The season is over for yet another member of the Washington Wizards' young core.
Wizards swingman Corey Kispert underwent surgery Tuesday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, the team announced on X. Kispert sustained the injury as Washington completed its season sweep of the Denver Nuggets last week at Ball Arena.
The injury will sideline Kispert for the rest of the 2024-25 season. But the team noted that the the 26-year-old is expected to make a full recovery by the time the next season rolls around. Corey joins Bilal Coulibaly as the second Wizards rotation player to have his season end early due to injury.
Kispert is in the fourth and final year of his rookie contract. He signed a four-year, $54 million extension in October that keeps him under contract through the 2028-29 campaign. The Wizards have a player option on the final year of the new deal.
The Gonzaga product took somewhat of a step back in his fourth year. Last season, Kispert averaged a career-high 13.4 points on 48.6% shooting from the floor and 38.3% from beyond the arc.
Corey had trouble finding his stroke early in the year. He shot just 35/111 from distance over the first two months of the season.
Kispert's shooting stabilized later in the year, but not enough to prevent his season numbers from dipping to 11.6 points on a career-low 45.1% shooting and 36.4% from deep.
After starting in 103 games over his first three years of his career, Kispert was deployed exclusively off the bench across 61 games this season.
Kispert may not be one of the Wizards' more high-ceiling prospects, but his ability to space the floor on a cost-efficient deal could prove essential once Washington starts turning the corner over the next couple of seasons.
Related: Corey Kispert Gets Real On Deni Avdija's Return To Washington
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This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 6:00 AM.