Wizards Rookies Making NBA History

The Washington Wizards have four first-round picks from the 2024 NBA Draft.

Jan 10, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Washington Wizards guard Carlton Carrington (8) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Bulls during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards have four of the first 24 picks from the 2024 NBA Draft on their roster.

They started off with just the No. 2 overall pick in Alex Sarr before making draft day deals to acquire Bub Carrington at No. 14 and Kyshawn George at No. 24. Then, at the trade deadline earlier this month, the Wizards brought No. 23 overall pick AJ Johnson into the fold after a deal with the Milwaukee Bucks.

ESPN writer Jeremy Woo highlighted the Wizards' efforts with their rookie class.

"Washington's first-round pick trio of Sarr, Carrington and George is averaging over 25 minutes per game each, making the Wizards the first team since the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2021-22 to play three rookies that often -- the three have totaled 3,885 minutes together," Woo writes.

"The Wizards' trio started together for the sixth time on Feb. 12 against the Indiana Pacers, with new addition AJ Johnson coming off the bench, making them the only team in the NBA to play four first-rounders from last year's draft in the same game. Johnson had mainly played in the G League prior to his trade from the Bucks but should get more playing time in Washington. Carrington and George were each playing some of their best basketball of the season going into the break."

The Wizards are expected to continue rolling out their rookies in the second half of the season, and that's the best thing the team has going for itself right now. The Wizards' rookies are expected to get a lot of reps, and while not all of them will be pretty, they can be valuable towards their development.

Not every rookie in the NBA gets that opportunity to make mistakes while playing heavy minutes in the league, so the Wizards' first-year players should embrace the moment.

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