![\"Washington](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/TMC-L-Wizards-1.jpg\")
Washington Wizards\u2019 CJ McCollum, a Lehigh graduate, shoots over Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 Myles Turner during the second half, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Kylie Bridenhagen)<\/p>\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Former Lehigh basketball star CJ McCollum has a lot of balls in the air \u2013 and not just the orange ones that he regularly puts in the basket at arenas across North America.<\/p>\n
In his first season with the Washington Wizards, the veteran NBA star has a wide range of interests off the court, from his young family to his wine label to producing his own podcasts. On top of that, the one-time Patriot League star from Ohio recently ended a run as the president of the NBA Players Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is about the mentality. Idle time sometimes can be the devil, so I try to stay busy,\u201d said McCollum, 34, standing by his locker after scoring 17 points in a loss at home to Phoenix on Dec. 29 at Capital One Arena. \u201cI am a husband and father now so that changes how you look at things but also how you delegate your time. It is about impacting society, mostly on the court. I always try to take advantage of the blessings that I have and I think I have done that.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCollum and his wife, Elise, have two children under the age of four and they try to take advantage of what the capital region has to offer.<\/p>\n
Before the game against the Suns, on a blustery day in the DMV (District-Maryland-Virginia), the family spent some time at the Lincoln Memorial \u2013 less than two miles southwest of Capital One Arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a great place to live,\u201d said McCollum, who was drafted out of Lehigh by the Blazers in the first round in 2013 and played in Portland before going to New Orleans during the 2021-22 season. \u201cThere is diversity and opportunity, especially for young adults. It offers so much from food to monuments to history to parks. It is a cool city with so much culture and history that we really enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCollum has more time on his hands after ending a four-year stint last summer as the NBA Players Association president.<\/p>\n
Washington Wizards\u2019 CJ McCollum, a Lehigh graduate, shoots over Milwaukee Bucks\u2019 Myles Turner during the second half, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo\/Kylie Bridenhagen)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a lot (of work). I just learned the importance of communication and be selfless and doing things that may not benefit you individually but benefit the collective. I had a great working relationship with the NBA,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also takes time for the finer things in life \u2013 his Heritage 91 wine label is based in Oregon with distribution in nine cities, he noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are excited about the growth and have some things in the works out in Oregon throughout the year but other parts of the United States as well,\u201d McCollum said.<\/p>\n
On the court, the native of Ohio provides veteran leadership for a team that is struggling to post wins. The Wizards had their first two-game winning streak this year come to an end with the loss to the Suns on Dec. 29 as Washington fell to 7-24 on the season.<\/p>\n
The former Lehigh standout was averaging 14.9 points per contest this season through Jan. 1. For his career, he was averaging 17.2 points per outing in games through Jan. 1. He had 46 points, with 10 3-pointers, in a November game.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 31 at Milwaukee, he scored 18 points \u2013 including the game winner in the closing seconds \u2013 as the Wizards won 114-113 to improve to 8-24.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never want to lose but that is what we have been doing most of the season. It is about growth and development. It has been a pleasure to be around the young guys. The organization has been great to me; the communication has been topnotch. Now it is about taking advantage of the opportunities and doing things the right way,\u201d said McCollum, traded by New Orleans to Washington last summer. \u201cI try to lead by example and do things the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aaron Gill, who starred at the University of Virginia, is in his sixth year with the Wizards and welcomes the leadership of McCollum. \u201cHe has a wealth of knowledge and we can pick his brain each and every day,\u201d Gill said. \u201cIt has been a blessing to have him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 6-foot-3 McCollum was the two-time Patriot League player of the year at Lehigh and considered declaring for the NBA draft after his junior season, but returned for his fourth season.<\/p>\n
His older brother, Errick, also had a productive pro hoop career \u2013 but thousands of miles from their family roots in Ohio.<\/p>\n
A guard who played at NAIA school Goshen in northern Indiana, Errick McCollum has been one of the top guards in EuroLeague play and has suited up for clubs in China, Greece, Israel, Russia, and Turkey, where he began the 2025-26 campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy brother and I talk almost every day. We have a very unique relationship. We watch and keep up with each other\u2019s game, and push each other on and off the court,\u201d Errick McCollum said in an interview after a game in Kazan, Russia late in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has had an amazing career; he has worked extremely hard,\u201d said the Wizards\u2019 guard, who saw his brother play in the EuroLeague final four in person last May in the United Arab Emirates. \u201cHe watches a lot of my games (online). Even though we have that big time zone difference \u2026 we are happy for each other. We work out and train together (in the summer). Without him I would not be where I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notes: Former Bucknell standout Mike Muscala is an assistant coach with Phoenix; he played in the league from 2013-24 for several teams, ending up with Oklahoma City in 2023-24 \u2026 McCollum was named in 2016 as the NBA\u2019s most improved player, while with Portland \u2026 His wine label is named after the street he grew up on and his birth year, 1991 \u2026 In the past the McCollum brothers have given away food during Thanksgiving in Ohio and have run youth basketball camps in Akron. They grew up in nearby Canton.<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s note: Virginia native David Driver has covered college, including the Patriot League, and pro basketball in the Washington area for 30 years. He is the author of \u201cHoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas,\u201d available at Amazon and at daytondavid.com.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2013 Former Lehigh basketball star CJ McCollum has a lot of balls in the air \u2013 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,726,432],"class_list":{"0":"post-80665","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-top-stories-tmc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}