PITTSBURGH — Former Pitt Panthers star Bub Carrington had one of his best games in his young NBA career on Saturday night.

Carrington led the Washington Wizards in their 125-111 home defeat to the Atlanta Hawks with 23 points, shooting 9-for-13 from the field and 5-for-7 from 3-point range.

This is a new career-high for him in points, eclipsing his previous high of 18 in a road loss to the New York Knicks on Nov. 18.

Carrington leads all NBA rookies with 29.1 minutes per game while ranking second with 3.9 assists per game, fourth with 1.6 3-pointers per game, fifth with 81.8% shooting from the free throw line, tied for fifth with 0.8 steals per game, eighth with 8.6 points per game and 10th with 3.9 rebounds per game.

He also ranks fifth with a 34.1% 3-point field goal percentage amongst rookies who average 2.0 attempts or more per game.

Carrington came to the Wizards in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Wizards got the No. 14 pick (Carrington) in a trade that sent Deni Avdija to the Trail Blazers. They also received Malcolm Brogdon, a 2029 first round pick and two second round picks.

He is part of a stellar rookie class for the Wizards that includes French center Alex Sarr (No. 2 overall) and Miami forward Kyshawn George (No. 24 overall), who hails from Switzerland.

His great play led him to a spot in the Rising Stars Game, where he’ll play amongst the best rookies and sophomores in the NBA during All-Star Weekend on Feb. 14.

Carrington has also crafted a strong relationship with former Pitt forward Justin Champagnie (2019-21), who has started 14 contests for the Wizards this season.

He has built off of what was an impressive NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in July. He averaged 32.6 minutes, 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 32.9% from the field, 35.9% from 3-point range and 86.4% from the foul line, which helped him earn NBA 2K25 All-Summer League Second Team honors.

Carrington starred for the Panthers last season, earning All-ACC Rookie Team honors, the first Panther to do so. 

He started all 33 games for Pitt, averaging 33.2 minutes, 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game, respectively, while shooting 41.2% from the field, 32.2% from 3-point range and 78.5% from the foul line.

One of his best games came in the season opener, as he scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in the win over North Carolina A&T, becoming the first Panther to have a triple-double in their debut in program history.

Carrington was the first Pitt player to go in the first round since center Steven Adams did so when the Oklahoma City Thunder selected him with the No. 12 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

He was also the first Panther to earn an NBA Draft selection since the Hawks took Lamar Patterson in the second round in 2014.

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