The Wizards rookie teammate Bub Carrington finds ‘amazing’

“What Kyshawn does on the court, I mean…You can’t really put a cap on it,” the 19-year-old said. “This guy’s amazing.”

George’s statistical growth throughout the season jumps off the page, as he averaged 11 points on 40.5 percent shooting (35.4 percent 3 PT) with 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists in March after posting five points on a 30.8 percent clip (12.5 percent 3 PT) in October. However, Carrington said that the Miami alum’s defense stands out to him the most.

“Yeah, he guards,” the Baltimore native continued. “Kyshawn is actually a really good defender…I hate guarding little people, and he honestly might be a better defender guarding guards that are really good in this league, and there’s a lot of them. His defense kind of goes underrated, but he can really guard, and he has really good anticipation. He gets his hands on a lot of deflections and blocks.”

The numbers back up Carrington’s assessment, as George averaged 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks in March after posting just 0.6 and 0.5 in November. The 6-foot-8-inch, 200-pounder also has a 115.2 defensive rating, which ranks fourth on the team and 23rd among rookies, via NBA Advanced Stats. Defensive rating measures the number of points allowed by a team/player per 100 possessions, with lower numbers indicating better performance.

With that being said, Carrington didn’t let his peer off the hook.

“But he fouls a lot, too,” he continued as everyone in the media room laughed. “He does foul a lot, but he can guard.”

George and Jordan Poole lead Washington (17-63) with three fouls per game, while Carrington is third with 2.3. While it’s something that George should work on, defending without fouling has never been harder than it is in today’s whistle-happy era, especially for a player like him who can switch on to guards and forwards. The 21-year-old has shown flashes of protecting the rim and guarding the perimeter, and that’s what matters right now.

Bub Carrington shows confidence as Wizards’ season wraps up

George also described his favorite traits about Carrington.

“His confidence. His ability to get a shot off when he wants, and [he’s] just like a floor general,” the No. 24 overall pick said. “He gets in the paint at will. He gets his shot if he wants to shoot it, and he gets people shots.”

Carrington has been more aggressive than ever in April, averaging 14.4 shots attempted, which is 5.5 more than his season average and second only to Sarr (14.6) on the team. The Pitt alum also leads the team with six assists per game since the start of the month, which dwarfs the second-place Sarr (3.6).

George also mentioned Carrington’s defensive acumen.

“His activity as a defender [stands out],” he continued. “It doesn’t always necessarily show in the stat sheet, but you see him flying around all the time, just being super active.”

Indeed, Carrington’s numbers on that end aren’t eye-catching — his 118 defensive rating ranks 11th on the team and 32nd among rookies. But the fact that he hasn’t missed a game and leads the rookie class in minutes shows he has a high motor, which will help him make a bigger defensive impact as he develops.

Carrington also displayed his confidence when asked if Washington has the best young core in the NBA, via Locked On Wizards’ Brandon Scott.

“Yes, 100 percent,” he said.

There’s too much competition across the NBA for the “best young core” title to list in one article, but self-belief is the first step towards acheiving that goal.

Carrington then opened up about what his, Sarr’s, and George’s improvement throughout the season says about the Wizards as an organization.

“It says that this organization has a lot of trust in us. They were super intentional,” he continued. “They knew where they were drafting, and they knew where they wanted to implement those guys that they were drafting, and they did it, and they instilled the confidence in us. And we got the confidence in ourselves obviously to go out and do it. I think it says a lot about this organization. It says a lot about [general manager] Will [Dawkins] and our head coach [Brian Keefe].”

It’s still too earily to tell how good Washington’s 2024 draft class will be long-term, but it showed that it’s worth watching this season. After all, it broke the single-season record for most three-pointers made by a group of rookies on one team during Wednesday’s loss.

The Wizards will travel to face the Chicago Bulls on Friday and the Miami Heat on Sunday to cap their season.