The Washington Wizards have several intriguing young prospects on the roster entering the season.
Washington's general manager Will Dawkins has done an excellent job stacking chips on the roster over the last couple years and following an abundance of moves this offseason, the Wizards depth chart is in a much better place entering this season than it was when the regular season ended in April.
Looking at the additions of CJ McCollum, Cam Whitmore, Tre Johnson and even Marvin Bagley III, Washington has a variety of lineups that head coach Brian Keefe can roll out on a nightly basis.
Not to mention the potential breakout seasons for prospects like Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington or Kyshawn George.
However, one player who's not being talked about enough entering the season is Will Riley.
Riley was selected with the No. 21 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft and his arrival in D.C. was overshadowed by the team's selection of Tre Johnson No. 6 overall.
Despite that, the former Illinois standouts flashes throughout Summer League made it clear that Washington could have another potential star on their hands.
And following his impressive performance in Washington's second preseason game against the New York Knicks, Riley's hype only continued to grow.
The oversized guard turned heads with several flashy moves, but perhaps the most noteworthy difference between his lackluster performance in his debut compared to his 17-point outing in the win over the Knicks was his confidence.
Riley spoke on his growing confidence following a recent Wizards' practice:
“I feel like every practice, my confidence goes up and up," Riley said. "I feel like IQ translates very well [from college] and I feel like I have that.”
There's no doubt that Riley has the potential to develop into a star at the next level/
In fact, that's exactly why Washington took a swing on him in the first-round despite the fact he served as a bench piece for the Fighting Illini during his lone season of college play.
Nonetheless, potential means nothing without confidence, the same way talent means nothing without work ethic.
Fortunately, Riley seems to have all of the above, which could bode well for him to eventually put it all together and prove to be a building block for the Wizards.
Considering the growing confidence on and off the court, that time may come much sooner than originally expected.