The Washington Wizards’ season begins Monday, the day after Christmas. Like lots of kids, the Wizards have a long holiday wish list. Let’s look at what the Wizards want for the upcoming National Basketball Association (NBA) season.

A healthy John Wall: The Wizards’ super-fast point guard is the key to any team success. Wall had a good rookie season last year, averaging more than 16 points and eight assists a game. Wall might become a star, but he needs to improve his shooting and commit fewer turnovers. Wall seemed to wear down during the long 82-game NBA season. Because of the late start, the NBA will play 66 games during a shorter regular season. The Wizards will need Wall at full speed for all of them.

A good rookie: The Wizards drafted two players in the first round of the NBA draft. Jan Vesely is an athletic 6-foot-11-inch forward from the Czech Republic known for his rim-rattling dunks. But Vesely is young (21 years old) and never played college or professional ball in the United States. So it might be expecting a lot for him to be good right away. Chris Singleton played three years at Florida State before being drafted by the Wizards. The rugged 6-foot-8-inch forward might help on defense and with rebounding, but don’t look for him to contribute much on offense.

Improved big men: It seems that every Wizards season begins with the hope that the team’s big men, Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, will become big-time players. Both have shown flashes of talent. Blatche averaged almost 17 points a game last season, and McGee blocked a ton of shots. Coach Flip Saunders really needs Blatche and McGee to improve at rebounding and defense. The Wizards were near the bottom of the league in both.

A winning record: The Wizards had 23 wins and 59 losses last year. They haven’t changed much from the team that was overmatched against good NBA teams. Like the pony that some kids put on their wish list, a winning record may be too much to ask for.

Fred Bowen writes sports opinion column for the KidsPost. He is the author of 17 sports books for kids that combine sports fiction and sports history, including six basketball books.

Read More: J.J. Hickson (F – SAC), Trevor Booker (F – WAS), Washington Wizards, Cleveland Cavaliers

The NBA lockout does not seem like it will be ending anytime soon, especially following the mess that happened on Thursday as talks between the owners and players broke down. Knowing that, it makes sense that more players will take their talents to Europe as the chance of NBA season gets further and further out of sight — with J.J. Hickson to Israel making his move over night.

Hickson, one of the few bright spots on the Cleveland Cavaliers roster before being traded to the Sacramento Kings prior to the lockout, has signed to play in Israel for Bnei Hasharon until the lockout ends. The forward will replace Washington Wizards forward Trevor Booker as he returns to the United States from an injury that will take several weeks to recover from, according to the press release.

Hickson will join a few player with recognizable names to fans of stateside basketball as former Baylor Bears backcourt members Tweety Carter and LaceDarius Dunn play for Bnei Hasharon along with fellow NCAA standouts Delroy James of Rhode Island and Creighton’s Kenny Lawson.

FLINT, Mich. — Washington Wizards center JaVale McGee drew national attention following last week’s statements he made concerning the players stance on the NBA lockout.

“There’s definitely some guys in there saying that they’re ready to fold,” McGee said. “But there are some guys — the majority are willing to stand strong.”

McGee, a Flint native, reportedly upset the union president, Derek Fisher and the executive director, Billy Hunter, with his quote to the media plus his early exit from the NBA players union meeting.    

But his mother, Pamela McGee — an ex-WNBA player — was quick to defend her son.  

“He basically stated the majority of the guys are standing strong and they support the union,” Pamela McGee told Michael Lee of the Washington Post.

“He comes from a blue-collar town. He was born in Flint, Mich., a union-based town. He believes in the union and is in support of his colleagues. He only left the meeting because he had to go on a USO tour,” she added.

McGee supposedly left the gathering to catch a flight to to Manila.

He is scheduled to appear in an overseas tour throughout the Philippines.

McGee will also travel along with several other NBA players — including the reigning league MVP Derrick Rose — to Hawaii from Oct. 23-28 for the “Hoops for Troops” tour sponsored by the United Service Organization.  

The group will visit various military bases, lead hoops clinics and play games with individuals in the service. They will also sign autographs and take pictures.