Wizards

Satoransky's historic night shows his unselfishness

Wizards

WASHINGTON -- It takes a unique player to produce the stat-line Tomas Satoransky had on Wednesday night in the Wizards' win over the Orlando Magic, a uniquely unselfish player, that is. He had a double-double without scoring a single point and in doing so became just the third player in NBA history to go scoreless with at least 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

Satoransky actually had 13 assists, marking only the 17th time an NBA player has had as many with zero points. It hadn't happened in nine years.

Amazingly, he is the second player to have a 0-10-10 game this season. Thunder rookie Josh Giddey accomplished the feat on Dec. 26. The only other time it happened was in 1971 when Norm Van Lier of the Cincinnati Royals did it against Wilt Chamberlain's Lakers.

"It's incredible to get a double-double without the points," Satoransky's teammate Kristaps Porzingis said.

Indeed it is quite rare. And in addition to making history of sorts, Satoransky did what the Wizards needed from him to win. As he explained afterward, he was just trying to make the right plays.

"I don't know if it's good or bad, you know? I don't know," he joked. "I just let the game come to be a little bit. I was trying to be aggressive, but every time I would drive or was aggressive to the basket, it opened up space for my teammates. So, I tried to push the tempo from the beginning and I got some rebounds."

 

Satoransky's 13 assists paced a Wizards team that had 35 of them in total, which was their third-highest total of the season. Head coach Wes Unseld Jr. remarked how good the team's record is when they have at least 28 assists. With Wednesday's win, they are now 12-5.

Satoransky got their offense moving early with his passing.

"He's about winning, whatever it is in that moment," Unseld Jr. said. "If he needs to make a bucket, he'll try. If he needs to try to facilitate guys. His ability and his size defensively, he's had great moments."

Porzingis, who had a game-high 35 points, said Satoransky was "creating situations for everybody." The Wizards shot 51.1% from the field and made 13 threes. Five different players reached double-figures.

Most players would probably want a piece of that, but Satoransky was happy to be the one to set up others. It was one of his best games since returning to the Wizards on a free agent contract in late February. 

Satoransky was bought out by the Spurs after playing just one game. He spent the first portion of the season in New Orleans, where he battled injuries and inconsistency.

In Washington, he's in the starting lineup and playing well, now with six-plus assists in four straight games.

"I'm very grateful for having the minutes right now and having a lot of minutes being in the starting lineup," Satoransky said. "I'm enjoying the way we play. I think we play very good basketball, passing the ball, very unselfish. We have a lot of willing passers on the team."

The timing is good for him, as he's due to hit free agency this summer at the age of 30. Satoransky hopes to continue his NBA career and the way he's played lately may be increasing his chances.