Do the Washington Wizards really have the worst big 3 in the NBA?
In a recent article by Nick Mac on Fadeaway World the Washington Wizards were ranked last in the NBA in terms of strength of their big three. The reasoning made sense, but there are some other teams that seem just as bad if not worse. However, this list continues a trend of Wizards players being underrated by various news sites.
This rating seems unfair with the fact that they just added young standout Jordan Poole and managed to retain Kyle Kuzma in free agency. However, they lack a third player in their trio. While other players on the roster showed flashes of greatness last season, particularly Tyus Jones and Deni Avdija, nobody has really established themselves as the third-best player on this Wizards roster.
In light of the lack of a real third option, Jones was listed as the third member of the big three. However, his career stats were used to show why he isn’t great as a third option. This is misleading as the 27-year-old point guard took some huge steps forward in the last two seasons and was great in the absence of Ja Morant last season.
Jones seems set up for a breakout season with the Wizards after his ability to step up last season. This only makes this ranking more frustrating as it fails to take into account any growth in Wizards players while also taking potential trades and growth into account for other teams.
Who should be ranked below the Washington Wizards?
If the Washington Wizards aren’t the worst big three in the league, then who is? That is a great question.
While there aren’t many teams that I would rank below the Wizards, there are two or three that have a case for bottom of the league in this category.
First, the Charlotte Hornets. LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Terry Rozier. The trio combined for 99 games played last season with tons of off-the-court issues plaguing the team distracting from actually winning games.
Ball has had recent issues with recurring ankle injuries, causing concern for his ability to stay on the court. Miles Bridges missed all of last season after significant legal issues and is going to spend a chunk of the season on the bench serving a suspension.
The second team that has an argument for the worst big three in the league is the Portland Trailblazers. While they do currently have Damian Lillard, it is very likely that he gets traded before the end of training camp.
Once we get past Lillard, the Trailblazers are left with Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and either Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe. The two best players in the Wizards core trio are better than every player on the potential roster for the Trailblazers.
The third team is the Houston Rockets. They spent a ridiculous amount of money in free agency, however, it was not spent wisely. They now boast a big three of Fred VanVleet, Jalen Green, and Alperen Sengun.
While Sengun has a high ceiling, he has yet to reach those heights yet and Green is one of the worst defenders in the NBA while being incredibly inefficient on a losing team. Neither have shown that they can have a legitimate role on a winning team yet and have already started to develop bad habits on the basketball court.
While Fred VanVleet is a former All-Star, he fell off a bit last season. At age 29, you would hope that he doesn’t start regressing, but he clearly has. He is also one of only two players on the roster to have been a part of a deep playoff run along with Jeff Green.
The Washington Wizards may be far from having the best core trio in the league, but they shouldn’t be ranked dead last. There are clearly teams that should rank below them.
