Jordan Poole has never met a 1-on-5 opportunity he didn’t like.
Jordan Poole has an NBA championship ring. He has a $140 million contract, fully guaranteed. Poole now also has a new team, going from the Golden State Warriors to the Washington Wizards over the offseason in a trade that sent Chris Paul to the Bay Area.
Poole lost the chance to compete for a championship-caliber team in the trade, but he gained a less toxic workplace environment and a new role where his, um, more questionable shot attempts wouldn’t be questioned as much. Poole getting a super green light on a tanking team was bound to produce some great theater, and that has already been the case in the young season.
Poole gave us another one for the highlight reel as the Wizards hosted the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night. After a missed shot by Charlotte, Poole got the ball, spun around LaMelo Ball, did another spin move, pump faked, and then took a fadeaway between five defenders that swished through the net. Watch the play here.
You have to admit: that looks like a lot of fun. Poole is legitimately going 1-on-5 without having a second thought of pulling up and waiting for his teammates. This is what happens when you put Poole on a team with zero expectations. He’s only going to get more shameless from here as the season continues to slip away from Washington.
This isn’t quite as good as the lob pass he threw off the backboard to Kyle Kuzma when the Wizards were down 20 points, but it’s close. It really feels like Poole is playing for House of Highlights more than anything else this season. The Wizards aren’t even trying to win games, so who can blame him for having some fun?
A year ago, Poole had Draymond Green punching him in the face during practice. Now, he gets to lose games in peace and put up big stats. Seems like an upgrade to me.
