Wizards Check-In

11/2/2026

WAS 103 ORL 94

The Wizards beat the Magic tonight by 9 to improve to 4-3 on the season. Paolo was out for Orlando. No Alex Sarr for us tonight so Ayton started at the 5.

First thing I'll say, I fucking love this team. I haven't loved a Wizards team this much since 2017, and this team has the chance to be even more important to me. This team is fun. We haven't been that in a long time. We have all the right guys to make this work. And seeing AJ Dybantsa catch lobs in a close game just takes it to a whole other level.

Very entertaining first half. A lot of good shot making, until an abysmal third quarter where the Wizards outscored the Magic 19-9. This seems to be the case with the Magic every year, doesn't it? Pretty solid on defense. Pretty shit on offense.

Loved watching Bilal tonight. Defensively made huge plays, coming away with 3 blocks and a steal. Also got some nice lob dunks at the end of the game.

How good is KyShawn George? Such a calming presence for this team. KyShawn finished with 22 points on 9/15 shooting. He hit every timely bucket. Always makes the right play. He's the perfect glue guy for this team.

Let's talk AJ Dybantsa. In his first three games, AJ has finished with 19, 17, and 21. So he's already a 20-points-a-night kinda guy. And he's 19. I love this kid. He had a lot of nice moments tonight. A tough layup through contact. A well-timed putback dunk. A lob dunk in the last 2 minutes. That's not to say tonight was perfect. He shot 7/17. His 3-pointer looked rough, shooting just 1/4. Which is okay, because that's not his game. I just don't wanna see him settling for corner threes when he's able to get to the rim with such ease. It also occurred to me, AJ doesn't have much of a bag. He has go-to moves for sure. Get downhill. Pull up middie. Turn around fade. But a bag? Like handles, get into your move, and score on the guy. Like the shit Carmelo was on. I don't know if those tools are in Dybantsa's arsenal quite yet. These will be things to watch with him. But I'm in love with this kid and couldn't be happier with the pick. I think all the top rookies went to the right teams. Caleb in Chicago just looks right. And that's how I'm feeling about AJ in DC. Tonight was his third career game and he's already my favorite player in the league.

Trae Young can be a bit frustrating. He shot 5/12 tonight. But they were loud misses. Side of the backboard loud misses. I love him, and his passing does open up so much for this team. He finished with 9 assists and is currently leading the league in that category. But his shot selection at times can be aggravating, especially when he hasn't been shooting it well.

AD was as rock solid as ever tonight. He had 27 points on 12/17 shooting to go along with 9 rebounds and 4 steals. His touch around the rim is impeccable. In the first half he was looking like a grownup playing with the boys. Game MVP honors should be shared between him and Ky.

I wanna see more plays run for Tre Johnson, who only got 4 shot attempts tonight. He's too good to only have out there to catch grenades. Trust me Brian Keefe, just let this kid find his rhythm. He's gonna be a fucking problem.

Really liking this start now that Dybantsa is healthy. Let's see what we look like when Sarr comes back and we can hopefully keep up this defensive identity. Still expecting this team to be fighting for the #6 seed and for Dybantsa to be in ROTY talks all year.