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Greg Finberg: FINAL | WAS 112, IND 105: Jaden Hardy: 13 PTS, Carlton Carrington: 13 PTS, Anthony Gill: 13 PTS. The Wizards win (lose) the first game of this tanking battle. Washington didn’t play Champagnie or Watkins and benched 3/5 starters for the final 17 minutes, but a late 14-0 run propelled them to a win.
Adam Caporn, Wizards assistant coach: Alex Sarr has really improved as a screener, something we’re always trying to get better at. But when he misses the first screen, he re-screens, and with Bub (Carrington)’s ability to shoot the ball off the dribble, that creates a lot of attention. … Alex just reads his closeout and just attacks. It’s subtle, but I think last year, he didn’t attack with as much ferocity — and understandably. He’s still developing physically. He’s trying to read the defense. There’s a lot going on in the NBA. Against size and length, it’s difficult.
Bub Carrington does not regard his newest accomplishment as a big deal. But the numbers reveal how rare his achievement is. On Thursday night, when his Washington Wizards host the Denver Nuggets, he will play in his 125th consecutive regular-season NBA game. Streaks like Carrington’s don’t happen often. He owns the NBA’s fourth-longest active consecutive games streak, trailing only the New York Knicks’ Mikal Bridges and the San Antonio Spurs’ Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie, according to Sportradar.
Carrington doesn’t call attention to his own streak, and, during an interview Wednesday afternoon, he sounded as if he would prefer that everyone would focus on almost anything else. The number of games he’s played in a row, he explained, is a byproduct of his love of the sport and the fierce work ethic fostered by his late father, Carlton Carrington Jr., a beloved youth basketball coach who was known as “Big Bub;” his mother, Karima Carrington; and his older brother, Kareem Montgomery, who played football at Lehigh University.
“I find joy in playing basketball every single day,” the Wizards guard said. “I don’t see it as a streak, honestly. I don’t see it as what everyone else does. This is my job. I made it this far so that I can play basketball, so I can be in the NBA and I can play basketball every day. “Missing games, I didn’t know until I got here (that that) was a norm. Like, I thought playing was the norm, but it’s really not, in a way. The streak, that doesn’t really mean anything to me. It’s just me going out there and doing what I love to do. It’s normal. It’s normal playing every day, you know?”
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He was traded from Washington in the summer of 2024 for Malcolm Brogdon and first-round picks from 2024 (used to select Bub Carrington) and 2029. At the time, the trade was largely viewed as an overspend by the Blazers for a player who averaged 14.7 points and 7.2 rebounds the year prior. After his first 20 games, Avdija scuffled, averaging 11.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists. In eight of those games, he came off the bench. “When I came here, it was hard for me to find my role,” Deni Avdija said. “I had to find a new identity.”
After sleepwalking a bit through the first half, the Spurs woke up and flipped the switch in the second half, turning a four-point leading into a blowout 119- 94 win, allowing the starters to rest since they play again tomorrow in Atlanta. Dylan Harper led the way with a career high 24 points, and five other Spurs joined him in double figures. Five Wizards scored in double figures, led by 18 from Alex Sarr and 17 from Bub Carrington.
Varun Shankar: Rick Carlisle about #Wizards rookie Bub Carrington: "He’s a terrific young player. He’s had a lot of good games against us … he’s skilled, he’s big, he’s versatile, he can play different positions. I think he’s a good defender, his shooting is the real deal."
Varun Shankar: I asked Carlisle if he had any player comps for Bub and he turned the question back on me. I said an upper echelon version could be Derrick White (doesn't get to the rim, shoots well, defends well). "I agree with that," Carlsile said. (2/x)
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As expected, the Washington Wizards soon will exercise their third-year team options on Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, AJ Johnson and Alex Sarr and their fourth-year team options on Bilal Coulibaly and Cam Whitmore, team sources said. The options are for the 2026-27 season and are part of these players' rookie-scale contracts.
Josh Robbins: Bub Carrington (sore knee) was a full participant in the Wizards' practice today, Brian Keefe said.
Josh Robbins: Bub Carrington (left knee soreness) was a light participant in practice today, Brian Keefe said. It's unclear whether Carrington will be able to play in Wednesday's regular-season opener. Keefe said the team is still evaluating that.
Josh Robbins: Bub Carrington is out for the remainder of tonight's game because of left knee soreness, a team official said.
