Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George built off of his promising NBA rookie season with a strong showing in the FIBA AmeriCup tournament, flourishing as a prized piece on Team Canada.
His team fell short, losing to Argentina in the semifinals before slipping yet again in the third-place game against the United States, but that run wasn’t for a lack of George. The Wizards forward capped off his summer of two-way play with a mention on the AmeriCup All-Star 5, right alongside some of the tournament’s other top performers.
Your #AmeriCup 2025 All-Star 5! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/hSuk5cCSbS
— FIBA AmeriCup (@AmeriCup) September 1, 2025
He packed the box score almost every game, leading the Canadians in scoring with 13.5 points in tournament play along with averaging 4.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 46.2% from 3-point land.
George had to step into the role of a go-to guy on a depleted national team, with usual Canadian stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray and Andrew Wiggins taking this less-publicized tournament off in lieu of preparing for next month’s start to the NBA season. He showed his occasional lack of aggression in the loss to the Americans, but this can be just the sort of preparation he needs to enter his next NBA campaign with even more momentum than he already had.
The late-first round draft pick enjoyed a high approval rating from anyone who flipped a Wizards game on during another losing 2024-25 season, showing his NBA value as a jumbo wing with spacing, defending and playmaking potential. His rookie statistics don’t leap out at anyone loosely scrolling through Basketball-Reference, but he managed to visibly improve on both ends as the season rolled on.
Kyshawn George stocks reel pic.twitter.com/kAnFJFoFi6
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) August 16, 2025
He completely missed out on the All-Rookie teams while fellow draft classmates Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington earned their respective shoutouts, but finally saw a major accolade for the strides he’s taken in the AmeriCup games. The suddenly-prioritized forward took his team farther than most 21-year-olds could have, and may have started on his quest to a sophomore breakout with this successful summer that included some similarly-exciting NBA Summer League performance.
He’ll be expected to conform to a much more constricted role on the 2025-26 Wizards, even though he and his team just 18 games a season ago. Washington is overflowing with prospects looking to take advantage of the franchise’s willingness to provide opportunities to those who earn them, and George, having proven himself as an intriguing rookie, is set to be one of the first Wizards off of the bench in his placement behind fellow prospect Bilal Coulibaly on the depth chart.