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Trae Young’s impact explained by Wizards rookie’s ‘crazy’ take after Warriors game
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- Trae Young’s impact explained by Wizards rookie’s ‘crazy’ take after Warriors game
Trae Young's impact explained by Wizards rookie's 'crazy' take after Warriors game appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Entering Tuesday night's home date with the Detroit Pistons , the Washington Wizards have the NBA's second-longest losing streak at 12 games. They also have the second-worst record (16-51), but four-time All-Star Trae Young is showing why next season will be different.
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Update: Washington lost 130-117 to Detroit and is now 16-52.
After Monday's 126-117 loss to the Golden State Warriors , rookie wing Will Riley told ClutchPoints how the 27-year-old has transformed the Wizards ' offense since he debuted for the team on March 5.
"Yeah, he's an amazing player. It's crazy to see it in person, I used to watch him all the time," the 20-year-old said. "Seeing the reads he makes, the amount of attention he brings. With the attention he brings, he's able to find us on time and on target, so it just opens up so many more opportunities for everybody. He's also an amazing person, great teammate."
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Young is averaging 6.2 assists over just 20.8 minutes for Washington, which equates to one assist every 3.35 minutes. The former All-NBA honoree averaged an assist every 3.1 minutes for the Atlanta Hawks when he led the NBA with 11.6 dimes over 36 minutes in the 2024-25 campaign.
Young's work with the Wizards thus far doesn't guarantee that he'll lead the league in assists again next year, but it's a preview of what's to come. The former Oklahoma Sooner is using his offensive gravity to create open looks for the "Wiz Kids," which makes their jobs easier and helps their development.
Will Riley reveals 'doors' Trae Young opens
© Brad Mills-Imagn Images
Riley also explained what he's learned from Young so far.
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"Reads off of ball screens has been the main point of emphasis…Making reads, snaking, being aggressive, looking to score first…that's opened up a lot of new doors for me…" he said.
Snaking is a pick-and-roll maneuver "in which the ball-handler veers laterally away from his original direction between the screener and the screener's defender," per former Hawks G League scout Dylan Murphy. Learning that move adds to Riley's already-deep bag of tricks, like spins and fadeaways.
An example of how Young "opened new doors" for Riley was by executing a hockey assist (pass to assist) on his three-point shot in the second quarter. Young brought the ball up the court before second-year guard Bilal Coulibaly set a screen at the logo and rolled to the basket. Young fired the ball to Coulibaly during the roll, which caused the defense to collapse inside. The latter player then passed it to a wide-open Riley in the corner, who swished the three.
Head coach Brian Keefe referenced the play postgame when describing his favorite offensive moments from Young, Coulibaly, and Riley, who each led the team with 21 points.
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"I thought there was some good moments there. We had some good connections where the ball was moving, Trae was getting two on him, there was a play in the first when he hit Bilal on the short roll and he fired it out to Will Riley," he said. "It's one of the reasons Trae's here, when he gets two on him he just makes the right play. I thought we played off him pretty well…You could see the passing skill with all three of them tonight."
Young left Monday's game with a quad contusion and is out on Tuesday, but he's at least shown why Washington acquired him in January over the five contests he's played with the team. Although nobody knows how long he'll stick around, getting the young core open looks and showing it new moves provides invaluable experience.
For now, the Wizards are losing as much as possible to maximize their draft lottery odds in a class with superstar prospects Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and Cam Boozer . After they host Detroit on Tuesday, they'll do the same on Thursday before hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday.
Related: The secret behind Bub Carrington's 30-point breakout game vs. Pistons
Related: Wizards' Trae Young exits Warriors showdown with quad contusion
