How Wizards Rookies Johnny Davis, Xavier Cooks, and Quenton Jackson Ranked in Year One

In a let down season, could the younger generation of Washington Wizards present hope for the future?

The Washington Wizards won just 35 games in the 2022-23 NBA Season, and it's the second year in a row the team has finished with that exact win total. 

In fact, the Wizards haven't won more than 35 games in a single regular season since 2017 when they finished with 43 wins and made the playoffs with an above .500 record. 

It's not the last time Washington played post-season basketball, but in the 2020 COVID season, they still didn't clear .500.

The problem plaguing the team isn't new, though, as there continues to be a lack of top-shelf play from star guard Bradley Beal and not enough talent around him to make up for it. 

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Washington was hoping the addition of some new blood this past year would help change that but the results say it didn't help much, if at all. 

In his first season after being the 10th overall pick in last year's draft, guard Johnny Davis appeared in just 28 games.

That total is the fewest games played for Washington by a first-round guard in his rookie season since Anthony Jones played just 16 after being the 21st overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. 

Only Jones was limited to that total because he was traded during his rookie season to the San Antonio Spurs and played 49 more games for them that year. 

Davis' five starts, which only came at the end of the year with postseason play out of reach, are the fewest by a first-round guard since LaBradford Smith was taken 19th overall in 1991 and started the same amount while playing in 48 contests that year.

But it's not how you start, but how you finish, and despite his low usage Davis was able to secure a top 10 spot in rookie franchise history with a .485 two-point field goal percentage. The best with 20 games played or more since Sheldon Mac in 2016 and better than both Beal and guard John Wall's rookie percentages. 

Fellow rookie guard Quenton Jackson appeared in nine games this past season for the Wizards and finished with the ninth-best field goal percentage among first-year guards who appeared in at least as many games for the franchise. 

Forward Xavier Cooks played in 10 games for Washington and was among the best rebounding rookies in his position group per 48 minutes played.

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There's not a lot to hold onto when looking at the Wizards' rookie class for inspiration. 

And it's not surprising given the fate of the team and its architect this offseason. 

But we've seen NBA teams turn around rapidly off the backs of good drafting and smart free-agent moves, so here's hoping this Washington franchise is one of the next to pull it off.

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Find David Harrison on Twitter @DHarrison82

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