WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Jordan Poole first became a Washington Wizards player in July 2023 as part of a deal that sent Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors.
To hear teammates and coach tell it, his real arrival came much later.
Poole may have worn the Wizards uniform for all of last season. But the talent that earned him top 10 votes in the NBA鈥檚 Most Improved Player polling for two straight years at Golden State only fully resurfaced deep into a difficult 15-win campaign, and after the Wizards parted with former coach Wes Unseld Jr. in favor of Brian Keefe.
鈥淔rom last year to over the summer to now, I think Jordan is a much different person,鈥� Kyle Kuzma, last year鈥檚 Wizards leading scorer, said at Monday鈥檚 team media day. 鈥淚 think that he鈥檚 Jordan Poole. I don鈥檛 think last year, he necessarily was. He was a little bit quiet, a little bit standoffish.鈥�
One of Keefe鈥檚 first focuses after taking over in January was getting Poole into more ball-handling situations, something Poole believes is much more suited to his strengths.
鈥淏eing able to get into transition, building confidence into my teammates. It鈥檚 something I鈥檝e always been able to do, especially with the ball,鈥� Poole said. 鈥淕uys are open, just get them the ball and try to put them in situations to be successful.鈥�
And results suggest both Poole and the Wizards benefitted.
Poole improved his scoring average by about two points and his assists average by about two 鈥� without a major increase in turnovers 鈥� in the final 40 games coached by Keefe. His five highest scoring games all came in that stretch. Three of his four double-digit assist games came in the final 10 the Wizards played.
Washington鈥檚 winning percentage was only fractionally better under Keefe, but in general the performances were more competitive.
While the Wizards have added more players they view as on-ball decision makers this offseason, Keefe confirmed giving Poole that responsibility will again be a focus.
But that alone can鈥檛 explain the evolution his teammates have seen, he said.
鈥淛ordan unlocked himself,鈥� Keefe said. 鈥淲e stylistically gave him the ball. But I just wanted Jordan to be himself. This is a guy who鈥檚 already had a great career. I just wanted to remind him that that鈥檚 who he is.鈥�
Teammate Corey Kispert suggested it鈥檚 as simple as getting used to new surroundings, as well as a new role where he鈥檚 expected to take on a larger profile on and off the court. It鈥檚 something Kispert hasn鈥檛 experienced yet through three NBA seasons playing on his rookie contract.
鈥淵ou can just tell his blood pressure is a lot lower,鈥� Kispert said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 imagine the kind of stuff he was dealing with his first year here, coming to a brand new team, to a place he鈥檇 never been before, and you鈥檙e asked to do a host of different things where maybe he didn鈥檛 have that role or responsibility with the Warriors. It felt like he was juggling a lot of different stuff.鈥�
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AP NBA:
Ian Nicholas Quillen, The Associated Press
