Inside The Wizards

Wizards Rookies Must Adjust to Long Season

The Washington Wizards rookies are about to log more playing time than ever before.

Jeremy Brener

Jan 3, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Washington Wizards forward Alexandre Sarr (20) dribbles against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
Jan 3, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Washington Wizards forward Alexandre Sarr (20) dribbles against the New Orleans Pelicans during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
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The Washington Wizards are close to the halfway mark in the season, and the mileage could soon begin to take its toll on some of the team's rookies.

Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George haven't played in anything close to an 82-game season yet, and their energy could soon begin to wear thin.

All three have dealt with injuries during their rookie year, but Wizards head coach Brian Keefe has a plan in place to ensure longevity for his first-year players.

“We talk to them about that stuff, not about what the totality of the games are. 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," Keefe said.

The philosophy is sound, because it is not an easy task to go from playing 30 or so games per season to close to 82, but Keefe is happy with where his rookies are at.

"Those guys have been terrific," Keefe said, "which we knew that they would and they're going to continue to push through this as they learn and grow but it's about what you do on a day-to-day basis how you take care of yourself. That's how you make yourself consistent in this league and those guys are doing those things on a high level.”

The conditioning for a long season can be taxing, but the Wizards hope that the foundation they are putting in place will have their rookies be able to have long careers for them in the NBA.

The Wizards are back in action tonight as they take on the Philadelphia 76ers at 7 p.m. ET.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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