After a combined 33 wins over the last two seasons, an NBA-worst, the Washington Wizards are looking to turn the rebuilding process in a positive direction. The Wizards have not had a winning season since the 2017-18 season, where all-star backcourt duo John Wall and Bradley Beal led the team to the NBA playoffs.
Despite an unsuccessful streak of seasons, the Wizards’ front office and coaching staff, led by Head Coach Brian Keefe, have made several promising offseason moves.
With the sixth pick of the 2025 NBA draft, the Wizards selected University of Texas standout guard Tre Johnson. They also selected forward Will Riley from the Illinois Fighting Illini with the 21st pick and Florida State University guard Jamir Watkins with the 43rd pick.
Johnson — along with a strong young core of center Alex Sarr and guard Bub Carrington, who both earned all-rookie honors last season — provides a young core for the team to build around.
Additionally, the Wizards acquired veteran guard CJ McCollum and forward Cam Whitmore from the New Orleans Pelicans, along with guard Malaki Branham, in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs.
Forward Marvin Bagley III also re-signed with the Wizards in July after a short stint with the Memphis Grizzlies, an attempt to increase the infamously weak depth of the Wizards’ frontcourt.
Lastly, veteran forward Khris Middleton re-signed with the team, providing a more balanced roster between young players and experienced ones.
The rest of the roster features a returning core of French guard Bilal Coulibaly, forwards Corey Kispert and Kyshawn George and center Tristan Vukcevic. These players will look to answer the questions and concerns surrounding positional depth, as fans are expecting a breakout year from George following strong showings in Summer League and Team Canada play.
The Wizards’ identity seems to be trending toward a young, athletic and defensively focused squad looking to develop their youth through internal development, with an existing balance of veteran knowledge and play.
Keefe said in an Oct. 4, 2025 interview with WJLA that he still thinks the team is building and that there is promise.
“We’re still in the building phase,” Keefe said. “People are going to start separating themselves. We’re in that phase of, now, we know how to do stuff. Now we got to translate it more to the games.”
Looking ahead to the Wizards’ regular season schedule, they open with a tough road test against the Milwaukee Bucks Oct. 22. Shortly after is their home opener against the Charlotte Hornets, a Southeast Division opponent, on Oct. 26.
Their NBA Cup in-season tournament play opens with a matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers Nov. 7.
Depending on their performance in the NBA cup group stage, their last guaranteed group game at the Indianapolis Pacers on Nov. 28, marks an important point in the season.
The Wizards will have upcoming holiday games, including an away matchup against the Bucks on New Year’s Eve, and home matchups against the Los Angeles Clippers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the Brooklyn Nets on Easter.
In order to find success this upcoming season, the Wizards will need a lot of things to go right, including a quick mesh of veterans and young players and their high upside to deliver effective results right out of the gate.
Keefe said he believes fans will start to notice improvement.
“We’re going to give it our all every night,” Keefe said. “We’re going to be relentless in how we pursue getting better and we’re going to show that on the court and I think our fans are starting to see that.”