It's been quite some time since Kristaps Porzingis looked as good as he did on Monday in Washington, with the veteran center proving his value with a sensational performance that could be a major development for the Golden State Warriors going forward.
Sure it was only against the lowly Wizards, but Porzingis himself acknowledged on the Warriors broadcast that Monday's game was "a pretty big step forward for me". Porzingis finished with a game-high 30 points off the bench, including scoring 12 in the fourth-quarter to help resist the Wizards in a 125-117 victory for the visitors.
Kristaps Porzingis excited Warriors fans with a huge performance
Porzingis' nearly 26 minutes were the most he's played since joining Golden State, and it also coincided with his first win as a member of the franchise after four-straight losses to open.
The 30-year-old dominated on the interior, recording 30 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor, including a near-perfect 13-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Beyond the numbers though, this was clearly the best Porzingis has looked physically since arriving at the Warriors. There was certainly some early frustration and criticism as the former All-Star missed 10 of his first 11 games following last month's bombshell trade, but a performance like this demonstrated why the front office was willing to take the risk on his health.
Porzingis and De'Anthony Melton certainly made the most of resting from Sunday's first night of a back-to-back, with the latter dropping 27 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals on 12-of-17 shooting.
Melton too was ferocious on the interior, making layup after layup while also exploding for a mammoth poster dunk in the third-quarter that proved he's back to his best after a torn ACL ruined last season.
Steph did NOT know De’Anthony Melton had that in his game 😂 pic.twitter.com/vrPYAg1iIS
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) March 17, 2026
Gui Santos battled some foul trouble but continued to build on his consistency, dropping 18 points, four rebounds and five assists while being a game-high +20 in 28 minutes. Just a day after going for 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists against the New York Knicks, the Brazilian forward was once again efficient in shooting 7-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
Santos was the only Warrior to really get it going from beyond the arc, with his teammates otherwise combining to shoot just 5-of-26 from deep. Fortunately, the Wizards offered very little interior defense, allowing Golden State, and particularly Porzingis and Melton, to dominate that aspect.
Monday's win was an historic one for Steve Kerr who became the fourth-fastest head coach in history to 600 wins, but the challenges keep on coming for the Warriors who will now head to Boston to face the Celtics on Wednesday.