This season has been absolutely terrible for the Washington Wizards and their fanbase.
Washington has lost more than triple the amount of games they've won, which included multiple blowout losses like their 53-point blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.
Although this season has primarily been about the development of their young core and acquiring draft capital and more players that can contribute to their rebuild, it has been hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Between teh slow start for reigning No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr, to the disgruntled saga with Kyle Kuzma at the NBA trade deadline and now the season-ending injury to promising guard Bilal Coulibaly, it felt like the Wizards luck was simply against them.
However, if there is anything that Wizards fans should be positive about, it should be the underrated ability that the front office has shown over the course of the season finding a player like Justin Champagnie.
Justin Champagnie is showing promise
Justin Champagnie went undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft after spending his college career at Pittsburgh. The forward made multiple stops throughout his time in the league, between teams like the Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics and the NBA G-League, it seemed that Champagnie's career would be nothing more than an end of the bench guy, if that.
However, the 23-year-old has turned things around during his time in Washington this season and he's shown plenty of promise. Champagnie is averaging 7.8 points and 5.1 rebounds, while shooting 49.5% from field goal range and 37.7% from three.
And while, those stats may not stand out to be flashy, he's put together multiple huge performances for the Wizards throughout the season that far exceed those averages.
Despite his solid play, there were times that Champagnie genuienly thought about just quitting the game he loved simply due to the fact that he couldn't seem to find any traction on any team he joined.
However, the Wizards front office and head coach Brian Keefe have seemed to found a diamond in the rough with Champagnie and the credit deserved to go to both sides. Of course, the forward has been putting in the work to improve his game, but Washington did a good job identifying his talent and sticking with him through his struggles to help him develop.
If the Wizards can identify talent like they have with Champagnie moving forward, that alone should give fans a hope for the rebuild in the future. Just remember, Rome wasn't built in a day and this rebuild will take time, but in the end, it will be worth it.