The Washington Wizards are in no position to be contending in the 2025-26 NBA Season, and to be honest, they shouldn’t be able to contend for the next 10 years. With a 16-46 Record, 13th in the East, the Wizards have cemented themselves as probably the worst team so far in the 2020’s, and we still don’t know where this rebuild is taking them. They are on a 7-Game losing streak and hold the 2nd worst net rating in the NBA (-10.7), but how bad can they really get?
Washington ranks 25th in Points, with 112.2 a game, which directly reflects on their 26th ranked offensive rating of 110.8. Although their rebounding (43 RPG, 22nd in the NBA) and assists (25 APG, 23rd in the NBA) aren’t league bottoming, their horrible defense is. 123 PPG allowed, with a 121.5 defensive rating, both 29th in the NBA.
Washington right now appears to be caught in the worst position possible, trying to win while not completing the rebuild properly.
Young Talent Still Showing Promise
Despite their abysmal record, the Wizards are still holding onto some very valuable young pieces:
Alex Sarr, a former #2 pick in the NBA Draft still has such a high upside, but the Wizards aren’t doing enough to bring out that winning attitude in Sarr. When healthy, he leads the team in scoring with 17.2 PPG, and shows strong rim protection and incredible rebounding potential. Alex Sarr in seen as the Wizards future 2-way centerpiece.
Bilal Coulibaly is another one of those pieces the Wizards hold onto who has high potential pre draft. As a defensive standout wing, this season, he has showed high potential in scoring growth, but still remains one of the Wizards most versatile perimeter defenders.
Young backcourt pieces:
• Bub Carrington – Developmental guard
• Tre Johnson – Scoring wing potential
• Jaden Hardy – Pure offensive talent
Even in losses, Washington’s youth core continues getting real minutes, which could accelerate development.
Even in the continuous cycle of tanking for better picks, pretending to win, but still deceiving the NBA, their young stars continue to develop into the stars every hoped they would be.
Star Power Could Create a Future Core
The most confusing part to me is that the Wizards aren’t afraid to take a swing and just take star players like they have in the past.
Trae Young was one of those pick-ups I did NOT see coming. An elite offensive engine that curates the offense to get the best plays every single time. A career 25 PPG scorer and elite playmaking, he showed a strong debut game in Washington, scoring 12 Points and dishing out 6 Assists in 19 Minutes.
Anthony Davis
• Defensive superstar when healthy
• Interior anchor potential
Anthony Davis was another one of these trades that didn’t make sense, why bring in a 34 Year old injured forward and ruin the rebuild for maybe half a season of AD? A 2-Way Superstar when healthy, Davis has serious potential to always be a defensive player of the year candidate every time he is healthy, but the only question I still have is why?
A healthy trio of Young, Davis and Sarr in Washington sounds good on paper, but how will they fit? The absolute abundance of forwards, lack of true point guards, undeveloped backups, this could give the Wizards one of the best trios in the East, but also the most unreliable.
Injuries Have Destroyed Any Momentum
The Wizards roster has been devastated by injuries, all season, here are just a few:
Anthony Davis
• Finger sprain
• Out for extended time / possibly season
Anthony Davis was diagnosed with an eye injury at the start of the season and was forced to wear protective goggles for the rest of his career, but the injuries don’t end there. A finger sprain, believed to be major, has taken his out once more. A horrible injury that has taken him out for extended time, potentially the season.
Cam Whitmore
• Deep vein thrombosis
• Out for season
Whitmore is another one of the Wizards sneaky pickups, but one of the most devastating. He suffered from deep vein thrombosis early in the season, taking him out for the year after 9.2 PPG in only his 3rd season, 1st with the Wizards.
Alex Sarr
• Hamstring strain
• Week-to-week
The last major injury is Alex Sarr’s hamstring strain, which is mild, only week-to-week, but players that suffer lots of injuries early in their career have been proven to suffer more major ones later. He is averaging 17.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG and 2 BPG in the 2025-26 season, and is showing true upside in only his 2nd season.
Other injuries:
• Kyshawn George – Partially torn UCL
• Tristan Vukcevic – Thigh contusion
• Jamir Watkins – Ankle
• Leaky Black – Ankle
This has forced the team to rely heavily on rookies and two-way players, including Julian Reese, who recently posted 18 points and 20 rebounds in a breakout performance, but NBA Teams can’t rely on luck, they must rely on reasoning.
The Team Simply Isn’t Competitive Right Now
Even accounting for injuries, the Wizards have struggled badly, I mean really bad.
Their defense is the 1 thing that is truly letting them down. ranking 29th in the league in Points allowed and defensive rating, the Wizards have terrible interior defense, despite having Sarr and Davis, terrible transition and perimeter defence despite Whitmore, Coulibaly and Johnson, and it comes down to availability.
Offensively, the team is no better. 112.2 PPG, 25th in the NBA, but they allow their opponents to pull down the most rebounds in the NBA (47.9), the 2nd most assists (28.8) and the 2nd most steals (9.8), but all this is nothing compared to their efficiency.
The result: a team losing often while trying to integrate stars, creating a confusing direction.
The Wizards have clearly blundered any opportunity, but if the Hornets were to lose their next 17 games straight and the Wizards were to win their next 17, that would put them at 37 Wins with 46 Losses, good enough for 10th in the east with 4 games remaining.
Although this is stupid, the Wizards are in that kind of position, are they truly done with rebuilding, still going but acquiring assets or simply stuck in a transition, all in all, they are very well positioned in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, and a top-5 potentially even Top-3 Pick is waiting for them at the seasons end.
Until then, the Wizards faces a fundamental question:
Are they building around Trae Young, waiting for Anthony Davis to get healthy, or simply hoping the draft lottery delivers their next franchise cornerstone?
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