Washington Wizards Rookie Talks Guarding Boston Celtics Star

Washington Wizards rookie Kyshawn George was thrown right into the fire in his NBA debut, drawing the assignment of guarding Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

It's not an easy task defending one of the league's top scorers, but George embraced the challenge.

"It was great," George said via Monumental Sports Network insider Bijan Todd. "I expected it, I wanted it, I was looking forward to it. ... I was definitely looking forward to that matchup, just to be able to guard him, do my best, and learn as much as possible."

Tatum scored 25 points in Boston's 122-102 win against Washington, but he shot just 9 of 20, and 3 of 11 from beyond the 3-point line. That was a step down from Tatum's debut earlier in the week against the New York Knicks, where he had 37 points on 14 of 18 shooting along with eight 3-pointers, so the Wizards should be satisfied with their effort.

Having George adopt the mindset of playing the best players in the world is a great sign for the Wizards and his development this season. Playing in such a strong matchup to start the season is not easy, but getting this one matchup out of the way should make George feel confident about games going forward. That's exactly what a player's rookie season should be about.

Rookies often talk about the idea of playing against the best in the world, but it's one thing to talk about it and another to actually do it. George should be given some props for handling the matchup with maturity, and for that, he should continue to earn the Wizards' trust throughout his first season in the league.

George and the Wizards are set to host Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers in their next game tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET.

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