Washington Wizards Blog – Page 8 – NBA Blog

2022 NBA Japan Games, Sept. 30 and Oct. 2, feature Wizards vs. Warriors

The NBA and Rakuten Group, Inc., today announced that the Washington Wizards and Golden State Warriors will play two preseason games in Japan in 2022.

The NBA Japan Games 2022 will take place Friday, Sept. 30 and Sunday, Oct. 2 at Saitama Super Arena outside of Tokyo, marking the Wizards’ first trip to Japan and the league’s 15th and 16th games in the country.

“We are so honored to represent the NBA and the wonderful game of basketball in front of an audience of Japanese fans,” said Ted Leonsis, Founder & CEO, Monumental Sports & Entertainment. “We are particularly excited to watch Rui Hachimura play in front of his fellow Japanese citizens. We were proud to welcome him into the DC Family nearly three years ago as a dynamic young talent and have only seen his growth as a player since. And our fans across our home market in Washington D.C. have a special connection to the Japanese people – marked by our annual celebration of the gift of cherry trees given to our city by the Mayor of Tokyo over 100 years ago. Celebrating American and Japanese cultures further strengthens our bonds and so we look forward to taking on the Golden State Warriors and growing new fans of the sport we all love.”

“I am very excited to bring Wizards basketball to Japan,” said Hachimura. “I cannot wait to see the arena filled with fans getting to see NBA basketball in person.”

Washington Wizards weekly notes: March 14, 2022

WIZARDS TEAM NOTES

Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma reached 2,000 made field goals for his career during his last appearance (3/12 at Portland). Kuzma becomes just the fourth member of the 2017 NBA Draft class to accomplish this feat joining Donovan Mitchell (2,840), Jayson Tatum (2,623) and De’Aaron Fox (2,248).

Washington rookie forward Corey Kispert has connected on 3+ three-pointers in four straight games, the longest such streak by a rookie in franchise history. Kispert (78) needs to make 14 three-pointers to surpass Bradley Beal (91, 2012-13) for the most three-pointers in a rookie reason in franchise history.

The Wizards lead the NBA in field goal percentage (.495) and three-point field goal percentage (.423) since returning from the NBA All-Star break (2/25-3/14).

Washington concludes their four-game West Coast road trip on Monday, March 14 at Golden State. The Wizards will return home to face the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, March 16.

Wizards sign Jordan Schakel to two-way contract, and waive Joel Ayayi

The Washington Wizards have signed guard Jordan Schakel to a two-way contract.

And in a related move, the Wizards waived guard Joel Ayayi, who was previously on a two-way contract and appeared in seven games with the team this season.

Schakel, who has played in 35 games (all starts) with the Capital City Go-Go (the Wizards’ NBA G League affiliate), originally spent 2021 training camp and preseason with the Wizards, where he appeared in two games. He earned a 10-Day contract with the Wizards in December, appearing in two games for Washington.

The 6-6, 200-pound guard has averaged 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game with Capital City this season, shooting .370 from three-point range on a team-high 7.7 attempts per game. Schakel has scored at least 10 points in a team-high 31 games and his 100 made threes rank eighth overall and are the second-most by an NBA G League rookie this year.

Originally from Torrance, California, Schakel graduated from San Diego State with the third-most made threes in school history. He also ranked third nationally in three-point percentage during the 2020-21 season, shooting .461 from deep.

Washington Wizards sign guard Tomas Satoransky

The Washington Wizards have signed guard Tomas Satoransky.

He had just recently been waived by the San Antonio Spurs on February 26.

Satoransky (6-7, 210) returns to the Wizards, where he spent the first three seasons of his NBA career (2016-19) and was originally drafted by the team in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft. In his three seasons in Washington, Satoransky played in 210 games (87 starts), averaging 6.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Satoransky notched his only career triple-double as a member of the Wizards on Jan. 11, 2019, finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. He also appeared in all 16 of his career playoff games during his time in Washington.

After his time with the Wizards, Satoransky spent two years in Chicago (where he averaged career-highs of 9.9 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals during the 2019-20 season) and spent the first half of this season in New Orleans before being traded to Portland and then San Antonio. In total, he owns career averages of 7.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in 365 career games. Satoransky played three seasons in Spain after being drafted in 2012, including the final two with Barcelona, before transitioning to the NBA in 2016-17.

A native of the Czech Republic, Satoransky has represented his national team at several FIBA events including the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where he became the first Czech basketball player to serve as the country’s flag bearer.

Satoransky’s signing brings the Wizards’ roster to 17, including two-way players.

Wizards create new team award named after Dr. Edwin Bancroft (E.B.) Henderson

The Washington Wizards announced today that a new team award will be named after Dr. Edwin Bancroft (E.B.) Henderson. The annual award will go to the Wizards player most philanthropically active in the Washington, D.C. community.

FROM THE WIZARDS:

Known as the “Grandfather of Black Basketball” in Washington, D.C., Dr. Henderson was a sports historian, educator, administrator, coach, athlete, and civil rights activist. He wrote over 3,000 letters to the editor for The Washington Post and other newspapers on civil rights and race relations.

The University of the District of Columbia recently honored Dr. Henderson by renaming its athletics facility as the Dr. Edwin Bancroft Henderson Sports Complex. To help kickstart the public fundraising efforts, Ted Leonsis, through the Leonsis Foundation, Monumental Sports & Entertainment and Washington Wizards, donated $200,000 to the fund which will support capital upgrades to the sports complex, student scholarships and sports camps for youth.

Weekly Washington Wizards notes: Feb. 28, 2022

WIZARDS TEAM NOTES

Washington is shooting the ball at a .430 clip (65-151 3PT) from beyond the arc during the last five games. This ranks as the HIGHEST mark among all teams in the NBA during that span.

The Wizards are averaging 9.0 steals per game over the last six contests which is tied with Phoenix for the best mark in the league over that span.

Wizards rookie forward Corey Kispert is tied for sixth among all NBA rookies in three-point field goal percentage (.319) this season. Kispert recorded a three-point field goal in 13 consecutive games (1/23 to 2/25), a Wizards rookie franchise record.

The Wizards returned from the All-Star break with back-to-back games versus the Spurs and Cavs. The Wizards begin a three game homestand on Tuesday, March 1.

Weekly Washington Wizards notes: Feb. 14, 2022

WASHINGTON WIZARDS TEAM NOTES

Wizards rookie forward Corey Kispert (12.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg) is one of five rookies to average at least 12 points and 5 rebounds per game over the last five games.

Washington forward Kyle Kuzma (2,009) eclipsed 2,000 total rebounds for his career with 13 on 2/10 vs. BKN.

The Wizards notched their 20th ‘clutch’ win of the season on 2/10 vs. BKN, defeating the Nets 113-112. Washington’s 20 clutch wins this season is tied for the second-most among all teams in the NBA.

The Wizards will close out their five game homestand on Monday, February 14 vs. Detroit before heading out on the road for back-to-back games at Indiana and Brooklyn before the All-Star break.

At the trade deadline, Washington acquired forward-center Kristaps Porzingis from Dallas and guard Ish Smith and center Vernon Carey Jr. from Charlotte.

Guard Bradley Beal underwent successful surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament of his left wrist. He is expected to be out for the remainder of the season.

Mavericks trade Kristaps Porzingis to Wizards for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans

The Dallas Mavericks have acquired guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Dāvis Bertāns in a trade with the Washington Wizards for forward/center Kristaps Porzingis and a protected 2022 second round pick.

In a related move, Dallas has also requested waivers on center Moses Brown.

“Kristaps is an All-Star player whose unique talents will fit well within our system and allow him to impact the game for us in multiple ways,” said Wizards President and General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “He will get a fresh start with our team and provide us with the opportunity to play multiple lineups that feature size, versatility and shooting ability.”

Porzingis (7-3, 240) is in his sixth NBA season with career averages of 18.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 320 games played (319 starts) with Dallas (2019-2022) and New York (2015-2018). In 34 games (all starts) with Dallas this season, Porzingis has compiled averages of 19.2 points, 7.7 rebounds and a career-high 2.0 assists per game, tallying nine double-doubles.

Porzingis was voted an All-Star during the 2017-18 campaign with the Knicks, where he averaged a career-high 22.7 points to go along with 6.6 rebounds per game. He was also an All-Rookie selection in 2015-16 and finished second in the 2016 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year voting behind Karl-Anthony Towns. The six-year pro has also earned Player of the Week honors on two occasions in his career (Eastern Conference POW, 10/30-11/5/17; Western Conference POW, 2/24-3/1/20).

The Liepaja, Latvia, native is the fastest player to record 500+ three-pointers and 500+ blocks in NBA history (247 games) and is one of five players in league history to record 4,000+ points, 1,500+ rebounds, 400+ three-pointers and 400+ blocks before his 25th birthday.

Porzingis was originally selected with the fourth overall pick in 2015 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. Prior to his NBA career, he played four seasons with Sevilla (Liga ACB) in Spain.

Dinwiddie (6-5, 215) holds career averages of 12.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 26.3 minutes in 364 games (177 starts) with Detroit, Brooklyn and Washington. He has appeared in 44 games (all starts) for the Wizards this season and is averaging 12.6 points, a career-high 4.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 30.2 minutes.

Dinwiddie was one of three NBA players, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bojan Bogdanović, to increase their scoring average in every season between 2014-15 and 2019-20. He averaged a career-best 20.6 points for Brooklyn in 2019-20.

The Los Angeles native was selected by Detroit in the second round (38th overall pick) of the 2014 NBA Draft after a three-year college career at the University of Colorado. He earned First Team All-Pac 12 honors as a sophomore in 2012-13. Dinwiddie suffered a season-ending ACL injury 17 games into his junior year and declared for the draft after the season.

Dinwiddie will wear No. 26 for Dallas.

Bertāns (6-10, 225) holds career averages of 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 19.4 minutes in 365 games (39 starts) with San Antonio and Washington. He has shot 40% (723-1,807 3FG) from 3-point range and 86.1% (353-410 FT) from the foul line for his career. Bertāns saw action in 34 games for Washington this season and is averaging 5.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 14.7 minutes.

Bertāns ranked eighth in the NBA in 3-point field goals made (200) in 2019-20, behind Mavericks guard Tim Hardaway Jr., who finished seventh (204).

The Rūjiena, Latvia, native was selected by Indiana in the second round (42nd overall selection) of the 2011 NBA Draft but began his professional career playing overseas in Latvia, Slovenia, Serbia and Spain before signing with San Antonio as a free agent in 2016.

Bertāns will wear No. 44 for the Mavericks.

Brown was acquired by the Mavericks from the Celtics in exchange for guard Josh Richardson on July 31. He appeared in 26 games (1 start) for Dallas in 2021-22 and averaged 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 6.5 minutes.

Wizards assistant coach Mike Batiste suspended

Washington Wizards assistant coach Mike Batiste has been suspended two games without pay by the NBA for entering the spectator stands in an attempt to confront a fan, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations.

The incident occurred with 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Wizards’ 121-100 loss to the Miami Heat on Feb. 7 at Capital One Arena. Batiste will begin serving his suspension tonight when the Wizards play host to the Brooklyn Nets.

Wizards trade Aaron Holiday to Suns

The Washington Wizards have acquired cash considerations in a trade with the Phoenix Suns for guard Aaron Holiday. The trade also generated a trade exception for the Wizards.

Holiday (6-0, 185), has appeared in 41 games (14 starts) for Washington this season, averaging 6.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game. He holds career averages of 7.4 points, 2.3 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 223 games (55 starts) over four NBA seasons with Indiana and Washington. Holiday was originally acquired by the Wizards in a five-team trade with Indiana, Los Angeles, Brooklyn and San Antonio on August 6, 2021.