CJ McCollum still has gas in the tank.
The veteran guard churned out his best performance of the young season Tuesday, dropping 46 points during a 132-113 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The Washington Wizards, who entered the evening with the NBA’s worst record, took a commanding, 29-point lead in the first quarter and never let Atlanta come close again.
McCollum started hot against the Hawks and stayed that way for the remainder of the evening, drilling his first five 3-pointers before finally missing one 15 minutes into the game. He made 10 of his 13 long-range attempts, nailing 7 of 8 in the first half, and shot 17 of 25 overall. Those seven 3s over the first two quarters tied his career high for any half over his 13-year NBA career.
CJ MCOLLUM HAS 27 POINTS.
AT HALFTIME.
He’s 10-13 from the field and 7-8 from deep 🚨 pic.twitter.com/wXUvEcAwR4
— NBA (@NBA) November 26, 2025
McCollum’s previous season-high came during a Nov. 10, overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons. He scored 42 that night. His career high is 50, a mark he’s reached twice (Jan. 3, 2025 with the New Orleans Pelicans, and Jan. 31 2018 with the Portland Trail Blazers).
HAVE YOURSELF A NIGHT, CJ 🧙♂️
📊 42 PTS ⚡️ 10 3PM pic.twitter.com/T7hulItYrj
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) November 26, 2025
Wizards guard CJ McCollum connected on his 10th three-pointer with his last make, tying Trevor Ariza (Feb. 12, 2014 at Houston) for the most threes in a single game in franchise history.#ForTheDistrict
— Wizards PR (@WizPRStats) November 26, 2025
His 46-point performance against the Hawks left him just short of becoming just the sixth player to post 50-point games with three different franchises. The five who have done it are Jamal Crawford, LeBron James, Wilt Chamberlain, Bernard King and Moses Malone.
The blowout victory for the Wizards, who improved to 2-15, did not just double their win total for the season; it also snapped a 14-game losing streak and earned Washington its first-ever victory in an NBA Cup game.
