P.J. Washington may have had one of the best rookie seasons by any forward ever drafted by the Charlotte Hornets.
Depending on how you look at things, the Charlotte Hornets, have had, at best, a mixed history with the NBA Draft. Sure, names like Larry Johnson, Kemba Walker, and Emeka Okafor are the highlights, but more often than not, names like Adam Morrison, Frank Kaminsky, and Noah Vonleh have been the norm, at least in the last decade or so.
That all seems to be changing, however, as the last few draft-day moves Mitch Kupchak have made all seem to be panning out. The most recent of which is drafting P.J. Washington with the 12th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Reactions were varied when the 6’7″ forward out of Kentucky was selected in the middle of the first round, but he silenced many a doubter in just his first real NBA game, going off for 27 points while hitting an NBA record (in a rookie debut) seven three-pointers.
P.J. Washington didn’t put up spectacular numbers, nor did he win very many accolades, but his rookie season was one to remember for fans of the Charlotte Hornets.
More from Swarm and Sting
- Hornets: Where does Brandon Miller’s ceiling rank among other rookies?
- Charlotte Hornets grade out mostly average in position-by-position ranking
- Hornets News: P.J. Washington makes bold statement on Brandon Miller
- Grade the mock trade: Hornets snag Tyler Herro, flip Gordon Hayward
- Will the Charlotte Hornets be in the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery?
The soon-to-be 22-year old played well throughout the season but had the typical bumps in the road a rookie would have. His 12.2 points per game were fourth on the team and his 5.4 rebounds were also good for fourth on the squad.
His shooting was very nice as well, and of the players on the Hornets who took at least four three-pointers a night, his average of 37.4% was the second-highest of the team, so that kind of consistency from deep by a forward was welcome on a team that sorely needed improved outside production.
So, where does his season rank in terms of first-year guys who played his position? In terms of pure scoring and rebounding, you’d be hard-pressed to beat Larry Johnson, but that’s not surprising.
L.J. averaged 19 and 11 his first year and won Rookie of the Year honors, but that was on a team without much of a supporting cast. He was fully expected to be a focal point coming into the season and sure enough, he was.
When Washington was drafted, however, the state of the team was very much in question as Charlotte had lost their greatest player ever in the offseason and few knew where the bulk of the scoring would come from.
No one expected P.J. to come in and be the second coming of Larry Johnson, but he did enough to make people notice. Devonte’ Graham and Terry Rozier obviously got most of the attention while shouldering the offensive burdens this season.
Washington simply came in and let the game come to him, rarely forcing things and looked to get teammates involved while playing within himself. That’s not saying that his year wasn’t a good one, by any means. When compared to other Charlotte rookies at his spot, his year was comparable to some of the best.
Larry obviously set the bar high, but P.J. wasn’t too shabby in his rookie season. How does his rookie season compare to other guys taken at his positions?