TORONTO - Someone asked Larry Hughes recently if he had figured out whether he was a point guard or a shooting guard, and the Washington Wizards veteran looked at the questioner quizzically, as if to say, "Silly rabbit, labels are for kids."
"I want to make things happen, and I don't want to label myself in one position," Hughes said. "When you put me out there in any situation, I'm going to make the best out of it and I'm going to get the best out of the situation. To be able to make plays and score the basketball, you can't categorize that in one position."
Of late, Hughes, in his fifth year in the NBA and first with Washington since coming over from Golden State last summer as a free agent, has been doing things that defy positions, namely rebounding.
Hughes, 6 feet 5, is in a hot streak in which he recently posted five straight double doubles, while leading the team in rebounding in six straight games, mostly from the point guard slot, where he plays when Jerry Stackhouse and Michael Jordan are on the floor. The double-double streak ended with Sunday's 95-82 win here over the Raptors, but Hughes has nonetheless been impressive.
"You realize this kid has been our leading defensive rebounder the last six games? Five straight double doubles?" Wizards coach Doug Collins said. "When the ball goes up, he's just going up there and getting it. He's not just getting a few defensive rebounds. He's getting eight, nine, 10 defensive rebounds. It's just a will to go get the ball."
In addition, after a slow start offensively, Hughes has become a solid third offensive option behind Jordan and Stackhouse, averaging 17.3 points in his past six games. His 19 points in Friday's 79-65 loss to the New Jersey Nets was one of the few bright spots on a night when the Wizards set a franchise mark for fewest points scored in a game.
"This kid is working every single day," Collins said. "If he hadn't made his shots the other night, we would have scored 45 points. That hasn't come by accident. That kid is in here working every day. Extra shooting. Extra shooting every single day. And he reaps the benefits of it."
The extra shooting has particularly come in handy. Hughes, who had missed 27 straight three-point attempts dating to last season, has become the Wizards' best three-point shooter, along with Jordan, among those who have taken at least 10 shots, hitting at a .357 clip.
And then there's the rebounding. Hughes, who was averaging 4.2 rebounds for his career, has been hitting the defensive glass with a vengeance, averaging 9.5 in the past six games, for an overall average of 5.4.
"I was always able to go to the offensive boards, but playing out there [point guard], I can't go to the offensive boards as much as I want to, so I just try to make up for it by getting the ball off the backboard and starting the break," Hughes said.
On a team filled with attention-getters, the only thing that is gaudy about the low-key Hughes these days are the diamond-studded earrings that he affixes to his ears after games. And compared with some of the jewelry sported around the NBA, Hughes' earrings aren't all that audacious.
It's just that Hughes, in his first season in Washington after spending the first 1 1/2 years of his career in Philadelphia before being traded to Golden State in the 1999-2000 season, is the personification of blending into the woodwork, never seeming to either raise his voice or call attention to himself.
"What people don't realize about him is he is a tough kid," Collins said. "He's quiet and very unassuming and [has] a very laid-back nature, but he's a competitor. And he's going to get better and better and better. He's still so young. He's only 23. I love him."
What's not to love? Well, if you listened around the league, there was plenty. Hughes, the eighth overall choice in the 1998 draft, had trouble adapting in Philadelphia after leaving Saint Louis University after one year of college.
And by the end of last season in Golden State, Hughes, who led the Warriors in assists and steals, found himself behind rookies Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson in the rotation, but Hughes sounds philosophical about the twists and turns his career has taken, saying the expectations placed on him weren't unbearable.
"I chose everything that came to me. I had the opportunity to stay in college and go that route," Hughes said. "But I wanted to play with the best and be the best player. So, I'm really happy with my situation. I think we all grow to be stars at different times. My time wasn't at 19 or 20, but I feel like my time is now.
"I know what it takes, I know how to work hard and I know how to better my game every year. I feel like if I can keep doing that, by the time I'm 25 or 26, in the prime of my basketball career, I can do what I want to do."
He seems to be doing just that right now, a little ahead of schedule.
Wizards tonight
Opponent:Atlanta Hawks
Site:Philips Arena, Atlanta
Time:7:30
TV/Radio:Comcast SportsNet/WTEM (980 AM)