Watkins Heats Up, Boosting Wizards' Hope

0:00This is Corey with NBA News Today, powered by the Daily News Now. Subscribe for daily updates on your team. The Washington Wizards may not be winning many games this season, but there's plenty of hope for the future thanks to their young talent. Rookies like Alex Sahr, Kaishan George, Tree Johnson, and Will Riley have shown real promise on offense. One stand out is forward Jameer Watkins, picked 43rd overall in the 2025 draft, who starting to turn heads. Watkins slipped in the draft mostly because of his shaky outside shooting. In college, the six-foot-six forward hit just 32.5% from three-point range over his career, never topping 34.4%. Scout saw potential from his free-throw accuracy at 75.8%, but it wasn't enough to boost his stock. Early in his NBA career, those issues stuck around, with Watkins shooting only 28% from deep this season. Fans often ignore him on the perimeter, forcing the Wizards to use him in small ball line-ups

1:00despite his size. Fans and coaches have waited for a breakthrough. Lately though, Watkins has heated up over his last three games, draining threes at an impressive 53.8%. He's looking more confident, quickly firing when open, which has the fences closing out harder now. This small surge is opening driving lanes for him to attack the basket and finish strong. While it's early, these steps could lock him into the rotation, especially with his solid defense, giving Wizards fans more reasons to stay excited. D&N is brought to you by our sponsor link in the description. Headphones in a pillow. Once you try it, it just makes sense. S-O-L-L-I-SOLI-PILO.com.