Woebegone Wizards set new franchise low for wins

The Wizards’ worst-ever season finally ended Sunday with a 132-122 loss to the Boston Celtics in a display of two teams on vastly different trajectories.

Washington finishes the season with a 15-67 record and a .183 winning percentage, a new low for the 63-year-old franchise. This season’s Wizards take over the bottom rung from the inaugural season of 1961-62, when the then-Chicago Packers won 18 games.

Sunday’s game pitted the Wizards against the top-seeded Celtics’ B team. All of Boston’s starters rested as the team prepared for a playoff run. Both teams had nothing to play for except pride.

Boston has long been locked into the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed — it held a 14-game lead over the New York Knicks heading into the finale. Washington’s season was over weeks ago. A six-game losing streak to end the season improved the Wizards’ chances of landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA’s draft, with Washington and the Detroit Pistons going into the upcoming lottery with the same odds,

That’s the silver lining behind a forgettable — even embarrassing season for the team and its fans.

In recent months, Wizards games went viral on social media for the wrong reasons, with NBA followers mercilessly mocking the team’s haplessness.

The jokes started in the second game of the season when guard Jordan Poole shot a 3-pointer and turned toward the opponents’ bench, only for the shot to clang off the rim.

Poole struggled during his first season with the Wizards, scoring 17.4 points per game and failing to live up to his four-year, $128 million contract. The 24-year-old won a championship with the Golden State Warriors in 2022 and, despite a joyless start to his time in Washington, could be a vital piece of the Wizards’ future.

“Thankful for the opportunity. But joy? Not currently,” Poole told ESPN earlier this season. “I think winning brings that … You can’t fake that. It’s not something that you can just say, and just apply it, right? Joy almost has to be earned.”

With the dismal 2023-24 season in the rearview mirror, the Wizards’ front office will pivot toward the offseason and work toward more joyful results. The team’s record grants them a 14% chance to secure the No. 1 selection in June’s NBA draft. Even if Washington misses out on the top pick, the organization will still have a top-six selection.

Still, at the start of their rebuild, the Wizards can load up for the future in this year’s draft. Washington also holds the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round pick that will fall in the 20s.

Fans may need to put hopes of a quick turnaround on hold for the bottom-dwelling Wizards. This year’s pool of NBA prospects lacks the star power of some recent drafts. Even if the Wizards draw the No. 1 pick, no surefire All-Star is waiting to save the franchise. Analysts around the league agree that this year’s draft class pales in comparison to recent years.

But team president Michael Winger has said there’s no timeline in place for the rebuild. He’s emphasized patience during discussions with the media.

“I think we developed a lot of resilience and we developed a competitive atmosphere and we learned about the process; what it takes to be a really good team,”  interim coach Brian Keefe said Sunday. “We’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I think we started laying the foundation for that.”

The path back to contention started last year with a full roster demolition and will likely take several seasons. The teardown began in June when the Wizards traded All-Stars Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis in return for hauls of draft picks and players, including Poole.

Success eluded coach Wes Unseld Jr. and the overhauled roster to start the season — the team limped to a 7-36 start. Unseld was relieved of his coaching duties and moved to a new position in the front office in January.

Any improvement under Keefe didn’t show up in the win column during his interim tenure— the Wizards went 8-31 after he took the reins. Heading into the offseason, the franchise has yet to announce whether it will sign the interim coach to a new contract or look elsewhere for a coach to lead the young roster into next season. Keefe has refused to comment on his future with the team.

“My sole focus has been on our group, on our team, to keep us progressing. I haven’t really thought about that yet because I’ve been so focused,” Keefe said after Friday’s home finale. “My focus has been solely about how we help our group get better.”

Whether they retain Keefe or bring in a new leader, the Wizards could return most of this season’s roster. Only two players, guard Tyus Jones and forward Anthony Gill, are slated to become free agents. The rest of the roster, including four of the five everyday starters, are under contract through the 2024-25 season.

Two returning players, Deni Avdija and 2023 first-round pick Bilal Coulibaly, gave Wizards fans reasons for optimism. Avdija, the 2020 first-round selection who is currently the longest-tenured Wizard, came out of his shell this season. He set career-highs in points, rebounds and assists on the court while becoming a leader in the locker room.

Coulibaly, a 19-year-old from France, showed flashes of potential in his first NBA season. Before being shut down for the season with a wrist injury, the 6-foot-8 guard showed the athleticism and defensive versatility that made him a lottery pick.

“[Coulibaly’s] had a great year … He’s gonna be a staple for us going forward,” Keefe said after Coulibaly’s season ended in March. “He’s gonna have a tremendous offseason … We couldn’t be more impressed with how he handled himself and his growth.”

After a putrid season, any future joy for the Wizards will depend on the continued development of Avdija, Coulibaly and this offseason’s additions.