The NBA All-Star Break is officially here as the regular season continues to unfold quickly with yet another eventul offseason looming.
Unfortunately, the Washington Wizards find themselves without an NBA All-Star once again, extending the streak to five years with the last nod being awarded to Bradley Beal during the 2020-21 season.
On the bright side, Washington will be well represented in California over the weekend after the team tied a franchise record having 3 (!!) players selected to compete in the NBA Rising Stars game.
Obviously, the original 3 selections were awarded to sophomore breakouts Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George, with standout rookie Tre Johnson set to join them.
However, after the news about Sarr being sidelined for the next couple weeks with a hamstring injury, the league moved quickly to fill the big man's roster spot doing so with yet another Wizard in second-year man Bub Carrington.
With Carrington being the replacement for the 7-footer, the Wizards franchise-tying record lives on...for now.
Following the recent injury news regarding the reigning No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Cooper Flagg, the league will be forced to find yet another replacement for the Rising Stars game.
All that to say, it won't be a surprise if yet another Wizard is selected to suit up over All-Star Weekend.
Will Riley deserves Rising Stars nod
It seems safe to say the Wizards have one of the best young cores in the league, and part of that comes from the fact that general manager Will Dawkins and President of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger have done such an outstanding job filling in the gaps and taking swings when they've had the chance to.
Arguably one of the team's biggest swings came this offseason, selecting Will Riley from Illinois in the back half of the first round after spending his lone college season serving as a sixth man for the Fighting Illini.
Nonetheless, based on his breakout performances in the G-League and impressive play as of late, not only does Riley look like a major hit, but he looks like one of the best young players not only on the Wizards, but in the league.
Averaging 15.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals on shooting splits of 43.2% from field goal range and 40,6% from beyond the arc through the month of February, the oversized guard is starting to put it all together.
Considering the Rising Stars mission to show the best young talent in the league, it's hard to argue that the 20-year-old with the size to play in the frontcourt, handle of a backcourt playmaker and smooth jumper isn't among the top young talent in the league.
If the league is looking for a replacement for Flagg, their search should once again stop in D.C.