NEW YORK — This year’s preseason opener contained more excitement than the previous three combined.
That’s because the Wizards are no longer tanking. It’s also because Washington’s starting lineup replaced Khris Middleton, CJ McCollum and Bub Carrington with four-time All-Star Trae Young, future first-ballot Hall of Famer Anthony Davis and the 2026 No. 1 overall pick in AJ Dybantsa.
The Wizards labeled the 2026-27 campaign a “season of growth.” That growth began Thursday night in a 111-109 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Washington trailed 63-57 at halftime and sat Young, Davis and Deandre Ayton to open the second half. Bub Carrington and Justin Champagnie reached double figures tarred in the second half and Tre Mann delivered the dagger as the Wizards came from behind to start the preseason 1-0.
Here are four takeaways from Thursday’s preseason opener:
The starters:
Washington started Trae Young, AJ Dybantsa, Kyshawn George, Anthony Davis and Deandre Ayton on Thursday, which revealed two noteworthy things:
George will start over Bilal Coulibaly. This was the biggest starter battle during training camp, but it appears George’s two-way impact edged Coulibaly’s elite defense.
Washington is all in on the double-big lineups. Sarr will replace Ayton when he’s healthy, which Keefe said is very close to happening. But starting Ayton reveals the Wizards like Davis at power forward and want to see how their starters fare with multiple bigs on the floor — a lineup they’ll often use this season.
Dybantsa’s debut
Dybantsa entered the league as a known scorer with perceived defensive limitations. The latter proved incorrect, at least on Thursday.
It started with stout defense on OG Anonoby. Dybantsa stayed with the drive and forced a pass before quickly closing out to force a miss after Anonoby received a return feed. A few plays later, Dybantsa stripped Jalen Brunson’s shot attempt and tallied another steal on the same possession. He finished the first half with four steals.
Dybantsa’s offense looked as expected. He missed a few open triples and made his mark at the bucket. His first two makes were layups, one in transition and the other on a blow-by, using his quick first step to create impressive separation in the half-court. Then came some polished footwork as he drove right, stopped on a dime and faded for an and-one jumper.
He added two layups in the second half to finish his debut with 11 points and four steals on 5-11 FG (0-3 3PT).
Anthony Davis, Trae Young look healthy
Washington’s $100-million duo played like they’re paid on Thursday.
Davis looked healthy and impressive in his first NBA action since early January. The 10-time All-Star tallied 16 points and seven rebounds in the first half. His jumper, which the Wizards need him to make to space the floor, was on point. He drilled a pair of triples and proved a threat from mid-range as well.
Young’s on-ball mastery led to several easy Wizards buckets. And his 3-ball, which dipped below 35% last season, fell at a 50% clip on six attempts at MSG.
Kyshawn George will run second unit
George mentioned during training camp that he expected similar on-ball responsibilities, mainly when paired with the second unit. Those expectations became reality Thursday, with the 22-year-old wing even initiating some offensive sets with Young on the floor.
The 6-foot-9 wing made some good reads, including an alley-oop to Ayton off a short roll and a kick-out to Young for an open triple, but his court vision and decision-making remain a work in progress. He dribbled into some tough spots and forced a few passes that resulted in four turnovers to just two assists in the opening half.
George still stuffed the stat sheet, as he typically does, finishing with 12 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four turnovers in 22 minutes.
Thanks for the quick four takeaway!Mr. Finberg
Actually, this teams energy,e execution, innovation better than my speculation. Each player all contribute the highlight reel play, including Geroges ball handling, pace control, vivid on and off ball, trae and ADs versatile shooting, passing, breakdown, Ajs athleticism, attacks the rim downhill, multiple guys game reading and decision making, all combines to the Expected kinetic force, verfies its new atmosphere.Here we go, Wizards nation!
Best Regards
Peter (Hao Zhu)