Replay on the Johnny Davis' catch and shoot look and it just looks really uncomfortable…
Don't know what happened pic.twitter.com/YKA2CmqHDK
— wizzy (@youngwizzyDFS) October 10, 2023
Yeah, this doesn’t look like the same player who averaged 19.7 points as a sophomore for the Wisconsin Badgers. This looks like a player who’s overthinking because of the situation he’s in.
There were concerns that a team would draft Davis too high based on his offensive output in college, and while Wisconsin built an offense around him, don’t forget that he didn’t end his sophomore year on a good note, which happens on occasion, but being drafted by the Washington Wizards a franchise that has been known to have a poor track record of lottery picks that have flamed out, this is why former Wisconsin Badgers star Johnny Davis finds himself in a situation where he might have trouble cracking the rotation for the second-straight season.
Can former Wisconsin Badgers star Johnny Davis turn it around?
The roster construction for the Washington Wizards this upcoming season makes it challenging to see a pathway for Johnny Davis to receive minutes.
The team already has Corey Kispert slotted in as one of the starters at small forward, and the team traded for Danilo Gallinari this offseason. Washington doesn’t make that trade unless they believe Johnny Davis makes that jump in year two, but he didn’t show any flashes in the 28 games he played.
That’s the other concerning part of this: how many 10th overall picks only play in 28 games during an 82-game schedule? Not many because warning signs were going back to last season that the former Wisconsin Badgers’ star had trouble adjusting to the speed at the NBA level.
Those concerns carried over into the regular season, where Davis spent most of the year playing for Wizards G-League affiliate Capital City Go-Go. He averaged 12 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 33.1 percent shooting from 3-point range in 32 games.
That was an opportunity for the former Wisconsin Badgers star to gain confidence before playing at the NBA level. With the three-headed monster Washington had last year, with Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis, and Bradley Beal, it wasn’t an ideal situation for Davis to contribute offensively.
Now, with a challenging rookie year under his belt, this could be a better chance for Davis to be a more impactful contributor this season.
For More Wisconsin Sports Content
Follow us @WiSportsHeroics for more content. To check out more top-tier Wisconsin Sports Content, click here!
