With first-overall pick Alex Sarr, the rise of sophomore and once-lottery pick Bilal Coulibaly and Jordan Poole in the backcourt, many fans thought they knew what the Wizards lineup would look like. But former Pitt standout Bub Carrington emerged from the shadows and has turned heads quicker than anybody could have imagined.
Nineteen-year-old Carrington’s advanced maturity has stood out early in his NBA career. The rookie averages over four assists to only 1.6 turnovers. Carrington is seventh among rookies in points, second in assists and fifth in rebounds. This facilitation of the offense along with his consistency across the boards has helped Bub forge his place in the starting lineup — which did not take long for coaches and scouts to notice.
“I think he has a chance to be the best point guard in this previous draft class, and if he’s a 10-year NBA starter, it’s not going to shock me,” one anonymous NBA scout said at the start of the season.
Carrington’s NBA growth has shown in spades early in the season. Bub hit his now career-high eighteen points less than a month into the season and has scored in double digits in 20 games this year on 29 starts. In recent weeks, he has slowed down a bit, but this is no cause for concern.
Carrington suffered a scary head injury two weeks ago but was luckily okay. With the rest of the roster settling into their new roles and Malcolm Brogdon out, Carrington has had to facilitate the offense as a rookie with little help. His contributions may diminish on the stat sheets but are important nevertheless.
The Wizards are clearly in a full rebuild, holding the worst record in the NBA and giving their rookies loads of minutes, even more reason why the future for Bub is so exciting. The front office clearly places value in developing this group and believes they have the potential to be franchise pieces.
“We talk about habits and what you need to do to train to get yourself ready to play. That’s a really big thing for our organization, putting the structures in place for these guys to be able to perform, teaching them what that looks like,” Wizards head coach Brian Keefe of the rookies said.
There are many rookies all in close competition this year, and three are getting minutes on the Wizards alone. Bub’s NBA career thus far indicates he will keep himself at the top of the pack. His improvement, work rate, talent and lone role in the offense display the Wizards’ high expectations for him. Panther fans should get excited to watch Washington Wizards basketball in the years to come!
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