Julian Reese Continues To Impress With Wizards
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The Washington Wizards have had an interesting 2025-26 season, marked by a lot of roster overhaul and laying the groundwork for the franchise's future. Washington added all-stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis through midseason trades in hopes of pairing them with the young core of Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Bilal Couliably, Bub Carrington, Will Riley, and more.
Although the Wizards currently carry a 17-63 record, which is the league's worst and has them sitting in 15th place in the Eastern Conference, it sets them up with one of the top chances to land a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
But one positive that has emerged from this season is the addition of Julian Reese in late winter. The former four-year Maryland Terrapins basketball star signed a two-way contract with his hometown team back in February and has run away with the opportunity he's carved out for himself.
In 11 games played, and nine starts, Reese is averaging:
31.5 minutes per contest, 11.8 points, 1.9 assists, 11.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals on 52.5% shooting from the floor.
Reese has logged three-straight double-double performances in the Wizards past three contests:
Game | Points | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
April 9th vs. Chiacgo | 16 | 15 | 2 | 0 |
April 7th vs. Chiacgo | 17 | 11 | 2 | 3 |
April 5th at. Brooklyn | 17 | 16 | 0 | 3 |
Two of Reese's best performances both came against the Utah Jazz back. On March 25th, he scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, and then at the beginning of the month, on March 5th, he scored 18 and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds.
Wizards undrafted rookie Julian “JuJu” Reese 18 PTS (5-7 FG, 8-8 FT), 20 REB (10 offensive), 2 AST, 1 STL vs. Jazz in 3rd career NBA game
— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) March 6, 2026
Most rebounds in a game by a rookie this season https://t.co/YHTfo0oQ84 pic.twitter.com/8LuwaLQgxT
His outstanding and consistent play has put him in the record books: the 22-year-old has grabbed the most rebounds by an NBA player in their first 10 career games this century. Reese is also averaging the most offensive rebounds (4.6) as a rookie since Hall-of-Famer Hakeem Olajuwon.
Chuck Douglas had posted on X another statistic in the rebounding department that Reese finds himself in which is:
Most Rebounds across the first 11 games of a player's career, since 1985:
∘ Shaquille O'Neal (172)
∘ Dikembe Mutombo (156)
∘ David Robinson (138)
∘ Julian Reese(128)
∘ Tim Duncan (125)
Most Rebounds across the first 11 games of a player's career, since 1985:
— Cʜᴜᴄᴋ ᴅᴏᴜɢʟᴀs ✪ (@ChuckDouglas_) April 10, 2026
∘ Shaquille O'Neal (172)
∘ Dikembe Mutumbo (156)
∘ David Robinson (138)
∘ JULIAN REESE (128)
∘ Tim Duncan (125)
-- Ju Ju Reese has 4 games with 15+ Points and 15+ Rebounds in his 11-game rookie… pic.twitter.com/GUNJsSJdPq
What Does That Mean For Ju-Ju's Future With The Wizards?
Reese is playing himself into a standard contract in D.C. With Sarr and Davis both missing time due to injuries, it has allowed Reese to get valuable reps to develop his skills further and showcase what he brings on a nightly basis.
Reese easily fits into the long-term plans of the Wizards, but the lack of depth at the big-man position off the bench can carve out a role for Reese to easily slide into and be a source of rebounding, athleticism, and size down in the paint.
General manager Will Dakwins has previously stated that, after those big trades this season, it's all about finding out which young players will be a part of the future around the pairing of Young and Davis.
Reese has definitely earned his place in those plans and discussions. Washington has two games remaining in the season: today against the Miami Heat and Sunday at Cleveland.
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.