The New-Look Wizards Made a Good First Impression in Their Preseason Opener

NEW YORK — AJ Dybantsa remains undefeated at Madison Square Garden.

A year after rallying BYU to a come-from-behind win against Clemson at the storied arena, Dybantsa and the new-look Wizards won their preseason opener 111–109 over the defending champion Knicks on Thursday night.

“I told everyone coming here I was 1-0,” Dybantsa said after the game. “I just wanted to come in and go 2-0, which I did.”

NBA preseason games aren’t much different from those in the NFL: The starters only play so much, and the players who log the most minutes may not be guaranteed a roster spot. But for a team that had yet to see Dybantsa against NBA competition or star duo Anthony Davis and Trae Young play together, Thursday’s preseason opener held some importance for the Wizards.

“It’s good to finally get a game under our belt,” Dybantsa said of playing with Davis and Young. “See what we can do out there.”

Here are some first impressions from Thursday night:

Davis showed no rust after a long layoff.

Thursday was Davis’ first game in nine months, after he injured his hand in January and didn’t see the court after being traded to the Wizards in February. Despite the long layoff, he didn’t show any rust. Davis hit his first three shots, including a pair of 3s, and finished with a game-high 16 points in just under 17 minutes.

“I thought he was terrific,” Wizards coach Brian Keefe said of Davis. “Anchoring our defense, his communication, his ability to zone up on the back side and then you saw just his efficiency on the offensive end. He’s going to settle us down when we play through the post because he’s so comfortable down there.”

Keefe started Davis alongside Deandre Ayton, which allowed him to play power forward, his preferred position. The Wizards also used lineups with Davis as the center, and it’s easy to see Alex Sarr joining the rotation once he’s healthy and allow Davis to play both positions during a game. Ayton grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds while Davis added seven.

“They controlled the game defensively,” Keefe said of his bigs. “You saw the rebounding by Deandre. We wanted to establish our size and physicality.”

Young played well both on and off the ball.

While the Knicks entered Thursday off their first championship season in 53 years, Young is coming off one in which he played just 15 games after requesting a trade out of Atlanta and battling injuries.

But his status as a Knicks villain remains unchanged. Young was promptly booed after being introduced Thursday, and on the court he reminded fans why they dislike him so. He scored 15 points in 17 minutes, dished out four assists and added a pair of steals. Young went 3 for 6 from behind the arc. He shot one triple on one foot, which Wizards assistant Patrick Ewing might have an opinion on.

Young started the game off the ball as Kyshawn George initiated the Wizards offense off the opening tip and had a game-high five assists. But Keefe played Young both on and off the ball and gave him extended run with the reserves as he led the second unit as a scorer and a playmaker.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who can make decisions,” Keefe said. “We think that’s going to be the best way forward for us to reach where we want to go to. He’s just so unselfish. Kicking the ball ahead. Looking for his teammates, that stuff just brings energy to your team.”

Dybantsa settled in and provided a few highlights.

The No. 1 pick had a rough start to the preseason, missing his first few shows from the field. But he got better as the game went on, stuffing the stat sheet and showing why teams spent the past year hoping for a shot at his services.

Dybantsa finished with 11 points on 5 for 11 shooting and added a pair of rebounds and assists. He missed all three attempts from 3. Defensively, he was a pest, using his 7-foot wingspan to deflect passes and disrupt the Knicks offense.

“The biggest thing I thought with him was that he had four steals,” Keefe said. “His effort on the defensive end, cutting people off, playing in the passing lanes, and then you saw him getting out in transition, getting easy baskets. Pretty good first showing.”

Dybantsa admitted he felt sped-up early on as he adjusted to the pace of the NBA. He said playing alongside Ayton and Davis allowed him to be more aggressive defensively because he knew he had two centers behind him if he got beat.

In addition to the defense and scoring, Dybantsa showed some playmaking ability, too. Knicks wing OG Anunoby started on Dybantsa, and the rookie held his own against one of the NBA’s best defenders. In the first quarter, Dybantsa drove on Anunoby and threw a pretty lob to George.

“There’s going to be a lot of opportunities where I can get easy assists if I just slow down a little bit,” Dybantsa said of his performance. “And defensively, just play without fouling. There was a couple of dumb fouls I got.”

One more note: The Wizards were without four players Thursday, but Keefe expects that number to drop to two in the near future. Sarr sat out as he continues to recover from a fractured foot, which occurred in a June workout, and Khris Middleton didn’t play as he continues to ramp-up as well, but Keefe said both players are on pace to play in the preseason. Jamir Watkins (ACL recovery) and Tristan Vukčević (hip) were also out.