JAMIR Watkins

Watkins played 50 games last season for Washington, averaging 20.6 minutes a night. He put up 7.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, with 1.1 steals and 0.5 blocks. He shot 44.6% from the field, 29.7% from three and 69.5% from the line, good for a 55.4 true shooting mark. His usage rate sat at 14.8%, showing he was a complementary piece rather than a primary scorer, and his plus-minus came in at -3.3 over that stretch.

Watkins' minutes spiked in April as the season wound down. He logged a season-high 43.7 minutes against Brooklyn on April 5, scoring 20 points with 8 rebounds and 2 assists in a loss. Three days later he had 14 points and 3 rebounds against Miami. He followed with 13 points against Chicago on April 7 and 9 points in a second matchup with the Bulls on April 9. He closed with 7 points against Miami on April 10 and 24 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 34.3 minutes against Cleveland on April 12 — his biggest scoring night of that stretch, though Washington lost all six of those games.

Watkins is a 25-year-old forward out of Florida State, listed at 6-5 and 210 pounds. He wears No. 5 for Washington and has one season of NBA experience. Last season was his rookie-level introduction to the league, and he carved out a steady role off the bench for the Wizards, playing in 50 games and showing flashes of scoring punch late in the year, including that 24-point outing against Cleveland in April. Now that run is on hold while he recovers from knee surgery.

With Watkins sidelined for the season, Washington will lean on other wing and forward depth to cover his minutes. There is no word yet on a path back before the targeted April 2027 timeline, and the Wizards have not announced any further timetable beyond that estimate. For now, Watkins' 2026-27 season is effectively over before it started, and the Wizards already played their first four games — a 2-2 split against New Orleans, Brooklyn, Detroit and New York — without him available.