Former Saint Louis Billikens guard Jordan Goodwin has made the opening night roster for the Washington Wizards with a two-way contract, the team announced.
In his rookie campaign last year, Goodwin joined the Wizards on a 10-day contract and appeared in two games, making his NBA debut Dec. 28, 2021, at Miami. He spent the majority of his time last year playing for the Capital City Go-Go in the NBA G League where he averaged a team-best 16.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. He also set the franchise mark with 94 steals on the season, good for the fourth-most in the NBA G League.
Goodwin is one of the most decorated Billikens in school history. He is the team’s all-time leader in steals and is fourth in rebounds, fifth in assists and 11th in points. Goodwin is a two-time Atlantic 10 Conference first-team selection and twice was voted to the league’s All-Defensive team.
The 6-foot-3 Goodwin was one of the top rebounding guards in the NCAA, averaging 8.8 rebounds per game throughout his career. He pulled down 10.3 boards per game in his junior and senior seasons.
The Billikens had a winning season in all four years of Goodwin’s career. He helped Saint Louis capture the 2019 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship title in thrilling fashion as the Bills won four games in four days at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. SLU advanced to the NIT in 2020-21. The Billikens were on the verge of a postseason berth in 2019-20 prior to the season being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are several ties with the Billikens and Wizards. Goodwin played AAU basketball for Bradley Beal Elite, a club owned by Wizards guard Bradley Beal. The longest-tenured NBA player in SLU history, Larry Hughes, played three seasons in Washington from 2002-05. Washington Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. is the cousin of longtime SLU men’s basketball radio analyst and Billiken Hall of Famer Earl Austin Jr.
The Wizards open the season Wednesday at Indianapolis.