The Washington Wizards have selected Will Riley with the No. 21 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Riley was named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year in 2025. He set the Illinois freshman record for points in a debut with 31 against Eastern Illinois and later broke the program’s freshman NCAA tournament scoring mark with 22 in a Round 1 win over Xavier.

The Washington Wizards doubled down on their desire to invite scoring to their rebuilding situation, scooping up Illinois forward Will Riley 21st overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. The developing scorer profiled as one of the better star bets to be found outside of the lottery range,

The Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards produced two of the three worst records in the NBA last season — and neither received a top-three draft pick. After that uninspiring bit of lottery luck, they tried to make the best of it.