PJ Washington leads Charlotte Hornets record-breaking win

2. PJ Washington wants to stay in Charlotte

No, forward PJ Washington hasn’t been asked if he wants to leave the team that drafted him. But after this preseason and the team’s season opener, he’s starting to make the case for staying in Charlotte instead of getting shipped to the organization’s G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.

Mitch Kupchak made it very clear after the draft that Washington could see a lot of time in Greensboro even if he was the No. 12 pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. It’s still a strong possibility, but after some strong play in the preseason and earning a starting spot for the season opener, he may never have to visit Greensboro this season.

In five preseason games, he shot 22-for-35 from the field, including 8-for-16 from beyond the 3-point line, totaling 61 points. He had at least five rebounds in four of his five preseason contests and even tallied four steals against the Philadelphia 76ers during their preseason matchup.

In the Hornets’ season opener, PJ Washington led the team in scoring, putting up 27 points in his rookie debut, besting Emeka Okafor‘s 2003-04 previous franchise record.

Washington hit 27 points thanks largely to seven 3-pointers, the most in NBA history by a rookie in his first NBA game. The previous record was set in 1994 by Donyell Marshall and tied in 2016 by Jake Layman. This record happened to be one of a few records set by the Charlotte Hornets in the season opener.

Washington will have to become a consistent scorer to stay on the main roster, but if he even remotely resembles his season-opening performance over the course of the season, the Hornets will have a hard time sending him over to Greensboro.