Washington Wizards: Thomas Bryant is rewarding the Wizards for their trust

Thomas Bryant is the starting center for the Washington Wizards. Get used to it.

“Thomas Bryant is our starter.” – Washington Wizards GM Tommy Sheppard, November 23, 2020

It may not have been a quote that sat well with Wizards fans after free agency; after the team signed veteran center Robin Lopez and missed out (by choice or by chance) on all other free-agent options. Well, how about now?

A month and a half after Sheppard publicly announced Bryant as the starter, the Washington Wizards are on the wrong side of .500. However, they have improved to 2-5, and things don’t look as terrible as they did after back to back losses to the Bulls. Thanks in large part to Thomas Bryant. Through seven games, Bryant is averaging 17.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.0 blocks. He’s on pace to have the best season of his career.

Thomas Bryant is doing exactly what the Washington Wizards expected when they named him their starter.

Seven games into the season, and the Wizards’ trust in Bryant is already paying off. After his dominant performance against the Brooklyn Nets (21 points, 14 rebounds) in which Bryant had the go-ahead bucket and game-sealing rebound, Bryant ranked as one of the NBA’s most efficient offensive players per Synergy Sports. Statistically, he’s one of the closest things to a guaranteed bucket that there is right now.

Whichever way you want to look at it, Bryant is an incredibly efficient scoring machine. It’s early in the season, but as of January 5, Bryant is third in the NBA in field goal percentage (0.667). No one is shooting better on two-point attempts (0.717), and he ranks in the top 15 in three-point percentage (0.500). His true shooting percentage ranks third (0.724). His effective field goal percentage ranks second (0.724). He’s unstoppable!

Even with Bryant’s success, the Wizards still aren’t where they want to be in the standings. But that’s not Bryant’s fault. He’s putting in the work and putting up numbers that we hardly see. Per NBA stats, Bryant’s efficiency over the last three games (a loss to the Chicago Bulls and wins over the Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets) is RARE. In those games, Bryant made a combined 26 of 30 shots. Only three other players in the past 30 years have had such efficient three-game runs: Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, and Clint Capela.

This nearly unparalleled efficiency may not last the whole season. There’s a reason streaks like this are so rare. And teams will have to start keying on Bryant. Or else. But what Bryant has that none of those other names have is a three-point shot. He’s making half of his shots from outside this season and doing it on decent volume; 2.6 attempts per game. That makes him uniquely tough to stop. Especially when surrounded by mismatch nightmares like Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal, Rui Hachimura, and Davis Bertans.

After Bryant’s injury-riddled 2019-20 season, few would have blamed the Wizards for moving on and looking for a new frontcourt centerpiece. Many were begging them too. But the Wizards trusted a 23-year-old who’s given them nothing but his best since he arrived. Bryant’s taken advantage of every opportunity the Wizards have given him, from being claimed off waivers in 2018 to replacing an injured Dwight Howard to now being the undisputed starting center. So far, that trust is paying off.