Wizards 116, Kings 111
Q. Bub, there's a lot of important basketball questions to ask you, but how did it feel to get picked up by J.B.?
BUB CARRINGTON: That never happened. No, that's my guy. No hostility towards him.
Q. BK has gone with a core to end games recently, including you, Tristan, AJ and a bunch of guys. How do you think that'll help the development of those guys, to close out close games like this?
BUB CARRINGTON: It'll help us immensely. We all, 460 of us in the league or whatever, know how to play basketball, but we're not always necessarily in those critical game-winning scenarios, and we're at a point in the year where guys like me and Tristan and all those -- AJ we're get those reps, get that experience, and it obviously ain't going to do nothing but better us.
Q. Is that what you call him? You call him "Tricky"?
BUB CARRINGTON: Tricky, yeah.
Q. You've played every game this season. You could close out the season playing all 82. Was that something you thought about coming into the season, you wanted to be like an iron man for this team, and how much does that mean to you?
BUB CARRINGTON: Oh, that means a lot to me, actually. That's one of the goals I had set for myself. That's one of the goals that the organization knows I have. Obviously they're fighting to get that with me, training staff, player development, myself included. Obviously I take pride in that.
Q. This is your highest scoring performance in almost two months. What led to that?
BUB CARRINGTON: The ball just went in today, a lot more than usual. I was making some threes. I made five of them. Yeah, that helped.
Q. This was a night where it seemed like all the young guys played well. What's that like being a part of when all things are clicking at once and it's the rookies and it's the sophomores on the team?
BUB CARRINGTON: It's special. It's special, especially going against guys that are well-known in this league and then seeing that we can hang with them or even beat them, guys like Malik Monk, Zach LaVine, Sabonis. Those are real solidified dudes in the league obviously that we're playing against every night. To see how we match up with them, how we attack those guys and sometimes beat those guys is obviously a special thing.
Q. What would you say is the skill you've improved on the most so far this season?
BUB CARRINGTON: I would say for myself, navigating screens on defense. It's like a defensive thing. I get hit by a lot of screens. It's natural. But the best defenders don't get hit a lot, so that's one thing I'm trying to work on, and I think I'm getting better at it.
Q. The Kings, you said they have solidified guys, and they closed with their main starting lineup. They sort of needed this game; they're in a play-in hunt. Do you get any satisfaction out of getting to play spoiler?
BUB CARRINGTON: Not with that evil smirk you just had (laughter), but we definitely -- we look at it as a challenge. Like those guys are going to come in here, they're going to try to gain rhythm, they're going to try to skate by, I guess, with a win. But obviously this ain't that, and we try and show people that every night.
Q. As part of the draft night trade that sent Deni to Portland, that creates an obvious comparison point. Do you ever look at how Deni is doing or pay attention to anything like that? Do you ever look at a comparison of the two of you guys?
BUB CARRINGTON: No, I don't. I hear that he's a good player. I've obviously played against him. Not as much because he got hurt in the games that we played against him in. But I hear he's a good player.
Obviously that trade, I didn't want the trade, Deni didn't ask for the trade. It was way above both of us. Ain't got no beef with Deni.
Q. It feels like everyone has a good AG story about how he's helped them. Your first season, has he helped you in any particular way that stands out to you?
BUB CARRINGTON: Yes. Anthony Gill, man, that is a guy. He's helped -- yeah, he just said everyone. He's helped me especially. He's actually waiting for me right now to take me home. That just kind of says what kind of guy he is.
This would be a completely different team without AG. He's a really big piece for us, and we appreciate him every day for being the kind of guy that he is.
Q. Do you two live close to each other or is he going out of his way?
BUB CARRINGTON: Out of his way. That's just who he is, though, man. He won't have it no other way. I told him to leave. He won't leave. He's sitting in his car right now.
Q. You are now second amongst your rookie class in career three-pointers. You, Kyshawn and Alex are all over 100 three-pointers for your career so far amongst the top six. What does it feel like to have all three of you guys as real good shooters in this league already?
BUB CARRINGTON: Yeah, that's special. That's special. We can shoot and we know we can, and our coach lets us. He has confidence in us. As you can see, we're not shy to take any threes.
That's a testament to, like I said, our confidence our coach put in us and the work we put in ourselves. We know we can shoot. Fans know we can shoot. Coaches know we can shoot, so we're going to shoot them, and it's working for us.
Q. When Tricky was getting into it with Monk, you were kind of in the middle of it laughing, and it kind of reminded me of you with RJ Barrett. Where does that come from for you as a rookie, one of the youngest guys in the league, not backing down in those moments?
BUB CARRINGTON: I mean, I could say it's who I am, but I think it's kind of a testament to where I'm from. We don't really -- we're not really looking at that as like conflict. That's just kind of showing your emotions, expressing what you're standing on, what that person is going to stand on, and we just try and compete. I take joy in competing.
Q. Since it's close to the end of the year, end of the season, can you talk about how much growth you've had since the All-Star break and just getting up to this point with a great game?
BUB CARRINGTON: I mean, I couldn't tell you anything like statistically or anything like that. Just kind of how I feel. I feel as though I am growing. I kind of almost every aspect of the game. I think it's just going to come with experience. I'm getting to see a lot more, a lot more, and I think that it'll ultimately help me, like, indefinitely. I think I'm a visual learner. I've got to see it. I've got to be in it to know it, and once I'm in it a few times, I'll master it.
Q. How did you feel about JT Thor's last three, sealing that? What was your thoughts?
BUB CARRINGTON: Yeah, I was super excited for him. I joked with him because I wasn't familiar with his game when we first came here. I heard of him, but I didn't know what he could do. I asked him could you shoot, and he said he could. I said, you ain't showing me nothing. So it's kind been like the joke we've had for the last few games, and hasn't really been shooting the three, but he's been doing everything else for us, scoring, lay-ups, dunks, defending, and then he got that three to fall today, so I was excited for him.
Q. I spoke with AJ before the game. I asked him about your relationship, you two. He said, Bub is my guy. I didn't know you played against each other in high school.
BUB CARRINGTON: Yeah, we did.
Q. Do you remember that game at all?
BUB CARRINGTON: Yeah, I do. I got MVP of that game, so I remember that game very well.
Q. What can you say relationship you have with him, and what do you think about him as a player?
BUB CARRINGTON: Yeah, AJ, that's my guy for sure. We click well. Obviously I've known him for a longer time. Got a lot of the same habits, a lot of kind of work ethic, a lot of the same kind of background, family background, all that kind of stuff. We spend a lot of time together trying to make each other better and all that stuff.
AJ on the court, obviously he's a freak of nature. Showtime, that's what I call him. You never know when you're about to jump out your seat watching him. I like having him on my team, not against him.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports