The Washington Wizards opened their 2026-27 Preseason in the “World’s Most Famous Arena,” Madison Square Garden, to play the defending NBA Champion New York Knicks as fans of the Wiz got to see faces of the team like Anthony Davis and No.1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa suit up for the team for the very first time.

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And what a contest it was as the Wiz got the preseason victory on the road over the Knicks in a close battle with a final score of 111-109, and while getting the win is always the headline and the goal for the team, there were takeaways from the game that should make fans even more excited, and some takeaways we should track as well.

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AJ Dybantsa will immediately be able to impact games in other ways besides the offensive end

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Often, scoring the ball on the NBA level comes more naturally to 19- and 20-year-olds entering the league than stopping others from doing so, but if tonight’s game was any sign of things to come, that won’t be the case for AJ Dybantsa.

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The No.1 overall selection showed why he was selected that high with an immediate impact on both ends, but most expected the freshman who led the NCAA in scoring to have that aspect of his game translate from the get-go, scoring 11 points tonight on 5-for-11 shooting, making his mark in this game in transition. Still, Dybantsa’s defense is what stood out the most.

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Coming up with a game-high 4 steals in the first half, AJ showed an element of his game that should make Head Coach Brian Keefe and his staff very comfortable about how the rookie will fare on both sides of the ball this season.

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Trae Young and Anthony Davis look like the players we love

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Understandably, there was some worry with bringing Young and Davis to Washington. Not known for having the greatest history with star players, many wondered if both guys were on their way here with the sole intention of getting paid and giving minimal effort before being shipped off elsewhere.

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“We’re gonna give our fans something to cheer about; we’re gonna come in everyday with the mentality of being great.” said the 10-time All Star Davis on September 29th after practice, and alongside the flashy tablesetter in Young they showed that at MSG.

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Posting a game high 16 points, including going 2-3 from 3PT, AD looked the healthiest he has in a long time, and primed to remind the league that he is one of its very best bigs. Likewise, Trae, who scored 15 points in 17 minutes, reminded us of that must-see player who lit up the Garden 5 years ago, including one 3-pointer that he hit off one leg, which is a signal to a fanbase that has desperately missed it that an infectious style of basketball is returning to D.C. with him running the show.

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There’s a lot of mouths to feed in the rotation

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A new problem of sorts for the Wizards, but it was very apparent on Thursday night, that the Wizards have a lot of players whose skills will demand heavy rotational minutes.

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Just from Thursday’s rotation, the players who you assume we’ll see a lot this season will be: Trae Young, Kyshawn George, AJ Dybantsa, Deandre Ayton, Anthony Davis, Will Riley, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, Justin Champagnie, Bub Carrington, and Tre Mann most teams don’t run an 11-man rotation, and this isn’t even counting guys who didn’t suit up like 3rd year big Alex Sarr who will play major minutes, along with Khris Middleton who you’d think will play some as a seasoned vet with the young guys and this is something that Coach Keefe will have to figure out.