WASHINGTON D.C. — The Washington Wizards lost 122-112 to the Utah Jazz at home on Thursday, but it was a perfect night for the franchise. Between star guard Trae Young's Wizards debut, the tank standings, and rookie big man Julian “JuJu” Reese's historic outing, there was plenty to like.

Head coach Brian Keefe opened up about Young's on-court leadership postgame.

“Guys like that, they generate energy and confidence for their teammates,” he said. “There's an energy that he plays with, unselfishness that he plays with, that stuff's contagious. You could feel that with our passing. He's a scorer too, but his unselfishness…that stuff I really believe is contagious. The ball was moving well and I was really pleased with that.”

To Keefe's point, eight of Washington's 10 players notched multiple assists and eight scored double-digit points. The only one who didn't do either was guard Jaden Hardy, who recorded four points (1-7 FG, 1-4 3-point) with one assist across 11 minutes.

Young tallied 12 points (4-9 FG, 1-5 3-point) with six assists, two rebounds, and two steals over 19 minutes, but the excitement he brought to Capital One Arena can't be measured by the box score. The 27-year-old had many of the 17,689 fans in the crowd screaming with his left-handed layup for his first bucket, his fake behind-the-back pass during another drive, his and-one three, and more highlights.

Young is on a minutes restriction as he heals from knee and quad injuries that limited him to just 10 games played for the Atlanta Hawks this season before they traded him to the Wizards on Jan. 7, but Thursday still showed why the latter team acquired him. The four-time All-Star's ability to get to the rim and create open looks for teammates has been foreign to Washington since the John Wall era, outside of Russell Westbrook's stint with the team in 2020-21. Instead of having a committee approach at point guard, the squad finally has an engine.

With big men Alex Sarr (hamstring) and Anthony Davis (finger) out, Young primarily set up other guards for three-point attempts. The former All-NBA honoree assisted two-way forward Leaky Black, third-year guard Bilal Couibaly, rookie guard Tre Johnson (twice), and second-year guard Bub Carrington on long-range buckets. In total, he was responsible for 29 points.

At the same time, the Wizards still lost to the Jazz, who were without starters like forward Lauri Markkanen (hip), forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee), and guard Keyonte George (ankle). That gives them more breathing room in the tank standings, as they have the fourth-worst record (16-46) while Utah is fifth-worst (19-44). Washington must finish with a bottom-four record to guarantee the retention of its top-eight protected lottery pick this summer.

Plus, the team is now just one game ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and Indiana Pacers, who are each tied for second-worst. Finishing second-worst would guarantee a top-six pick, while third-worst would guarantee top-seven, and so on.

For now, Wizards fans can finally enjoy having a star player in the lineup again before the franchise focuses on winning games next season and beyond.

JuJu Reese makes most of Wizards opportunity

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Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) talks with Washington Wizards forward Julian Reese (R) after their game at Capital One Arena.
© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

With Davis out since early January, Washington had little big man depth after sending Marvin Bagley III to the Dallas Mavericks in the Davis deal on Feb. 4. Sarr hasn't played since the 132-101 loss to the Miami Heat on Feb. 8, and backup seven-footer Tristan Vukcevic (thigh) hasn't played since Saturday's 134-125 defeat to the Toronto Raptors.

Enter Reese. The Wizards signed the Baltimore native to a two-way contract on Saturday and thrust him into the starting center role for Monday's 123-118 home loss to the Houston Rockets, which was his NBA debut. He started again in Tuesday's 126-109 defeat to the Orlando Magic before logging 18 points (5-7 FG), 20 rebounds (10 offensive), two assists, and one block over 38 minutes on Thursday. His rebounds were the most by any rookie this season and the most by a Washington rookie since Tom Gugliotta (20) against the Philadelphia 76ers on Jan. 29, 1993. Additionally, his sister Angel Reese was the youngest WNBA player to record 18-plus points and 10-plus offensive rebounds in a game last season, and he's the youngest NBA player to do so this season.

JuJu told ClutchPoints his impression of the Wizards organization postgame.

“Great team, great organization. Great for developing guys,” the former Maryland Terrapin said. “There’s a lot of guys who came here that are nice players and make a lot of money, they told me that from jump. Just try to maximize your talents…”

Washington's development program since general manager Will Dawkins and president Michael Winger took over in 2023 has produced a foundation of young talent led by Sarr, second-year wing Kyshawn George (UCL), Johnson, Coulibaly, Carrington, and rookie forward Will Riley. It will take more than one historic game against another tanking team for Reese to become part of that long-term group, but he will give the front office something to think about if he keeps performing that way.

Up next for the Wizards is a road date with the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday night.