anchors is missing, especially in a roster still working through offensive flow and defensive transition issues. The preseason loss to Brooklyn served as a blunt reminder that the Wizards are still searching for the right balance, and just how much the lineup leans on Davis to steady both ends when the group starts to wobble. [Read more 🡒]
Bilal Coulibaly Just Raised The Stakes For A Wizards Decision
Bilal Coulibalys preseason has turned into one of the more important subplots around the Wizards as the regular season nears. The rookie forward got off to a quiet start in camp, but his third preseason game offered a much better snapshot of why Washington values him, with a 19-point night that also included impact work on the defensive end.
Even with that progress, there is still a contract question hanging over the front office. The Wizards have until Monday, the day before the season opens, to sort out long-term deals with their draft prospects, and Coulibaly is among the names still waiting on a resolution. His recent step forward only makes the decision more interesting, because it adds another layer to what Washington has to weigh before the deadline arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Wizards Roster Battle Is Making Brian Keefe's Biggest Decision Tougher
Washingtons preseason has opened with some encouraging signs, and a 2-1 start has given Brian Keefe a chance to see how a roster full of young talent and overlapping skills fits together. Trae Young, AJ Dybantsa and Kyshawn George have all flashed in the early going, but the bigger takeaway has been how many different lineups the Wizards can put on the floor while they sort out what actually works.
Keefe has made it clear the competition is still very much alive, with no starting group locked in as the staff keeps experimenting with combinations. Kyshawn George is part of that conversation, but so are Bilal Coulibaly, Tre Johnson, Will Riley, Bub Carrington and Tre Mann, and the depth is turning even simple rotation calls into meaningful evaluations. For a team trying to build something with so many young pieces, the challenge now is not finding enough options, but deciding which ones deserve the most runway. [Read more 🡒]