{"id":777255,"date":"2026-07-22T05:25:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/777255\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T05:25:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:25:08","slug":"column-will-riley-is-a-star-in-the-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/777255\/","title":{"rendered":"Column | Will Riley is a star in the making"},"content":{"rendered":"

After Will Riley<\/a> declared for the NBA Draft<\/a> at the end of the 2024-25 season, the question that many Illini<\/a> fans wanted an answer to was, \u201cWhat if he stayed for another year?\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, one year into Riley\u2019s NBA career, it\u2019s safe to say that he would have been one of the best college players in the nation, should he have stayed. Riley has progressed at a rapid rate since he first donned a Washington Wizards<\/a> jersey last summer, and now, he\u2019s a high-upside piece on a team full of young talent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A dominant 32-point performance<\/a> in Las Vegas was the most recent headline for Riley, who the Wizards shut down for the rest of Summer League after only his second outing. Riley looked extremely comfortable out on the floor, scoring with more ease than most other players who were on the floor at the Thomas and Mack Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the ultimate gym wrecker,\u201d said Wizards Summer League head coach TJ Sorrentine<\/a>. \u201cOne of the hardest workers on the team. So, it never surprises me what he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those just tuning in, Riley didn\u2019t just go off in Summer League \u2014 he\u2019s been quietly building a strong resume for the last year. From November to early January, Riley played five games for Washington\u2019s G League affiliate, and it was clear that he didn\u2019t belong \u2014 for good reason. Riley averaged<\/a> 26 points on 52.2% shooting before spending the remainder of the season firmly planted in the NBA.<\/p>\n

After the first half of the NBA season was full of inconsistent minutes and performances for Riley, he got his opportunity in the latter portion of the year and took full advantage. Riley scored in double figures in 12 of the last 15 games of the season and even had back-to-back 30-point outings. He ended the season as one of only 11 qualifying rookies<\/a> who averaged double-digit points.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s safe to say, if there was a redraft, it\u2019s very possible Riley would have been a lottery pick on many teams\u2019 boards. Washington is certainly glad to have picked him up at No. 21<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJust his pivots, the way he moves, he\u2019s so shifty,\u201d Sorrentine said about Riley\u2019s offensive game. \u201cYou know, he\u2019s like Manu Ginobili type. You know, he\u2019s like one of those guys who just kind of gets to his spot and does things and you\u2019re like, \u2018How do you do that?\u2019 So we\u2019ve seen that ever since he\u2019s been with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riley is one of the best young scorers in the league. He can get to the rim, pull up early or hurt a defense from beyond the arc. A \u201ccan\u2019t leave him unguarded\u201d mindset has to be employed against Riley, or defenders should be prepared to see the ball go through the net.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that Riley will continue to impress as a scorer, so he\u2019s trying to add more to his playmaking bag, which will give him even more offensive versatility. According to Riley, he\u2019s been in the gym \u201cevery day\u201d with his trainer, so he\u2019s clearly putting in the time \u2013 now it\u2019s just a matter of translating it into game scenarios.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been on the ball a little bit more this year, so I\u2019m just trying to fine tune my handle, making reads,\u201d Riley said. \u201cLike when I get in the paint, knowing there\u2019s a guy open \u2014\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to make those reads consistently to the point where the defense will break down.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wizards are full of young talent, and the addition of the No. 1 overall pick, forward AJ Dybantsa<\/a>, has made the playing time at Riley\u2019s position even more crowded. However, with how he developed late last year and the high-level of play he showed in Vegas, Riley should be a lock for meaningful minutes, as long as he stays on this track.<\/p>\n

There is one way he can set himself apart, though: the defensive end. Riley has the length and athleticism to be a very effective defender, but he needs to put on weight, which has been a consistent challenge as he\u2019s jumped levels quickly. Riley reclassified to go from high school to college a year early and joined the NBA under a year later. His body catching up will help, but focus and grit are foundational pieces of defensive success that Riley can embrace right now. If all goes right, Riley could become a legitimate two-way threat, which every team loves to have.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can be a first team, all-defensive team guy,\u201d Riley said. \u201cSo I mean, that\u2019s just what I\u2019m trying to make an impact on on the defensive end. I said in college I was being a lot lazier on the defensive end. Just letting guys blow by me, not being a help side, but definitely want to bring it to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington is an ideal situation for Riley to grow into a special player. He\u2019s got several other young, talented teammates that will continue to push him, veterans in Trae Young<\/a>, Anthony Davis<\/a> and Khris Middleton<\/a> that will hold him accountable and an organization that truly seems to believe in him. Right now, Riley has the potential to be a highly productive sixth man, and in time, a bright star in the nation\u2019s capital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

@sahil_mittal24<\/p>\n

[email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After Will Riley declared for the NBA Draft at the end of the 2024-25 season, the question that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-777255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}