Chris Singleton determined to be a difference maker for Wizards

Now, Singleton looks like an entirely different player to those around him.

After giving his rookie season a ‘D’ grade, Singleton vowed to go back to work during his first full offseason in Washington to fix his fundamentals — specifically ball handling and finishing around the rim. So far, that strategy has paid dividends.

“He’s just being aggressive,” Mack said. “He’s coming out, playing hard. He’s not making excuses as to why he can’t get things done. He’s just going out there, playing hard, and letting his play speak for itself.”

Wittman couldn’t be happier about the welcomed changes. The tools were always in Singleton’s toolbox. The problem was just that, day in, day out, he wasn’t using them all together.

“I haven’t seen him play this consistently this hard for four straight days,” Wittman said. “He’s come out to prove in these four days, that, ‘I’m going to go out there and bust my rear end and become a better player.’”

Singleton’s team lost in Wednesday’s minicamp scrimmage. Even that was unacceptable. He refuses to be a part of a losing culture. The team will now travel to Las Vegas to play in five summer league games starting Friday. 

“Hopefully we’ll go 5-0,” he said, grinning at the thought of it. “That’s the highest we can go.”

More importantly, Singleton is confident the Wizards have the potential to be a playoff contender this season. But first, he said, they’ve got to prove they want it.

“We’ve got to go out there and work,” Singleton said. “We’ve got to go out there and play hard on every possession.”

Putting in the necessary effort can often be half the battle. But that’s a fight that Singleton has already proven to have won.

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