P.J. Washington's impact will benefit from Kyrie Irving’s return to the Mavericks

Last season, P.J. Washington was forced into a bigger on-ball role than he's used to. The Dallas Mavericks' creation as a team was limited with Kyrie Irving out of the lineup all season with a torn ACL, forcing players like Washington to play roles they weren't familiar with.

P.J. Washington was forced into a tough spot

This meant that Washington handled the ball in the open floor more than usual, and it resulted in some ugly turnovers due to the increased usage that came with playing without a star guard in the lineup. The 28-year-old forward averaged 1.7 turnovers per game, but Irving's return should help him get back to playing his natural role of an off-ball wing who can create only when absolutely needed.

With Irving on the floor, Washington's offensive responsibilities will not be as pressing, allowing him to focus his impact on areas of the game that he specializes in. He can still push the ball in transition after grabbing a defensive rebound, but most of the ball-handling duties will likely be assigned to Irving.

How Kyrie Irving's return will help Washington

As a result, this will lift a weight off Washington's shoulders. He will now be allowed to hone in on what he does best: doing the dirty work, playing hard-nosed defense, crashing the glass on both ends of the floor, and cutting to the basket for easy buckets in the paint. Washington can put forth all of his energy and effort into being a complementary role player rather than a top option on offense.

His jump shot also still needs to find consistency, as he has shot 34.3 percent from three in his two and a half seasons in Dallas, but he has proven to be a dangerous shooter off the catch in the past.

In the 2024-25 season for the Mavericks, Washington shot 38.1 percent from long range. This was the second-best 3-point shooting season of his career, and it seemed like he had turned a corner after shooting 32 percent from three in the season prior.

The success from the 2024-25 season did not carry into 2025-26, though. Washington shot 32.5 percent from beyond the arc, his second-worst 3-point shooting season.

Irving's return should help him get this number back up, though. Washington was thrust into a bigger offensive role than he was used to last season, and Dallas' lack of spacing made things harder for him as a shooter.

With Irving on the floor, he'll be able to get the defense to collapse on him before finding open shooters like Washington on the perimeter. Washington thrives when playing next to a strong creator like Irving, who can generate good looks for him, as he's much better as a complementary player off the ball than as someone who creates for himself.

Washington can now get back to the basics

While he isn't known for his isolation scoring, especially when he's not playing with a strong shot creator, Washington does have an underrated post game and push shot in the paint. He has the quickness to blow by slower defenders and get into the paint, and the strength to bully smaller forwards who try to defend him inside.

The Mavericks could get a completely different version of Washington this season with Irving returning to the floor, and his on-court impact should look much more similar to the player who played a crucial role during Dallas' run to the 2024 NBA Finals. He's a major X factor for the Mavs due to his impact on winning and strong intangibles, and Mavs fans should see the best version of P.J. Washington now that Kyrie Irving is healthy.

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