WASHINGTON — Tuesday night, for arguably the first time in an NBA regular-season game, rookie guard Johnny Davis offered glimpses of why the Washington Wizards drafted him with the No. 10 pick in June.
This was Johnny Davis 2.0, a new and improved version.
Aggressive. Comfortable. Confident.
And this wasn’t garbage time, either.
Advertisement
Facing an injury-ravaged opponent, coach Wes Unseld Jr. inserted Davis into the game late in the first quarter. You could see the difference in Davis’ self-assurance immediately. Thirty seconds later, Davis caught a pass at the top of the arc, dribbled forward, crossed over to his right and elevated for a 17-foot jumper.
Swish.
Three teammates on the bench — Anthony Gill, Corey Kispert and Jay Huff — stood. Kispert, holding a towel in his right hand, pumped his right fist to celebrate.
Davis finished with 11 points, and he helped the Wizards rout the Detroit Pistons 117-97.
“I thought it meant that it was just the start of me getting hopefully more minutes and having a spot in the rotation with the Wizards,” Davis said. “But I think it just showed how much I’ve been working and how much I developed this season.”
Davis had played in 14 regular-season games for the Wizards before Tuesday night, mostly in the waning minutes of blowouts. He typically appeared passive and unsure of himself. He passed up shots. He struggled to gain separation off the dribble. The game seemed too fast for him.
Those growing pains led to a cacophony of whispers that he will turn out to be a bust.
He built his confidence in the G League with the Wizards’ farm team, the Capital City Go-Go. After a lackluster start, he finally found his footing, averaging 18.3 points per game in six games since Feb. 23. Davis said coach Mike Williams and Williams’ assistant coaches helped him with the mental side of the game.
Davis’ Wizards teammates, who typically don’t have the opportunity to watch G League games, see chances in Davis now.
“He’s just kind of found a rhythm on the court, off the court (and with) NBA life,” said Kispert, who overcame some difficult moments last season as a rookie. “It’s all hard to adjust to. He kind of settled into his daily routine. When your headspace is right off the floor, then your game just kind of follows.”
Advertisement
Perhaps no sequence Tuesday night demonstrated Davis’ improved confidence more than a six-second stretch early in the second quarter. Davis outleaped Pistons guard Rodney McGruder to collect a defensive rebound, and Davis immediately sped upcourt, weaving between center James Wiseman and guard Buddy Boeheim. Davis ended the play with a running left-handed layup.
Every player on the Washington bench stood.
“Johnny’s a young, humble kid,” veteran center Taj Gibson said. “He didn’t worry about any of the stuff that was being said. All he does is show up and work on his game, and it’s our job to keep encouraging him. Like, tonight we were just on top of him, trying to tell him to be more aggressive. And it made us smile.”
The pep talks started before tipoff. Gill, a 30-year-old forward, advised Davis to try to relax and not overthink things. Just play.
That’s what Davis did. Beginning with his 17-foot pull-up jumper, he made five of his 11 shots, a couple of them layups off smart cuts.
“I thought he was great,” Unseld said. “He was aggressive, and he didn’t look out of place. I think early in the year at times, he was a little tentative. He fit right in (tonight). He got right in there, and we were able to run stuff through him. He played downhill. He didn’t turn shots down, which is a great sign. I just think the level of ‘comfortability’ that he showed tonight is a big step.”
There should be some caveats, to be sure. The Wizards (32-37) gave Davis meaningful minutes in large part because they were facing the Pistons (16-54), who have the NBA’s worst winning percentage and were missing eight players because of injuries or illness, including No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham and last June’s fifth pick, Jaden Ivey.
Advertisement
But this was progress. For the first time in an NBA regular-season game, Davis had a direct impact on the offensive end.
“One thing that you guys don’t see is all the stuff he does behind the scenes,” Kispert said, speaking to a gaggle of reporters. “You guys just don’t see that every day, and Johnny’s been working his tail off. He’s been building confidence and building a rhythm with the Go-Go, and I’m just really happy to see him take advantage of what he was given today, especially since I’ve been in his shoes not long ago.”
Late in the fourth quarter, Davis made a right-handed floater from 7 feet, the same shot he works on before Wizards games with assistant coach Mike Miller.
Davis is only 21, fresh off two years of college experience at the University of Wisconsin. After an unspectacular freshman season, Davis starred as a sophomore, earning Big Ten Men’s Player of the Year honors.
The Wizards are hoping for a jump between his rookie season and his second season. Lots of work remains. He needs to get stronger and improve his shooting and quickness.
“He’s moving with a little more force, but I think he’s only getting started,” center Kristaps Porziņģis said. “I think he’s building himself up, and I think he’s gonna tap into his potential very soon. He’s getting there. You can see that first one went in today, and his confidence grew throughout the game, starting with that first bucket. But I feel like this is only the beginning for him, and he needs to keep building slowly — build himself up, build that confidence up, feel good on the court, move with force — and he’ll be good.”
Tuesday’s performance might be that steppingstone.
(Photo: Geoff Burke / USA Today)
