The Washington Wizards have real expectations for the first time in a generation. When the franchise selected A.J. Dybantsa with the first pick in Tuesday’s draft, it caught the attention of fans and analysts across the NBA landscape.
The addition of Dybantsa, combined with last season’s addition of All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis, has moved the Wizards out of their position as perennial laughingstocks, both locally and throughout the league.
“I think the team itself is just excited to be competitive,” said Thomas Starnes, a Wizards fan who attended last night’s draft party at The Anthem concert venue. “We have some young guys, some more veterans; they’ll have this leadership. That’ll hopefully aim for us to be a playoff team; I’m hoping for a No. 4 or No. 5 seed.”
Washington hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2020-21 campaign, when the franchise scraped into the postseason with All-Star guard Russell Westbrook. The franchise hasn’t been a top-five seed since 2017.
The Wizards have recorded the worst record in the league over the last three seasons, with 20 more losses than any other team. That was partially by design. Washington has been tanking, a maligned strategy where teams intentionally field uncompetitive rosters to enhance their odds at landing a top pick.
The tank has reached its conclusion, though.
“There’s real buzz and optimism that this team is gonna be all about winning games and not about tanking games,” John Auville of “The Sports Junkies” said on 106.7 “The Fan.” “If you ask [Wizards President] Michael Winger if 29 or 30 wins would be acceptable, he would tell you that is not an acceptable jump for all the work they’ve put in, all the talent they’ve brought in.”
That perspective isn’t solely based upon a hometown bias, either. That sentiment is shared throughout the league. When NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Dybantsa as the pick, social media was flooded with official accounts posting potential Wizards lineups, pondering how far the hypothetical rotation could go.
Young, who currently ranks third in NBA history in assists per game, could play point guard. The promising Kyshawn George would join him in the backcourt. Dybantsa, who led the NCAA in scoring last season, would join a frontcourt alongside Davis and Sarr, the No. 2 pick in 2024.
“They’re making the playoffs this year. They’re going to be a top six seed in the Eastern Conference,” ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins said on Wednesday morning. “They’re going to be what we thought the Dallas Mavericks were going to be with [Kyrie Irving, Davis] and Cooper Flagg.”
The optimism is riddled with roadblocks. Sarr needs to take another step to live up to his top-two potential.
Young missed all but 15 games last season due to leg injuries. It’s unclear whether Davis will remain in Washington or be moved as a trade piece — he failed to suit up for the Wizards last season due to a hand injury.
But there’s reason for hope, which is a welcome change for the long-suffering Washingtonians who support the Wizards.
“The potential is there. Adding me, I can help them a little bit,” Dybantsa said. “Re-signing Trae Young and them having [Davis], having good vets along with our young core, we could do big things.”
Even if the on-court success doesn’t arrive immediately, this year’s lottery luck, along with the midseason acquisitions, has a long-tormented fanbase buzzing. Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said he noticed it firsthand while walking around the city.
“Everything we do is for the fans. We think about them all the time when we make decisions. We want to put a quality team out there that they can cheer for, but more importantly, that they can believe in. …” He said after the draft’s first round. “We’re getting closer to building something where that [Wizards] logo stands for something more than just basketball.”
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