The Washington Wizards have resorted to “Finding Nemo” references to keep themselves sane amid a 3-19 start, but Saturday’s 131-116 loss to the Atlanta Hawks was a step forward after a 45-point loss to the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown-less Boston Celtics on Thursday. Nothing was more encouraging for the organization’s future than rookie wing Will Riley’s career-best performance.
The No. 21 overall pick explained to ClutchPoints postgame how the Wizards have helped him develop, even when he wasn’t in the rotation.
I asked Will Riley how the Wizards helped him develop when he wasn’t playing:
“All the coaching staff is really close to me. They always talk to me, always uplift me. Keefe is always telling me ‘Good job’…He wants to win, and as a player who wants to win, you feed off that…” pic.twitter.com/5M1raeZRlO
— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) December 7, 2025
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“All the coaching staff is really close to me. They always talk to me, always uplift me,” he said. “Coach [Brian] Keefe is always telling me ‘Good job’…I feel like he helps a lot of ways. Boosts my confidence up, even when I come off the floor…He wants to win, and as a player who also wants to win, you feed off a coach who wants to win. So I’ve been feeding off him and his energy, and that’s been helping me a lot too.”
Riley notched a career-high 15 points (6-12 FG, 1-5 3-point) with one rebound and three turnovers across 19 minutes off the bench on Saturday. The 19-year-old is now averaging 24 minutes across three games in December after averaging 6.4 minutes over his 13 previous appearances.
That’s partially because of Washington’s growing injury list. Third-year guard Bilal Coulibaly (oblique), rookie guard Tre Johnson (hip flexor), second-year center Alex Sarr (adductor), veteran forward Khris Middleton (knee), and veteran guard Corey Kispert (thumb) were all out against the Hawks, per the team’s injury report.
All of them were ahead of Riley on the depth chart before December, but he’s making the case for being a full-time rotation player. The 6-foot-9, 180-pounder is averaging 11.7 points on 54.2 percent shooting (40 percent 3-point) with three rebounds and one assist this month, which would put him fourth on the team in scoring and tied for eighth in rebounding if those were his season averages. It’s a small sample size, but he deserves to keep getting extended minutes for now.
Although Riley is proving his worth, he understands that he’s far from a finished product. The native Canadian spoke about that postgame on Saturday.
“Honestly, my communication on defense and moving my feet,” he said when asked what he’s improved on the most so far. “I still have a long way to go on the defensive end, so I’ve been working on that.”
That assessment aligns with Rotowire’s pre-draft profile of Riley, which said “He may have to earn his stripes as a wing defender before being given more offensive responsibilities at the NBA level” despite having “solid defensive skills.” The former Illinois Fighting Illini primarily shines as a shot creator at this point, as he showed on Saturday.
Will Riley 15 points on 6/12 FG https://t.co/LXUIrbEOus pic.twitter.com/nZz6E9k50I
— riley ｼ (@rileyricharrds) December 7, 2025
Riley also admitted that he’s adjusting to the NBA’s physicality, as every rookie does. The 2024-25 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year will benefit from adding strength over the coming years, but the fact that he’s already playing efficiently on offense bodes well.
Most importantly, Riley’s ascension is challenging Washington’s mantra of minutes being “earned and not given” this season.
Will Wizards honor their stated philosophy?
© Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
Washington general manager Will Dawkins claimed in his preseason presser that the rotation would be a meritocracy this year, via Monumental Sports Network’s Chase Hughes.
“With that comes a lot of competition and I told them last year a lot of stuff was given more than earned. This year that can’t be the case and everybody in here has to feel that. That’s what’s going to sharpen iron. Iron sharpens iron,” he said.“I literally was like ‘hey, these rookies got a lot of minutes [last] year, who’s taking their spots?’ That’s the mentality we’ve gotta have.”
The execution of that idea has been inconsistent thus far. For example, second-year guard Bub Carrington is sixth on the team with 25.7 minutes per game despite having the worst net rating (-24.5) and field goal percentage (34.9) of all the regular rotation players. Additionally, second-round pick Jamir Watkins started in the 146-101 loss to the Celtics despite logging just 33 minutes over four appearances beforehand.
However, the Wizards are rewarding veteran forward Justin Champagnie for his effectiveness. The 24-year-old is averaging 22.8 minutes across four games in December after averaging 10.6 over 16 before that. He continues to produce after converting from a two-way to a standard contract last season, as he’s third on the squad with 1.6 offensive rebounds a night despite being just 6-foot-6. He’s also tied for first (minimum 10 games played) with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Champagnie spoke about what he brings to the table after the Hawks loss.
After Keefe told us that Justin Champagnie has earned more mins, I asked JC what unique traits he brings:
“Obviously my hustle. I try to keep things real simple…Shoot threes, play defense, rebound, block shots, intangibles, do the dirty work that most people don’t want to do…” pic.twitter.com/1AggWcQGKD
— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) December 7, 2025
“Obviously my hustle. I try to keep things real simple on the court,” the former Pittsburgh Panther admitted. “Shoot threes, play defense, rebound, block shots, do the intangibles, do the dirty work that most people don’t want to do. I think that’s my biggest attribute…And my energy. I try to let people feed off my energy. I try to come in the gym every day with a smile on my face, try to uplift people, try to get the energy flowing like that.”
Champagnie’s minutes increase has gotten him into a rhythm, which is helping his efficiency. On top of the New York native’s aforementioned traits, he’s shooting 53.1 percent from the field (40 percent 3-point) on eight attempts per game in December after shooting 42.4 percent on 2.8 attempts in November.
Both Riley and Champagnie deserve to stay in the rotation, even when the injured players return. The onus is on Keefe and the coaching staff to keep them in the fold when that time comes.