When the Washington Wizards landed Jordan Poole in a blockbuster trade a couple offseason ago, fans were anxiously hoping that the guard could take the steps necessary to be the next star in Washington.
In his first season with the Wizards, the Michigan product showed flashes, but he could never quite put it together. In fact, it's fair to say that Poole showed more struggles than signs of encouragement throughout his first year in Washington.
After his first season ended in a benching, Poole's $29 million salary mixed with his horrid play had him listed as one of the worst contracts in the NBA as a whole.
However, Poole didn't let the setback hinder his career. Instead, the playmaker put his head down last offseason and put in the work to be better not only for himself, but the Wizards as a unit. The former first-round pick did enough to earn the keys to the offense as the team's primary ball handler before the season even started from the same man that benched him last year, Brian Keefe.
Through 65 games, Keefe's decision has looked to be the right one consideirng the guard has put together a career-year for the Wizards. Poole is averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3 rebounds on the season, while shooting 43% from field goal range and 38.1% from three - improvements in every category dating back to his struggles last season.
However, his season averages aren't what we're here to talk about.
Jordan Poole adds his name to Wizards history
In Monday's matchup against the Miami Heat, Poole finished with a game-high 35 points to pair alongside 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals, while shooting 58.8% from field goal range and 53.8% from beyond the arc. And while his game totals alone is a talking point, the guard made history along the way.
After knocking down 7 threes in the team's loss, Poole set the Wizards/Bullets franchise single-season record for 3-pointers made with 224 passing long-time Wizard Bradley Beal who set the record in the 2016-17 season.
With 7 games left to play, Poole still has time to add to his new record and make it an even taller task for the next great shooter to surpass in the future.
Although the writing seems to be on the wall for the Wizards to move on from Poole at some point in the near future, his name will be in the Wizards history books for the forseeable future.