The Washington Wizards avoided the worst kind of history on Saturday night when they beat the Minnesota Timberwolves to snap a 16-game losing streak, tied for the worst stretch in franchise history.
However, amid a dreadful 7-41 campaign, fans and analysts are still looking toward the Wizards’ future.
Washington has maintained the worst record in the NBA this season, recording multiple 16-game losing streaks as it sank deeper into its last-place cushion.
But a win, especially a rare one, can be crucial for a young team.
“Just remembering the feeling, that’s the biggest thing,” Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma said after Saturday’s victory. “Remembering how it felt to win. Really trying to show that every single night. For us, we haven’t had a win in a long time. Hopefully, we see what it takes.”
The power forward might be underestimating his squad’s ineptitude this season. The constantly rebuilding Wizards weren’t widely expected to be competitive, but they weren’t a lock to be historically bad.
In November, they became just the 19th team in NBA history to record a winless midseason month, repeating a feat they managed last season. They would’ve repeated the performance last month if it weren’t for a New Year’s Day victory over the Chicago Bulls.
In a season-and-a-half with coach Brian Keefe in charge, the Wizards have tied their franchise-record 16-game losing streak three times.
Fan support has dwindled as wins remained elusive. Washington draws an average of 16,340 fans per home game, third-worst in the NBA, ahead of only the Atlanta Hawks and the Los Angeles Clippers, who moved to a pricey new stadium this offseason.
The fans who do visit Capital One Arena when the Wizards play are often there to cheer on the visitors. The Los Angeles Lakers were the most recent invading fan base, leading audible “MVP” chants for Bronny James during Friday’s 134-96 beatdown.
As Kuzma noted, the Wizards desperately needed a taste of victory. The team’s future is buoyed by a brigade of promising young players that includes second-year star Bilal Coulibaly and rookies Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington.
Despite encouraging performances — Coulibaly, Sarr and Carrington will play in the Rising Stars game at this month’s All-Star weekend — the youngsters haven’t seen any measure of success in the District.
With one more loss, the Wizards will secure their seventh straight losing season. Many analysts expect Washington general manager Will Dawkins to continue the pivot to the future ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline.
Kuzma has been a popular name in trade discussions, according to multiple reports. The Utah product’s timeline — he’ll turn 30 before next season — doesn’t appear to align with Washington’s long-term goals. His $90 million contract that runs through the 2026-27 season could also prove attractive for a contending squad.
The same could be said for guard Malcolm Brogdon and center Jonas Valanciunas, a pair of 32-year-olds who joined the Wizards this offseason.
The three veterans have become regular topics in mock trades around the NBA, especially as the Wizards have the cap space to absorb contracts in potential three-team deals, as the Utah Jazz did for the weekend’s blockbuster trade that sent Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks to the Lakers.
The Wizards may have a few building blocks on their roster, but a franchise star could join them in this year’s draft. If current trends continue, Washington would be locked into a top 3 pick with a 14% chance of landing the first selection.
The No. 1 pick will almost certainly net one lucky team Duke freshman Cooper Flagg. The 18-year-old from Vermont is widely considered a generational talent, the kind of player who could carry an organization back to contention.
Flagg impressed active NBA players with Team USA’s select squad ahead of the Paris Olympics before averaging 20 points and eight rebounds per game in his first season with the Blue Devils. His unique blend of height, defensive prowess and three-point range makes him a star candidate in the modern NBA.
The top two consolation prizes, Rutgers’ Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, wouldn’t be terrible consolation prizes in the likely event that the Wizards don’t land the top pick. The high-scoring duo was considered the gems of their graduating class before Flagg reclassified and left high school one year early.
Bailey, a 6-foot-10-inch combo guard, ranks eleventh in the nation in scoring with the offensive tools to score from anywhere on the court. Harper, a point guard, has complemented his teammate well as an efficient facilitator and an explosive ballhandler.
Washington fans will have plenty of excitement if the Wizards, as expected, continue their losing ways and finish with a top-three pick.
Hitting on a franchise player in the draft would help ease years of suffering for Wizards diehards, with the rebuild echoing coach Keefe’s takeaways from Saturday’s win.
“Wasn’t always pretty. We didn’t always do the right thing,” Keefe said of his squad’s performance. “But we just kept moving on to the next play.”
Wizards fans can look ahead to the NBA’s draft lottery on May 12, followed by the draft itself on June 26-27.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.