(Photo: A3 Athletics)
The Washington Wizards take on the new look, Carmelo-less New York Knicks on Friday night in their second preseason game so some familiar faces were in the building. Point guard Ramon Sessions and assistant head coach Howard Eisley shot around on the Capital One Area main court. I caught up with Sessions to get his thoughts on how the House of Guards have progressed since he left D.C. two summers ago.
In 110 regular season games with Washington, Sessions averaged 9.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 20.1 minutes per game. Sessions also played 10 playoff games in 2015 where he averaged 7.5 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.4 rebounds in 21.8 points per game.
"The group of guys," Sessions said about his strongest memory from his time in Washington. "They have kind of been together here for a little while now with John and Brad kind of growing into their own. Just a good group of guys. It was a great experience to get to the playoffs with those guys and I think, they just peaking right now."
When traded from Sacramento for Andre Miller in the middle of the 2014-15 season, Sessions role was clearly defined as John Wall's backup and he was one of the better at filling that role compared to others. Sessions spent a lot of time with Wall on the court so he is not surprised by the player he has developed into.
"If you were around that guy everyday, you were going against him at practice everyday, I already knew he was special," Sessions said about Wall. "He was special back then, he is just at another level now because he works hard on his game day in and day out. If you were on the team with him, you would understand why he is where he is at right now."
Sessions decent size allowed Randy Wittman to at times play him at shooting guard, which also allowed him to get to know Bradley Beal well, too.
"The sky is the limit for the guy," Sessions said about Beal who he could not believe was only 24. "Last year, you could tell he worked on a lot of things. ... I can't even say he has had his peak yet so he's definitely going to keep getting better and better."
Beal appreciated the sentiment from Sessions and acknowledges that the team is starting to get some of the respect they deserve, but also understands that makes the Wizards a targets for others around the league.
Even from afar, Sessions can appreciate what his former teammates are doing now.
"What they building is nice. It's fun to watch them play," Sessions concluded.