RizDaPrince

[GM Rizzo]

Washington been waiting a mighty long time to return to relevance. Let's see what Prince got

I didn’t want a ready-made team to jump on to and just grab an early ring, and wanted a franchise that hadn’t won in a long, long time.

I was hoping Keshawn got drafted to the Wizard. A lot of young players, especially guards and wings, on that team though.

Tons of young talent but we aren’t ready to contend just yet. I’m hoping a starting lineup of Carrington, Tre, Coulibaly, Prince and Sarr can grow into a dominant team in a couple seasons.

this team has talent bro lowkey

Definitely some good players here. Hoping the front office does the right thing with the vets and moves them for pieces or picks. Now, I need to focus on cracking this rotation!

[GM Rizzo]

The first five games of the season have come and gone and it hasn't been met with much success for young Prince. Opening night in Washington, the 21st overall selection was ready to go when his name was called...only it wasn't. A DNP:CD slapped in the scorer's book next to his name is not something he's ever experienced. One would think that being blown out by the Celtics would have lent an opportunity to get the rookie some run, but his rookie premier would have to wait for Game #2.

The Wizards would host the Cleveland Cavaliers and Prince would finally get some run. Inserted into the game with 1:25 left in the first quarter, head coach Brian Keefe called a play for Riz to come off a down screen and either flare out to three or curl into the lane depending on what the defense gave him. Max Strus trailed him over, so Prince ripped tight around the Marvin Bagley pick and attacked the rack hard, only to get knocked on his ass even harder by Jarrett Allen. Welcome to the league, rook!



He's shot thousands of free throws in his career before. State title runs in high school. Big Ten conference tournament games as a freshman at Oregon. But none seemed to loom larger than this one as he stood all alone in front of 15,000 Wizard fans looking on. Calmly, like he's done his entire life, he sank them both and finally felt like he belonged.



Points weren't plentiful for Prince as the game went on, routinely being matched up with Defensive Player of the Year candidate Evan Mobley. Late in the 3rd quarter, he got a switch on to a better matchup in DeAndre Hunter, who's no defensive slouch himself. Able to snake his way into the lane, Riz stepped right, came back left and smoothly laid it up with his strong hand over the outstretched arm of Hunter for his first professional bucket. A loss always stings, but tonight was a chance to celebrate his first game as an NBA baller.

The next two games saw the Washington Wizards and Atlanta Hawks trade home games. While Wizards rookie Tre Johnson - the 4th overall selectionin the 2025 NBA Draft - was getting most of the hype, Prince Riz was looking like this was his chance to make a name for himself against 2024's first overall selection Zaccharie Risacher.



Riz pressed and pressed all game long, looking to make a name for himself. What actually happened was he embarrassed himself and lost both games for his team. In the first matchup, Prince tried getting into his bag against the Hawks wing stalwart. After eventually making his way into the paint, Risacher seemingly was waiting for the half-hearted layup attempt only to swat it into oblivion.



In the second game against the Hawks, Prince was even more aggressive on both ends of the floor. Attempting a career-high 12 shots in just ten minutes of play, he only connected on one of them. Then getting aggressive on defense saw him on the wrong end of a poster by Kristaps Porzingis en route to a 4th straight loss to open Washington's season.

Hosting the Miami Heat, the Wizards were in dire need of a win to get this going in the right direction. Realizing that it was more about the team getting wins than making a name for himself in the opening moments of his NBA career, Prince found himself just trying to fit in with the immense collection of young talent that Washington had at its disposal. While the counting stats weren't gaudy - eight points and four boards - he was as efficient as he could be from the floor and showcased the skills that made him a first round selection.



After a screen-and-roll went poorly communicated by Jaime Jaquez and Kal'el Ware, Prince Riz found himself with a clear runway. There was no way he was laying this sucker in. Oh no. He was rising up to give the fans something to talk about! Moments like these were frequent at Redondo Union, getting a steal on the break and being all alone for Showtime. They were a bit less frequent at Oregon but he made sure to make the most of them. With this being the 5th game of his NBA career, it was clear that these opportunities weren't going to be as plentiful as he was used to. As he elevated, Prince cocked the rock back with two hands and gave the rim as much punishment that his 196-pound frame could muster. The crowd rose to their feet and felt like "that's the kid we drafted!"



Late in the 3rd quarter, seeing the last moments of run that he would in this contest, Prince lost Simone Fontecchio on a cross screen, caught and rose up for a three like he had done many times prior this season. After only connecting on one of his first 15 three-point attempts in the first four games, his hard work in the gym showed itself tonight as he drained the 2nd of his five shots from beyond the arc, giving the Wizards an 8-point lead going into the final quarter. Washington would go on to win by the skin of their teeth, but that didn't matter. A win is a win and the Wiz finally got themselves a dub!

After the win, a local gym reached out to Prince's reps to discuss an endorsement opportunity. His popularity was starting to grow in the D.C. area and Urban Athletic Club wanted to get in on this opportunity before it was too late, offering Prince a small chunk of change to run a few ads for them during Wizards game. With this being his first endorsement opportunity, Prince jumped at the offer and is now handing out U.A.C. gear in the Wizards locker room.

[Captain Canada]

My boy needs to eat a meal

Tough start to the season, but I'm a big fan of the "slow grind" type of chise anyways.

[GM Rizzo]

My boy needs to eat a meal

Tough start to the season, but I'm a big fan of the "slow grind" type of chise anyways.

Lmao yeah for sure. My plan is to bulk him up as I increase his strength over time.

I’m a fan of slower burns as well. Using this upgrading app, there are a ton of chances to earn extra upgrades as a rookie…none of which I’m on track to achieve lol.

[GM Rizzo]

With the first handful of games having come and gone in his career, Prince Riz was about to see the Who’s Who of the NBA over his next five. Whether it be all-time greats or up-and-coming superstars, the Wizards were going to see some of the toughest individuals to slow down in the entire league.



The first of which was Steph Curry, a player Prince Riz grew up admiring as a kid in Northern California. The Warriors were in the height of their dynasty when basketball was taking a strangle hold on Prince and consuming his life, so he looked at Steph like his spirit animal.



Steph his damn thang like he has done forever, draining shot after shot as the hapless Wizard defense did what they could to slow him down. Anytime that Washington made a run to keep it close or even take the lead, Curry was there to squash their hopes.



One pairing that is starting to show signs of life is the connection between Prince Riz and his fellow rookie teammate Tre Johnson. Lately, Johnson has been on the receiving end of Prince drive-and-kicks for open threes in the corner. Tonight, Tre returned the favor throwing a beauty of a lefty hook pass to the top of the key that Riz calmly corralled and sank for three. The more chemistry Prince can form with the young core of the Wizards, the more valuable this front office will see him as.



Going into Memphis didn’t yield any better results for Prince or the Wizards. The Grizzlies’ defense was stifling and Prince found out first hand that if you don’t go to the rack hard, former DPoY Jaren Jackson Jr. will teach you a lesson.



A trip to Orlando saw Prince matched up with young stud Paolo Banchero. There were plenty of trips that saw Riz guarding him as well as he possibly could but the Magic superstar proved the saying “good offense beats good defense” was true on this night.





On the second night of back-to-backs, Prince’s young legs seemed to be a difference against an older Houston roster as he was able to get going for career-high 11 points. He showcased his athletic ability by blowing past Jeff Green for a reverse layup and also the ability to avoid defenders with his floater game. When things start to slow down, Prince seems to have all the tools to be an All Star in this league in the future. While the career-high in points was great, it was still an L and Prince just isn’t used to stacking losses like Washington is this season.



A second stop in Texas brought the Wiz to San Antonio against Victor Wembanyama and his Spurs. A two nights after dropping a career-high 11 points in Houston, Prince bested that by one as he poured in 12 points in just 10 minutes of run. Of the four buckets he had, none was more impressive than this instinctive catch-and-shoot triple over the outstretched arms of Wemby. Even better was this career-high scoring output led to a rare Wizard win! But man, missing two free throws is not acceptable…



The fifth and final game of this early season road trip brought the Wizards back to Atlanta to play the Hawks for the third time this season but first game of NBA Cup group play. In a rare opportunity to play with starting center Alex Sarr, Prince took full advantage on this play as Sarr buried the defender with a screen, giving Riz a clean look at a triple that he was able to knock down. Just like the first two games against the Hawks, Prince struggled and is now shooting 4/26 from the floor in three games against Atlanta.



Returning home against a Cade Cunningham-less Detroit Pistons squad, Prince gave the Washington crowd something to cheer about in one of the better well-rounded performances of his young career. Playing as an undersized power forward hurts at times, but when Isaiah Stewart tries locking him up on the wing gave Riz the chance to show out. A jab step right and quick cross left saw Prince’s first step blow past the lumbering big man. Stewart tried to block it from behind but Riz dropped a weak-hand hammer that got the crowd on their feet!



In an instance, Prince thought this was his chance to make a name for himself and decided to hit Beef Stew with the flex that the crowd ate up. While the dunk went viral on X, it wasn’t for the highlight factory but more so because of the lack of definition in the string bean arms Prince was showcasing. A great performance from the rook, a win for the Wiz and some fun on the side was exactly what this squad needed in their return home.

[The JZA]

I see the vision here, I'm definitely following

[GM Rizzo]

I see the vision here, I'm definitely following

Good looks, bruh!

[GM Rizzo]

After seven straight losses for the Wizards, things were looking bleak in Washington as starting center Alex Sarr went down with an ankle injury. There’s no way this team would be able to pull itself out of the doldrums of the league without their second year stud defensive anchor, especially against the Mavericks and Nuggets.





Hosting the Mavericks in Washington, it was a matchup that Prince Riz was waiting for since his first game as a freshman as an Oregon Duck as he got to take the floor with Cooper Flagg once again. Unlike in the early games against the Hawks and Zaccarie Risacher, Prince had a different mentality at this point of his young career. He wasn’t going out looking to “get his”. He was just out looking to make the right, winning basketball plays. Whether that was screening off ball, spacing the floor, kicking out to the open guy or being aggressive off the bounce, there was a clear improvement in his form lately.

While his numbers in this one won’t blow you away - seven points, six boards, three dimes on 2-5 shooting, Prince played tremendously and was on the floor for crucial runs that put the Wizards up early in the game. While Cooper Flagg was a much more dominant force - the Mavs were without Anthony Davis - Riz walked away from the game with a win and a sense of belonging as an important member of this Wizards franchise.

Two nights later, the Denver Nuggets came to town with Nikola Jokic leading the way. He was every bit as advertised but the Wizards were scoring early and often. While Prince was struggled to find his shooting stroke, he was taking shots that any coach would have been happy with and was able to make some defensive plays to spark runout buckets to keep the crowd behind the team.

After a second straight win, Coach Keefe summoned Prince to his office to discuss his role on the team so far and going forward. While it certainly wasn’t the start to his career that he was looking for statistically (6.2 points on 32% FG, 27.5% 3PT, 71.4% FT, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.2 steals and 0.3 blocks) or as a team (6-21 record, 14th in the Eastern Conference), Brian Keefe was seeing improvement in Prince’s performances as the game was seemingly slowing down for him. With that said, his role would be increased from a 10-12 minute a night player to closer to 18 or so minutes.

With a ton of young talent on this roster between Prince Riz, Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, Tre Johnson and Cam Whitmore, there isn’t going to be enough room for all of them on the roster for the long term. Prince’s immediate competition is Cam Whitmore as they both play the same combo-forward position with Whitmore a much more polished scorer while Prince is more a do-it-all type player. While team success is first and foremost, Riz has to look out for himself and put distance between him and his competition and that starts with Whitmore.

[Agent]

Pretty cool stat tracker for upgraded roles

[The JZA]

Man has an apple watch on his chise. That's a neat touch