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The Washington Wizards play the red-hot Golden State Warriors on Monday. Despite losing Klay Thompson and failing to trade for Lauri Markkanen in the offseason, the Warriors jumped out the gate to a 5-1 record, thanks to hot shooting from Buddy Hield and stifling team defense. On the other hand, the Wizards have started as expected, slumping to a 2-3 record with former Warriors X-factor Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma. Likewise, they have looked to get some reps for the No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr.
Before the game, Poole showed some love to the young Warriors fans in attendance at Capital One Arena, seen in this video shared by ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.
Jordan Poole signed autographs for these young fans ahead of the Warriors-Wizards matchup 🙌
(via @NBCSWarriors)pic.twitter.com/66nn6DSGSu
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 4, 2024
Homecoming for the former Warriors star
It's good to see Jordan Poole give space to young Warriors fans after they traded him to the Wizards coming off a disastrous final season with Golden State in 2023.
During training camp, Poole got into it with Draymond Green, which resulted in Green punching Poole in the face, a move that irreparably destroyed team chemistry and ruined their chances to defend their 2022 championship.
Additionally, the defensive mastermind had an up-and-down season that year, as the NBA suspended Green indefinitely for getting into physical altercations with several players.
Still, the Warriors took out the upstart Sacramento Kings in a hard-fought first round playoff series that went seven games, and they put up enough of a fight against the Lakers, who eliminated them in six games.
Despite being the X-factor in their 2022 championship run, Poole was nonexistent in the Lakers series, averaging only 8.3 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in six games. Moreover, the team even benched him in Game 4 of that series because of his lack of production.
After that season, the Warriors cut their losses with Poole and traded him to the Wizards in exchange for Chris Paul, perhaps hoping for the young guard to rejuvenate his career as the primary option on a bad team.
The new season
In five games in 2024-2025, Poole has upped his scoring again, showing fans why the Warriors relied on him to score the ball besides Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. His extra offense had defenses scrambling to defend him and Curry, allowing their offense to maintain fluidity and movement.
Meanwhile, the Warriors have moved on from missing the playoffs in 2024 to come out roaring to a 5-1 record, partly due to red-hot shooting and smothering team defense.
It remains unclear whether this shooting streak is sustainable throughout 82 games, but if they should somehow hit a slump at any point, they'd have stacked up some wins to stay ahead in the standings.
