{"id":3297,"date":"2025-10-09T18:40:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T18:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/?p=3297"},"modified":"2025-10-09T18:40:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T18:40:35","slug":"cj-mccollum-adds-steadying-presence-to-young-wizards-core","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/09\/cj-mccollum-adds-steadying-presence-to-young-wizards-core\/","title":{"rendered":"CJ McCollum Adds Steadying Presence to Young Wizards Core"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When the Washington Wizards <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/wizards-pelicans-trade-cj-mccollum-jordan-poole\" title=\"\">acquired\u00a0CJ McCollum\u00a0this summer<\/a>, it was a strategic addition with meaningful intent, bringing in experience for a team that\u2019s still learning what winning looks like in the NBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McCollum joins a young roster full of promise but still searching for an identity. His arrival isn\u2019t about taking over, it\u2019s about bringing steadiness that only a veteran can. Already, teammates describe a presence that commands respect through consistency and professionalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forward\u00a0Justin Champagnie\u00a0said McCollum set the tone from the start. \u201cCJ is a very vocal leader,\u201d he said. \u201cHe talks to the guys, especially the young guys, kind of gets them in the right spot. And he doesn\u2019t really play around. He\u2019s truly professional.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That professionalism is quickly becoming his reputation in Washington. It shows in how he communicates during practice, how he prepares as an athlete, and how he carries himself on and off the court. For players trying to navigate the early stages of their careers, having someone like CJ McCollum around every day is a masterclass in habits that last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Champagnie pointed out that watching how McCollum approaches his work has already been a learning experience. In a league that tests players mentally as much as physically, examples like that carry weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-9-16 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Justin Champagnie on CJ McCollum\u2019s Impact: \u201cHe\u2019s Truly Professional\u201d\" width=\"563\" height=\"1000\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6scTQx_iUfg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>CJ McCollum isn\u2019t the only veteran offering guidance.\u00a0Khris Middleton, who arrived last year, has joined him in creating a culture of accountability and openness. <a href=\"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/03\/wizards-new-rookies-fit-franchise-blueprint\/\" title=\"\">Rookie\u00a0Will Riley<\/a>\u00a0said both veterans have been approachable from day one. \u201cAnything you come to them with, they\u2019re gonna answer for you,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not trying to make us feel like rookies too much. They\u2019re really great vets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Riley shared that when he asked Middleton how he\u2019s stayed in the league so long, the answer was simple: be coachable. It\u2019s a message that reflects the same steady approach McCollum has built his career on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For most of his 11-year run, McCollum has been known as a scorer and reliable guard. But in Washington, his value is measured in something less visible. This stage of his career isn\u2019t about shot volume or minutes played. It\u2019s about perspective and mentorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He\u2019s seen the highs of playoff pushes and the grind of seasons that don\u2019t go as planned. He knows the rhythm of a NBA season. Those experiences now shape the example he\u2019s setting for the Wizards\u2019 young core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>McCollum has praised the Wizards\u2019 organization, calling it one of the most structured and professional environments he\u2019s been part of. For a franchise intent on long-term growth, that endorsement from a respected veteran carries weight. It signals alignment between leadership and locker room which is the kind of foundation general manager Will Dawkins values.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Wizards\u2019 future will depend on how quickly their young core develops, but CJ McCollum\u2019s impact won\u2019t be measured in stats. It\u2019ll be seen in the habits he leaves behind and the unspoken lessons that will support the future of the franchise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CJ McCollum\u2019s move to Washington grabbed headlines, but it\u2019s his leadership and professionalism that are standing out now. Teammates say his voice is already shaping a young Wizards locker room.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[70],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-3297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wizards","tag-features"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/CJ-McCollum-e1760035035895.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3297"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3302,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3297\/revisions\/3302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}