Wizards' CJ McCollum Proving Himself Better Than Jordan Poole

Ending a 14-game win streak may be one of the few highlights or points of praise for the Washington Wizards in the first quarter of the season so far. However, it's how they did that which offers hope for the remainder of the team's schedule going forward.

Playing on the last year of his multi-million dollar deal, CJ McCollum joined the Wizards this summer via a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans. In a swap of veteran guards, Washington sent Jordan Poole back to the NBA Western Conference and welcomed McCollum.

CJ McCollum tied the Wizards’ franchise record for threes in a game (10) tonight. After hearing he tied Trevor Ariza, his former teammate, he vows to break it. pic.twitter.com/sGEznEcF09
— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) November 26, 2025

After starting the season 1-1, the Wizards fell hard and fast with losing for month straight. Three overtime losses haven't helped head coach Brian Keefe look like the right man for the job. However, he remains on Washington's sidelines calling the shots for now.

The Wizards' star player, who took 13 shots of his own from three-point range, made ten of them. His 46-point performance was a major reason why the losing streak is over in both the regular season and the NBA Cup Tournament.

Washington is thankful for McCollum and his services. Here's how the former Portland Trailblazer has created a new path for the young Wizards' core.

CJ McCollum connected on 10 of the Washington Wizards 38 three-point attempts. The team made another nine against the Hawks. — Nov 25, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum (3) shoots the ball as Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) defends in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

1. Improved shooting from deep has allowed the Wizards to score more.

A season ago, Washington's offense was dismal. They averaged 108 points per game, fourth-worst in the NBA but somehow third in the Southeast Division. The Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, and the Brooklyn Nets were the only teams with a lower scoring average than the Wizards.

The team was a bottom-three field goal shooting team percentage wise and just as bad from behind the arc. Last season, Poole led the Wizards in scoring with 20.5 points per game.

Wizards guard CJ McCollum connected on his 10th three-pointer with his last make, tying Trevor Ariza (Feb. 12, 2014 at Houston) for the most threes in a single game in franchise history.#ForTheDistrict
— Wizards PR (@WizPRStats) November 26, 2025

Poole averaged 37.8% from behind the arc. He connected on an average of three or four off his nine attempts per game.

McCollum is averaging 18.2 points per game entering Thanksgiving, which is just 2.3 points less than Poole. However, the Wizards' veteran guard takes two fewer shots from behind the arc than Poole did. Thus, this makes McCollum more effective from deep and has become contagious among his teammates.

Corey Kispert, Bub Carrington, and up-and-coming star Kyshawn George are all averaging at least 40% from deep, just like McCollum. Washington is now one of the best three-point shooting teams with an average of 38.3% on the season so far.

Jordan Poole may have scored more and averaged more assists than CJ McCollum. However, he also turned the ball over more. — Apr 8, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole (13) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (00) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

2. The passing has improved with McCollum on the team, and not Poole.

Last season, the player with the highest assists per game average was Poole. He had 4.5 per contest for the Wizards a year ago. McCollum averages 3.4 per game but doesn't have to be the focal point of the passing game in Washington.

George leads the team with 4.9 assists and Carrington is close to him with 4.2 assists per game. Wizards center Alex Sarr averaged 2.4 assists during his rookie season with Poole. This year, Sarr is averaging a whole assist more while seeing his scoring improve by more than five points and his field goal percentage jump more than 13% with McCollum on the team.

Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum has done better for the team than Jordan Poole statistically, despite their 2-15 record. — Nov 16, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard CJ McCollum (3) dribbles the ball between Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton (33) and guard Egor Demin (8) during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

3. McCollum isn't adding to the Wizards' turnover issues like Poole did.

Poole averaged three turnovers a game last season for Washington. McCollum is averaging half of that with just 1.5 turnovers per game.

While as a team they haven't been able to fix the turnover issues from a season ago, McCollum is doing his part for this young Wizards team that hasn't a winning season in more than five seasons, nor have they made the NBA Playoffs since Scott Brooks was their head coach.

Between McCollum and Keefe, Washington has a path forward. One in which that fortunately no longer involves Poole.

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