Two games into the 2026 summer league, things are going well for the Wizards.
Finally.
No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa has impressed with size, athleticism, skills, competitiveness, and motor. Will Riley has hit shots. Felix Okpara, the second round pick in June, hustled and blocked three shots. The summer squad is defending hard and effectively.
As a long-time Wizards observer, I barely know what to do with myself. Competence — even during summer league ball where the games have ridiculous rules and
nothing really matters — is a welcome sign of progress from this franchise.
I mean, for a second straight game, they hounded a highly-respected guard prospect into a subpar night. In the opener, it was second overall pick Darryn Peterson. Against the Sacramento Kings, it was Darius Acuff Jr. At one point, Acuff was visibly frustrated, and Amazon Prime analyst (and former NBA coach) Stan Van Gundy said that Acuff needed to play harder — that he needed to compete against Washington’s physicality.
Even better, against Acuff and the Kings, they defended effectively with no one committing nine fouls.
Yes, it’s only summer league. Still — the Wizards were out-competing their opponent. The Wizards?!
While the positives abound, it’s important to keep in mind that a) it’s summer league, not NBA basketball, b) there’s plenty for these guys to improve upon.
The second one is important — youngsters the team wants in the rotation next season are producing in summer league while also playing imperfectly. Let the coaching progress.
Here are a few observations on areas for players to develop during what the team calls “Jump Season,” and the rest of us call the “offseason.”
Dybantsa
- Defensive motor. He didn’t get back on defense twice last night. Does it matter in summer league? No. Transition defense can be a big deal in real NBA games.
- Shooting. I’m not worried about the percentage (just 1-11 from deep in Vegas) at this point, though I don’t love the form. It’s at least a quick and compact motion, and he hasn’t been shy about pulling the trigger, which suggests he’s confident taking threes. I’d love to see him raise the release point a few inches to maintain a clear view of the target.
- Make more use of the athletic tools and skills to create easy shots for the team instead of living on a diet of difficult shots. Drivers of high-level offense in the NBA don’t do it by making lots of tough shots.
- Learn to create for teammates — he did it a few times against the Kings, so I think he’s seeing the court well and making decent reads. When he sees multiple defenders on him, he needs to get the ball to teammates and let them make plays. The ball will come back. I suspect this will be less of an issue when he’s playing with better teammates in the regular season.
Will Riley
- Get. In. The. Weight. Room.
- Maybe it’s just me, but the incessant dribbles that actually should be carries worry me. What if the NBA ever decides to enforce its rules?
- Like Dybantsa, I’d like to see Riley become more of a threat as a playmaker for teammates.
Tre Johnson
- Didn’t play against the Kings, so this is based on only the opener. I want to see the same thing I wanted to see last season — what concerned me about him as a draft prospect — more to his game than shooting and scoring.
- To that end, Johnson needs to keep getting stronger (the weight room work is showing) so he can compete in an increasingly physical league.
- Something of a theme in this one: I want to see Johnson, Riley, and Dybantsa (and, well, everyone else really) threaten defenses in multiple ways by using their scoring prowess to unlock plays for teammates.
Felix Okpara — I’d be surprised if he’s on the opening night roster. Here’s what he needs to do to carve out an NBA career:
- Get stronger.
- Improve defensive awareness.
- Set better screens.
- Make better reads on roll lanes.
- Go harder — the effort isn’t bad, but it’s not at NBA speed. At least not yet.
None of these are even the slightest reason for worry. Every young player — heck, every player of every age — has areas where they can improve. And the fun thing with youngsters is that if they do the work, there’s a good chance these “areas for improvement” will actually improve. Especially when the area is something like “get stronger.”
This is a weird spot for Wizards fans. Competent play, promising youngsters, a potential superstar performing well. It’s still a long wait to the games that matter, but this is starting to get fun.
