Kyshawn George is the towel

George's well-rounded skill set will allow him to thrive in any Washington future

There’s a sort-of joke in the classic sci-fi series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that the towel is just about the most useful item an interstellar hitchhiker can have. A towel can keep you warm, dry you off, act as a melee weapon when dipped in water, hide you from the hungry gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (which is very stupid but very very ravenous), and so much more. The humble towel doesn’t need to do all the things all the time, but the fact that it can do anything when necessary is what makes it so irreplaceable.

I’m not much good with subtlety. You know where I’m going, since I said it in the title: Kyshawn George is the towel.

As a rookie, George was a funky wing who caught my eye with a confident (if somewhat erring) shot and some passing flair. He seemed destined to grow into the prototypical 3-and-D-and-a-little-more role player that every winning team covets.

But even that rosy projection for a guy drafted at the end of the first round may have undersold him. As a sophomore, he’s improved his strengths and bolstered his weaknesses, turning him into a useful jack-of-all-trades capable of fitting into any lineup or position.

It starts, like so many basketball stories do, with size. George measured 6’7” without shoes at the 2024 Draft Combine, but he’s grown at least an inch since then. His near-seven-foot wingspan and forward-sized height and heft allow him to play virtually anywhere on the court.

But size is nothing without commensurate skill, and George is developing that in spades. George refused to settle into a comfortable 3-and-D role. He spent the summer playing competitive basketball at the AmeriCup for Canada, working on new tricks and sharpening old talents. There, he boasted a 23% usage rate (about what Franz Wagner posted for the Magic last year) and shot 46% from deep while making the All-Tournament team.

The AmeriCup may not have featured the stiffest competition (the All-Tournament honorees also featured Bruno Caboclo), but George’s ability to scale up set a promising tone for the season. Thus far, George has stampeded upon the NBA scene like a startled rhino.

Through five games, George is averaging 18.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game. He’s shooting a ridiculous, unsustainably high 55% from deep on more than six triples per game. And he’s still sporting a 22% usage rate, speaking to his prominent role within the offense.

George’s towel-like utility has been the skeleton key to his success. Sure, he’s upgraded his bread-and-butter. The three-ball has been cash all season, and we’ll get to the superb defense. But it’s the way he’s emerged as a first-among-equals in this uncertain Washington pecking order that’s surprised.

Technically, Bub Carrington and CJ McCollum are the point guards. But wisely eschewing traditional size/position alignments, Washington coach Brian Keefe has George running more pick-and-rolls than anyone on the team. That’s not an accident. George is the only guy on the roster capable of hurting opponents in the P&R as a shooter, driver, and passer.

Want a tasty pocket pass? Here you go, fresh from the oven:

Want an on-ball bomber who can suck in defensive attention? Take cover:

It’s important to pause here and note that George isn’t an elite accelerator. He has good lateral quickness but doesn’t have that blazing north-south first step so many elite advantage creators have. To compensate, George has figured out how to bully his way to the free-throw line by going through the defender’s chest:

Last year, George averaged 5.1 two-pointers per 100 possessions; now, it’s nearly doubled to 8.7. But he’s not constantly blowing by guys. Instead, there’s a little Cade Cunningham in the way he uses strength and craft to get into the paint for layups and short turnarounds:

And George doesn’t need the ball to get himself open (look at this dime from Alex Sarr!):

Defense and shooting get you on the stage, but breaking the defense thrusts you into the spotlight. George is blazing under the bright lights.

George’s increased physicality has paid off on the other end, too, where he has shone as the primary stopper. His list of top opponents guarded is breathtaking for the breadth and depth of stardom, ranging from cagey playmakers like Cunningham to hyperactive hedgehogs like Tyrese Maxey to snarling primordial forces like Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Nobody can stop players of that ilk, particularly not such a diverse cohort. You just want to make their lives as difficult as possible. George is the pebble in their shoe (regardless of shoe size). Look at him stick with a full-speed Maxey move for move, forcing him into a wild airball finger-roll:

Now watch him devour PJ Washington in the post:

Whether it be at the point of attack, as a low-man helper, or banging with the big boys in the paint, George is constantly getting in the opponents’ way despite a lack of supporting talent on that end: He’s the only Wizard on the roster without a negative defensive EPM. Further improvement is needed both individually and at the team level, but an All-Defensive nod in future seasons isn’t out of the question.

And I haven’t even mentioned what’s arguably George’s strongest attribute: Defensive rebounding. George’s 19.5% defensive rebounding rate is the highest of any wing in the league and nearly double what he posted last season. His rebounding punctuates defensive possessions and enables him to get the Wizards running off misses (Washington is a top-ten team in quickest time to shot).

Let’s take a step back. It’s unclear exactly how high George’s ceiling is as an offensive engine. The Wizards are still 1-4, and we saw George look like a second-year player against the vicious Thunder last night as he compiled five turnovers and five fouls. The reintroduction of Bilal Coulibaly into the starting lineup will likely cannibalize some of George’s offensive production. And, of course, we’re just five games into the season. Things can and will change.

But add up all the facts and figures, and George ranges from competent to excellent at nearly everything you can do on a basketball court. That grab bag of skills is important, because here’s the thing: The Wizards have no idea what they’ll be in two years. They are still looking for their tentpole superstar. Washington isn’t ruling out the possibility that George, Coulibaly, last year’s second-overall pick Sarr (having a tremendous sophomore season in his own right), or rookie shooter Tre Johnson could eventually become a consistent 25-point scorer, but they also have a top-eight protected pick in what’s shaping up to be an absolutely loaded draft. They’re almost certain to be adding another big talent next summer.

Great organizations custom-build teams around their superstars. Sarr is a very different player from Johnson who is a very different player from, say, Duke’s Cam Boozer; each, at their apex, would require a different supporting cast. Depending on who emerges as The Guy on the Wizards in the next few years, George will need to do different things to complement them.

He’s well-equipped to do so. George is a burgeoning playmaker, versatile defender, and deadeye shooter on and off the ball. They aren’t the same kind of player, but he reminds me a bit of Derrick White. There’s nothing George can’t do, which means there’s nobody he couldn’t play next to and no system he wouldn’t thrive in. He can morph into whatever the Wizards will need him to be; he’s useful.

The movie version of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy features a quick scene of the bad guys retreating from a terrycloth-brandishing hero: “He’s got a towel! Run away!” If you haven’t experienced Douglas Adams’ work before, you likely didn’t appreciate the towel quite as much before today. Don’t make the same mistake with George.