Washington begins its Summer League campaign with a big loss
The Washington Wizards got blasted 103-84 by the Phoenix Suns to launch their 2025 Summer League schedule Friday night.
Summer league always begins with a lot of optimism, and this year was no different. Those die-hard Wizards fans who stayed up late (and those that made it all the way to Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV), and those who tuned in to Kevin Broom’s Playback, were rewarded by a nice show of the young talent the Wizards have slowly amassed — at least for a little while. The ultimate result was a downer as the young talent underperformed.
The Wizards Summer League roster, which includes seven (7!) first-round picks just from the previous two NBA Drafts, got its first test against the Suns.
The Wizards have announced their 2025 Summer League roster, which features seven first-round picks from the previous two NBA Drafts: pic.twitter.com/i7wMTPiCcO
— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) July 7, 2025
Washington’s top pick this year (sixth overall) Tre Johnson, 21st pick Will Riley and 43rd pick Jamir Watkins saw their first action in a Wizards uniform. They were joined by 2024 first-round picks Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, AJ Johnson, Kyshawn George and Dillon Jones.
The Wizards held their ground for the first quarter, but lost each of the remaining three periods. When your team shoots 25% from deep and allows the opponents to shoot 40%, you usually lose.
Some bright spots:
- Kyshawn George had 24 points in 32 minutes with 10 from 18 from the field and 3 from 9 from deep.
- Fresh from the draft, Tre Johnson scored 18 in just 28 minutes, including 3 from 5 from deep, and some tough shot-making inside the arc.
- Alex Sarr had 15 points and four boards in 31 minutes, though a chunk of his production came in garbage time.
The game was high in entertainment value with 7-2 Suns center Khaman Maluach seemingly determined to showcase every skill he believes he has and wasn’t able to show at Duke. The big man hit 1-6 from three-point range.
Suns second round pick (41st overall) Koby Brea knocked down 4-5 from three-point range en route to 19 points. Brea was an elite collegiate shooter. He hit 43.4% from deep over five NCAA seasons (730 attempts), including shooting 49.8% on threes in 2023-24 at Dayton (classified as his second junior season).
The Wizards next play the Nets on Sunday, again in Vegas.