The Wizards are the NBA’s biggest mystery box, but for once, they have real hope

The last time the Washington Wizards carried a playoff pulse, they were led, in part, by Russell Westbrook, who suited up for four other teams and pulled down the curtain on his NBA career in the half a decade since calling the nation’s capital home.

Over those five post-Westbrook years, Washington’s won 35, 35, 15, 18 and 17 games. That’s 120 total victories, 12 fewer than the Oklahoma City Thunder racked up the past two seasons alone.

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Two campaigns of rudderless basketball succeeded by a trio of purposeful rebuilding seasons has led the Wizards into 2026-27, a year crucial in determining their long-term outlook. For their meager win totals across 2024-26, they’ve netted a cast of eyebrow-raising youngsters, including a pair of top-two picks in Alex Sarr (second in 2024) and AJ Dybantsa (first in 2026).

Flanking them are a few other under-23 young players still worth giving a damn about: Kyshawn George (22), Bilal Coulibaly (22), Tre Johnson (20) and Will Riley (20). Last winter, aware of free agency as a dying ember for most teams to land talent, the Wizards utilized their bountiful cap space by trading for Trae Young and Anthony Davis, two former All-NBAers experiencing downswings in their respective careers with, in Washington’s eyes, hopefully the requisite juice left to rediscover stardom and accelerate its aspirations for winning.

Much like the Utah Jazz out West, the Wizards do not have to summit the mountain of their rebuild in 2026-27. But they cannot remain at base camp and promise tomorrow, once they’re a little more energized and inherited another vibrant prospect, is the day they start climbing. This imminent season will answer plenty of questions to clarify whether the past three years can ignite a prosperous future or if their high-stakes moves will soon force another reset.

Sarr and George authored encouraging sophomore seasons. Can they build upon that promise, fill in a few more colors of their respective rainbows and become highly impactful players moving forward? This is precisely the time to punt away training wheels and less often apply the “young” caveat to analysis of their…

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Publish date : 2026-09-16 13:59:00

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