RSS Wizards Team Notes

[Washington Wizards]

SB Nation Reacts: How good do you think the Wizards will be in the 2025-26 season?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Washington Wizards fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

This week, the national survey from SB Nation focused on the WNBA’s impasse with its labor agreement with the players and the quality of their officiating. But we also have a general survey for you on how many wins you think the Wizards will get in the 2025-26 season and more.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/comm...ink-the-wizards-will-be-in-the-2025-26-season

 

[Washington Wizards]

One NBA analyst believes the Wizards will be the league’s worst team in the Eastern Conference 2025-26

Since Michael Winger became the President of Monumental Basketball and Will Dawkins became the Washington Wizards General Manager in 2023, the team has decided to “deconstruct” or rebuild from the ground up. The 2023-24 Wizards only won 15 regular season games and the 2024-25 team won just 18. The 2025-26 Wizards are still rebuilding, but are they now about to turn a corner?

Probably not.

This is the time of year when multiple NBA preseason predictions come out. And according to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, he predicted every NBA team’s win-loss record for the 2025-26 season. And he predicts Washington will have the worst record in the Eastern Conference with a 16-66 record, well below the Charlotte Hornets who are predicted to have a 25-57 record.

Here are some of the more notable snippets from Hollinger’s analysis on the Wizards.

The Wizards need to finish with one of the NBA’s four worst records this season to guarantee they keep their first-round pick, which is top-eight protected to New York. Alas, the roster should not impede them from pulling off this feat. (The Wizards will owe the Knicks second-rounders in 2026 and 2027 if the first-rounder doesn’t convey.)

…

Expect the Wizards to continue building that draft pick war chest during the season, likely in deals that send out contributors such as McCollum, Middleton, Kispert and the wildly underrated Justin Champagnie. Don’t expect many wins just yet, but after two wasted decades spent chasing the eighth seed, Washington is doing this the right way.

In short, Hollinger believes the Wizards will continue to look to sell their best players and this will be another tough season when it comes to wins and losses. I can see CJ McCollum, Khris Middleton, and/or Corey Kispert traded before the end of this season as the Wizards look to continue stocking up on first round draft picks. It is refreshing to see the Wizards take a nearly scorched-earth approach to rebuild their roster. However, at some point, fans will expect tangible wins from the team. That time isn’t now, but it will come at some point.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/late...ards-worst-eastern-conference-team-projection

 

[Washington Wizards]

How to make sure Bullets Forever shows up in your Google search

As many of you are likely aware, Google searches are different these days from what they were back in the 2000s and 2010s. Boolean searches, a popular technique that is seeing diminished returns today.

The good news is Google is offering a solution for folks who like to get their news from specific sources. If you want to help Bullets Forever — while also streamlining all your Google searches — there is now a way.

Simply click on this link and add Bullets Forever as one of your “Source preferences.” That’s all there is to it!

In August, the tech giant introduced a feature called “Preferred Sources.” It’s a way for Google to prominently feature the results from websites you trust, like Bullets Forever:

“With the launch of Preferred Sources in the U.S. and India, you can select your favorite sources and stay up to date on the latest content from the sites you follow and subscribe to — whether that’s your favorite sports blog or a local news outlet. …

When you select your preferred sources, you’ll start to see more of their articles prominently displayed within Top Stories, when those sources have published fresh and relevant content for your search.“

As some of you may be aware, generative AI searches are harming news outlets worldwide and across all platforms. For over 18 years, we’ve worked hard at Bullets Forever to build a brand you can trust and rely on for Washington Wizards and Mystics coverage. Our goal is to serve you, the fans.

If you’re a fan of our work and want to get the best Wizards and Mystics coverage possible, this is an excellent win-win to improve your Google searches while helping Bullets Forever out.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/bull...ullets-forever-shows-up-in-your-google-search

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards sign Skal Labissiere to Exhibit 10 deal

The Washington Wizards have signed F/C Skal Labissiere to an Exhibit 10 contract, the team announced Monday.

The Washington Wizards have signed F/C Skal Labissiere to an Exhibit 10 contract.

In a related move, the team has waived F Akoldah Gak.

— Wizards PR (@WizPRStats) October 6, 2025

Labissiere, 29, spent Summer League with the Orlando Magic. He played the 2024-25 season with the Stockton Kings of the G League, averaging 16.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.

In a corresponding move, the team announced it waived Akoldah Gak, who was recently signed to an Exhibit 10 contract. Teams do this during training camp to lock players into their G League team, for if a player signs an Exhibit 10 contract with an NBA team and later signs with that team’s G League affiliate, they get a $75k bonus.

Gak joins Jonathan Pierre and Keshon Gilbert as players who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Wizards before being waived. Those three, plus Leaky Black and now Labiessiere, will likely join the Capital City Go-Go in the coming weeks.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...zards-sign-skal-labissiere-to-exhibit-10-deal

 

[Washington Wizards]

SB Nation Reacts: WNBA fans believe officiating is poor and that leadership is the biggest problem

In this week’s SB Nation Reacts national survey, all eyes are on the WNBA. The 2025 Finals between the Las Vegas Aces and Phoenix Mercury is in full swing. The Aces are leading the series 3-0 and could win it all tonight in Game 4, which will be at 8 p.m. ET tonight and aired on ESPN.

The survey however focuses on two different issues. One is on the officiating in the WNBA. The second is on what the biggest issue in the WNBA is given that the current Collective Bargaining Agreement will end on Oct. 31 where a lockout, is possible.

Here are this week's SB Nation Reacts results to the national survey regarding WNBA officiating quality and more. pic.twitter.com/jAIBB4Ijvl

— BF_Mystics (@BF_mystics) October 10, 2025

With officiating, the verdict is clear. Of the respondents to our national survey, 97 percent — nearly everyone — believe that there is an officiating problem in the league, in particular with the degree of physical contact that is tolerated. Check out this article by Kendra Andrews of ESPN to learn more.

Now, the WNBA is about to enter a period of uncertainty due to the current CBA negotiations. And nearly half — of 49 percent — of respondents believe that league leadership is the issue. This sentiment also tends to be pro-player among the fans who voted.

We have seen plenty of clashes between players and league leaders. Former NBA Commissioner David Stern was a notoriously tough negotiator who was both respected for growing the NBA and maintaining a hard line with players, the latter of which made him unpopular with NBA fans, despite his overall respect. While Stern was one of the best marketers and strategists out there (and he was a lawyer bytrade), the reality is that Stern was an employee of the owners — NOT a players’ union leader.

Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA Commissioner, is being cast as a bad leader. But again, she, like Stern or current NBA Commissioner Adam Silver represents the WNBA team owners — and yes, Silver himself. Her job is to grow the game and the league’s presence. I think she has done a good job of those things since 2019 when she took the job. The WNBA now has 13 teams, up from 12 when she started. There will be 15 teams in the 2026 season. And in 2030, the WNBA will have 30 teams. The league is funded more than it ever has. The coverage is bigger than it ever has. From this stand, things are going well.

But while NBA players feared Stern, they still respected him. And that’s what Engelbert may not have as much of right now. If players lack confidence in a commissioner, team owners will eventually worry about whether star players will want to play in the WNBA (remember, players can still play overseas). And so will Silver himself.

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How do you think WNBA officiating is? And do you think Engelbert should stay as WNBA Commissioner? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/mystics/65528/sb-nation-reacts-wnba-survey-results

 

[Washington Wizards]

The Wizards are projected to be the NBA’s worst team in 2025-26 per ESPN model

The 2025-26 NBA season projections are coming in, and we’re starting to see how good (or not so good) teams will be this fall and winter. For the Washington Wizards, there isn’t much hope that they will win more than 20 games this season. According to an ESPN model released yesterday, they are projected to be the worst NBA team overall.

First, a hat tip to this feed post by TrillBroDude (yes, he is an SB Nation employee) who shared this link. According to Kevin Pelton of ESPN, his statistical based model on regular season projects has the Wizards projected to get just 14.2 wins in 2025-26, worst in the Eastern Conference and worst in the NBA overall.

To be fair, Pelton says that he doesn’t think that the Wizards would only win just 14 or so games this season:

15. Washington Wizards
Projected wins: 14.2
ESPN BET over/under total: 20.5

Why they project to be worse than their total: Given how my model tends to compress the expected standings to avoid bad misses, this is a shockingly low projection for the Wizards. In fact, it’s the worst I’ve calculated for a team since adopting this model in 2010. After trading away veterans at the deadline and again this past summer, Washington doesn’t have a single player who rates in the league’s top 130.

We are still waiting on our SB Nation Reacts survey results to our survey regarding how many wins the Wizards will get this year. But I would think that fans would expect more than 14 wins. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/late...izards-season-projection-worst-team-2025-2026

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards vs. Raptors preview: Washington begins preseason at home on Sunday

The Washington Wizards host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday. Here’s the preview.

Game info​

When: Sunday, Oct. 12 at 3 p.m. ET

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network or NBA TV

Injuries: For the Wizards, Bilal Coulibaly (thumb) is out. Alex Sarr (calf) and AJ Johnson (leg) are day-to-day.

For the Raptors, no players are definitively out, but Scottie Barnes (knee) and Jakob Poeltl (back) sat out their preseason game against the Boston Celtics last night. Collin Murray-Boyles had a rib injury during the Celtics game and is day-to-day.

What to watch for​

The Wizards finally begin their 2025-26 NBA season. Sort of. It’s really the preseason. But still, we haven’t seen the Wizards play a game in six months. So tomorrow, we will see how returning young players like Alex Sarr (hopefully), Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George and Tristan Vukcevic will mesh with the rookies like Tre Johnson, Will Riley and Jamir Watkins. And of course, we have to see how the Wizards’ veterans such as CJ McCollum, Khris Middleton and Corey Kispert. Bilal Coulibaly will be out due to a thumb injury he suffered during EuroBasket.

Do I expect to see heavy minutes from the veterans? Probably not.

For the Raptors, hopefully, we’ll see more of their rookie forward Murray-Bowles and see some minutes from Poeltl and former Wizards Garrett Temple, the latter who re-signed with them last season. The Raptors also had one of the NBA’s top defenses after the All-Star break (SECOND in fact) last season, and we’ll have to see how Washington fares against that tomorrow.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...ds-toronto-raptors-nba-preseason-game-preview

 

[Washington Wizards]

#SoWizards Podcast is Back! Talking Player Development with Coach Brian McCormick

We’re back!

The first episode of the #SoWizards Podcast in nearly a year is a fun one — an in-depth conversation with coach Brian McCormick about player development strategies and techniques, and how those might be applied by the Washington Wizards and other NBA teams with young players.

We covered a lot of ground, including comparing development in Europe and the U.S. and how organizational philosophy influences the coaching approach to helping players improve.

McCormick is an ideal person to engage in this discussion because he’s coached young and developing players in CYO, AAU, high school, junior college, and college basketball. He’s also worked as a strength and conditioning coach for two junior-college basketball programs.

And he’s well traveled with coaching stops in Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, and Sweden, as well as directing clinics in Canada, China, Greece, Ghana, Kenya, India, Macedonia, Trinidad & Tobago, Uganda, and throughout the United States.

McCormick completed his PhD in Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Utah and published peer-reviewed papers in the International Journal of Exercise Science, International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, and Strength & Conditioning Journal. He has spoken at coaching, strength & conditioning, and sports psychology conferences in the United States and Canada.

He’s also the author of several books to help players and coaches improve in their craft, which are available on Amazon or many places where you might buy books.

Programming Note​

As you might have noticed at the top, the podcast is on YouTube now. Yes, I know there’s stuff that needs to get done on the channel, which I’ll be getting to in the days/weeks ahead.

You can still listen by clicking here, streaming the embed below, or by finding it wherever you get your podcasts.

The plan is to record episodes — including some lives — more or less weekly. Please drop a note in the comments or email me with topics, questions, or guests you’d like me to have on.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/beck...player-development-with-coach-brian-mccormick

 

[Washington Wizards]

SB Nation Reacts: Wizards fans believe Kyshawn George will make biggest jump in 2025-26, win more than 20 games

This week, the national SB Nation Reacts survey for basketball focused on the WNBA. However, for our site, we focused our team specific survey to the Washington Wizards where training camp is underway and their first preseason game will be on Sunday.

We had two questions. First, we asked how many wins you think the Wizards will have in the 2025-26 season. Fifty two percent of respondents believe that the Wizards will win 21-30 games this season while 34 percent believe Washington will win just 10-20. Wizards fans are a little more optimistic than various preseason analyses here and here.

Here are the SB Nation Reacts results for this week's Wizards survey. pic.twitter.com/WI94oJkJ10

— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) October 10, 2025

Our second question focused on which player will make the biggest jump in the 2025-26 season. Of our respondents, 41 percent believe Kyshawn George will make the biggest jump followed by Alex Sarr with 35 percent.

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That’s all I have with our two SB Nation reacts surveys this week. Just two more days until the Wizards are playing preseason basketball!

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/comm...ey-win-predictions-kyshawn-george-improvement

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards at Knicks preview: Washington continues preseason with back-to-back on Monday

The Washington Wizards play the New York Knicks on Monday night. Let’s get right to it.

Game info​

When: Monday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network

Injuries: For the Wizards, Bilal Coulibaly (thumb) is out. Alex Sarr (calf) and AJ Johnson (leg) are day-to-day.

For the Knicks, Josh Hart was under the weather last Thursday in their last preseason game. But they are otherwise with a full roster.

What to watch for​

The Wizards have started the preseason pretty late. After all, most teams played games last week, and Washington’s first game was today which they lost at the buzzer to the Toronto Raptors.

But now, the Wizards are going to hit reality somewhat thanks to a back-to-back scheduled for tomorrow. They will play the Knicks, who are currently 3-0 in their preseason, which includes two games against the Philadelphia 76ers in a series held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Their last game was a 100-95 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

New York is coming off a 2025 Eastern Conference Finals appearance and looks to make the Finals this year, so expect the Knicks to be the favorites tomorrow night. That said, preseason is about playing bench players and deep rotations, so it wouldn’t be out of the question to see the Wizards sneak a win here as well.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...ds-new-york-knicks-nba-preseason-game-preview

 

[Washington Wizards]

Washington Wizards blast New York Knicks for 120-103 preseason win

Justin Champagnie was in midseason form in the Washington Wizards preseason win over the New York Knicks.

For at least one night, the Washington Wizards B team was a lot better than the New York Knicks C team, and the Wizards rolled to a comfortable 120-103 preseason victory. The final 17-point margin tells a sort of traditional NBA story.

The Wizards dominated most of the way. They led by 23 at the half, grew their lead to as much as 36 in the third quarter, and then the Knicks made a bit of a comeback in the late third quarter and fourth to make the final margin more respectable.

This brings me to what I wrote after their first preseason game: “The first rule of preseason NBA basketball is to not take anything seriously.” The second rule: It’s still okay to like things you saw. And dislike some too.

Stuff I liked:

• Tre Johnson — to quote from my notes, “Quick release, confident shooter.” He launched seven shots in 14 minutes, including four threes. None of them were bad shots. His shot chart is an analytics work of art — every attempt was from three-point range or inside the restricted area.
• Justin Champagnie looked to be in midseason form, which is a good thing. He was productive last season — the first time in his career he got extended minutes. He’s young enough and good enough to push his teammates with higher draft status for minutes if they’re not careful.
• Marvin Bagley III had a classic Bagley kind of game. The undermanned Knicks couldn’t keep him from the offensive glass (five offensive boards in 24 minutes). He’s become kind of a punchline, but he’s talented, athletic, and still just 26 years old.
• Bub Carrington bounced back from an atrocious first preseason game with a very good one — 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists in just 14 minutes. And he took care of the ball (just one turnover).
• Tristan Vukcevic was aggressive both looking for his shot (6-9 from the floor) and trying to set up teammates (3 assists and 2 turnovers). He has offensive talent.
• Cam Whitmore flashed eye-popping athletic tools on multiple plays — one a routine defensive rebound where it looked for a moment like he might hit his head on the rim.
• Will Riley was confident and assertive in his 26 minutes. He scored 17 points on 11 shots and was actively attacking New York’s defense.
• Dillon Jones flashed impressive hands — three steals, including two live-dribble swipes.
• Jamir Watkins grabbed 6 rebounds and 17 minutes and showcased some of the defense that will be what earns him a spot in the NBA.
• Tyler Kolek from the Knicks was competitive, physical and effective. He probably won’t get a ton of minutes in New York, but he seems the kind of guy a good team needs — who plays just a bit better than you’d expect when they need him.
• Former Wizards great Trey Jemison III is big, athletic and has maybe somewhat refined his game.
• For all the talk about how hard the Wizards youngsters worked this offseason, Kyshawn George and Corey Kispert were the only two who look visibly different. George clearly added muscle in his arms and shoulders. Kispert made a similar change last season and looks even more chiseled this year.
• Speaking of George, it was interesting to see him trying Doncic-like pace control on drives. He might have overdone it a bit, but I liked seeing him try to keep his defender on his hip and make a play in the paint. Next step: change pace like Doncic does — go slow to fast or fast to slow to befuddle defenders.

And, a few things I didn’t like:

• Dillon Jones’ feet are as slow as his hands are quick. After one excellent steal, he botched the transition possession because it took him so long to get up court. I continue to think what I thought of him in summer league — he needs to lose 15-20 pounds.
• Tre Johnson missed a transition hit-ahead pass in the first quarter. I wasn’t sure whether he didn’t see Kyshawn George or whether he fumbled the ball when trying to make the pass. It might’ve been a bit of both. Call it a teachable moment — he can learn to keep his head up when bringing the ball up court or to work on his ball handling.
• As long as I’m picking on Johnson, I wasn’t thrilled with his elevation when trying to finish inside. That was okay against a Knicks team playing a 6-7 center, but it’s potentially worrying when they face legit NBA size. I did like his willingness to attack closeouts and keep his dribble until he got to the rim.
• Okay, one more on Johnson — in the first quarter, he went left on pick-and-roll. This is good. What didn’t I like? He dropped a pocket pass to Bagley out at the elbow. Bagley scored because he’s skilled, and Johnson drew praise from the Monumental broadcast team. But the pass was too early and left his big with a challenging move in traffic to score. Better would have been to keep his dribble, probe the defense, draw the big man, and THEN drop it to Bagley for an easy bucket. While I didn’t like that pass, it’s okay — he’s 19-years-old. And it’s preseason.
• The Monumental broadcast was in the midseason form, which is not a good thing. They did their usual “miss a play because they were showing a replay and no one noticed the game was starting” thing. At one point, Drew Gooden talked about the team having a “point guard by committee” or something that doesn’t reflect the reality that many teams don’t really have PGs anymore. Which might have just glided past my ears if Chris Miller hadn’t asked Gooden if that “point guard by committee” could make it hard for opponents to “figure out” who’s bringing the ball up. As if opposing players can’t just…you know…look at who has the ball and is dribbling it up court.

One thing I did love from the Monumental broadcast was a preseason mistake — a graphic that read: “NYK: 0 FG last 0:05.” Legit made me laugh.

The Wizards are back in action Thursday night when they’ll close out the preseason at the Detroit Pistons.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...ast-new-york-knicks-for-120-103-preseason-win

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards at Knicks Gamethread

The Washington Wizards play the New York Knicks today at 7:30 p.m. ET. You can watch the game on Monumental Sports Network (preseason games are free). Enjoy the game!

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/washington-wizards-gamethreads/65587/wizards-at-knicks-gamethread

 

[Washington Wizards]

The Knicks were intentional about benching their starters against the Wizards

The Washington Wizards beat the New York Knicks, 120-103 on Monday on the second night of a back-to-back in the preseason. Washington is now 1-1 and has some positive momentum before heading into their next game.

We have already written a bit about the likelihood that the Wizards will be one of the worst teams in the NBA this season once the regular season begins. But why did the Knicks sit out their starters against the Wizards? Even in a preseason game, the starters would show up for at least a little bit. The answer is that it turns out that benching the starters was all part of the plan.

According to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post, Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown did so in order to give reserve players more playing time before roster cuts. Here is the quote where Brown acknowledged the decision to play his reserves:

It’s important. We want to try to give some guys some extended minutes to take a look at them tonight. It’s important because they’ve all been busting their behinds and making that decision is extremely tough.

Do I think that deciding this is fair for Knicks fans who attended a preseason game at Madison Square Garden? No. But I get it. And if you’re a Wizards fan, getting the win isn’t a bad thing. However, when one of the league’s most talented teams decides to bench the starters to play your team where most players did get some time, that also could be rubbed off the wrong way.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/qual...gton-wizards-new-york-knicks-starters-benched

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards at Pistons preview: Washington finishes preseason in Detroit on Thursday

The Washington Wizards close out their 2025 preseason run with a road game against the Detroit Pistons.

Game info​

When: Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m. ET

Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Mi.

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass

Injuries: For the Wizards, Bilal Coulibaly (thumb) is out.

For the Pistons, Jaden Ivey, Caris LeVert, and Colby Jones are all questionable. Cade Cunningham missed Detroit’s last game for rest purposes, but should be back for this one.

What to watch for​

The Wizards will try to roll over some of their momentum from Monday’s dominant 120-107 win over the New York Knicks. Whereas the Knicks benched their starters reportedly to evaluate their depth, Washington will more than likely get a taste of the Pistons at full strength.

In many ways, the Pistons are what the Wizards hope to be in the next couple of years. Two seasons ago, Washington had a better record (15-67) than the Pistons did (14-68). The Pistons turned things around in a big way last season, finishing 44-38 and nabbing the East’s final guaranteed playoff spot.

Most teams usually try to simulate a full game of action in the preseason finale. The Wizards’ starting lineup and rotations may provide some indication of how the team plans to operate to start the 2025-26 campaign. Washington’s performance against a playoff-contending Pistons team may carry a bit more weight as well.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...ds-detroit-pistons-nba-preseason-game-preview

 

[Washington Wizards]

Brothers, Blocks, and Bricks: Takeaways from Wizards’ Preseason Loss to Raptors

The first rule of preseason NBA basketball is to not take anything seriously. It’s an exhibition of NBA basketball, but it’s not really NBA basketball. Sure, guys try, but it’s not full-bore regular season intensity, there’s no game planning, and no one even thinks about a scouting report.

What I’m looking for in a first preseason game is to start getting a sense of how much young players improved, see first clues at what the rotation might be, and no injuries.

For a first preseason game, the Washington Wizards loss to the Toronto Raptors was…fine. They fell behind big, came back, and…well…it doesn’t really matter. It’s just preseason, and we don’t take anything too seriously.

Here are a few things I liked:

• Alex Sarr made shots — 4-5 from the floor — and attempted just one three in 17 minutes. He also blocked a couple shots.
• Khris Middleton was spry, made shots, had a game-high five assists, and hit the boards. Presumably he’ll have the next game off.
• CJ McCollum made shots — 5-9 from three.
• Kyshawn George grabbed 9 rebounds and blocked 4 shots in 25 minutes.

And a few things I didn’t:

• Bub Carrington, Tristan Vukcevic, and McCollum each had four turnovers. Carrington and McCollum comprised the team’s starting backcourt. The Wizards were -34 in Carrington’s 23 minutes of action.
• The team shot 29.0% from three-point range, which was in keeping with them being the league’s second worst three-point shooting team last season.
• Cam Whitmore was fine trying to score but had zero rebounds in 17 minutes.

Based on game one of the preseason minutes (and some pre-first game guessing), I’m anticipating an opening night rotation something like:

Starters​

• G — Bub Carrington
• G — CJ McCollum
• W — Khris Middleton
• W — Kyshawn George
• C — Alex Sarr

Reserves​

• G — Tre Johnson
• W — Corey Kispert
• F — Justin Champagnie
• F — Cam Whitmore
• C — Tristan Vukcevic

That’s 10, which is what head coach Brian Keefe seemed to want to play last season. It’ll be interesting to see who drops from the rotation when Bilal Coulibaly returns from a thumb injury.

If there’s any positional intrigue, I think it could be Marvin Bagley III pushing Vukcevic for the backup big man spot. I don’t think Will Riley or Jamir Watkins are close to ready to push any of the wings or forwards in front of them.

One fun thing​

Washington Wizards big man Alex Sarr and his older brother — Toronto Raptors big, Olivier — exchanged jerseys after the game.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...eaways-from-wizards-preseason-loss-to-raptors

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards at Pistons final score: Washington falls 119-98 in preseason finale

The Washington Wizards got run out of the gym Thursday in their preseason finale, losing 119-98 to the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

The Pistons trotted out their projected starting lineup for this one, in a contest that felt like a dress rehearsal for both sides. The Wizards’ starting lineup of Bub Carrington, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Khris Middleton, and CJ McCollum lasted all of four minutes.

An awkward fall forced Carrington out of the game, with teammates needing to help him to the locker room. The 20-year-old was ruled out for the rest of the game with a knee injury, but was later able to return to the bench in street clothes. Bub looked fine.

Bub Carrington is back on the Wizards' bench, smiling and joking with teammates. https://t.co/kjB8e8q6WV pic.twitter.com/UqQqlDbVN3

— Chase Hughes (@chasedcsports) October 17, 2025

The Wizards fell behind by double digits early and trailed 39-23 midway through the second quarter. But the boys battled back to close the half with Sarr, George, and Kispert keying a 28-18 to cut the deficit to 57-51 at the break. The Sarr-George-Kispert trio combined for 21 of those 28 points. Washington came back despite shooting 1-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first and second quarters.

George stayed hot to start the third quarter. He scored seven of Washington’s first 16 points in the half to help tie the game at 67. The Miami product did it in impressive fashion as well. He shed Cade Cunningham with a nasty behind-the-back dribble for a top-of-the-key three.

Ky's in his bag with this one pic.twitter.com/3gBAspQAH9

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) October 17, 2025

George also challenged Jalen Duren at the rim and won that battle for an And-1, which impressed the Pistons’ broadcast team enough that announcer Greg Kesler had to say, “Look at this dude.”

George finished with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block.

COUNT IT FOR KYSHAWN

20 PTS 6 REB pic.twitter.com/SEsDGwoqnZ

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) October 17, 2025

The Wizards took a 70-69 lead at the 7:01 mark after a three by McCollum. But alas, the good times did not last.

The Pistons closed the quarter out on a 24-9 run to retake a double-digit lead and piled on even more in the fourth quarter. The Wizards fell behind by as many as 26 points late in the 119-98 defeat.

Rookies Tre Johnson and Will Riley did not look comfortable in this one, finishing a combined 2-of-12 from the field for six points. Sarr tallied 10 points, nine rebounds, and a couple of blocks in 23 minutes of work. Kispert added 12 points off the bench.

The games and stats will start to count from here on out.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...e-washington-falls-119-98-in-preseason-finale

 

[Washington Wizards]

Impressions from a three-game Washington Wizards preseason

Once upon a time, the NBA exhibition season was eight games. When players were suspended or pay was pro-rated in some way (say for a 10-day contract), the salary was divided over 90 games, not the 82-game regular season schedule.

While eight games isn’t much, it weirdly provided a surprising amount of information about what was to come in the regular season. For example, for established good teams, the preseason meant basically nothing. They could go 0-8 and still roll in the regular season. In practice, better teams didn’t crater in preseason — they were usually measurably better than opponents, even while not going full bore.

For up-and-coming teams, performance in exhibition games provided a decent barometer on team quality. If they played well in preseason action, they tended to play similarly well in the regular season. If they were bad, they tended to be similarly bad in the real games.

This year — I assume specifically to annoy me and make useless my habit of running statistical analysis on small sample size events like summer league, international tournaments, and preseason games — the Wizards played just three exhibition games to “prepare” for the 2025-26 season.

Yes, I know reducing the preseason schedule was a smart move to trim the length of the schedule, try to reduce the number of injuries, and get more quickly to the games people actually want to see. Me included.

The numbers don’t mean much, so I’ll share a few impressions amalgamated from the three games they played:

• As would be expected for a team so young, the Wizards aren’t going to have many games this season where they’re as strong or stronger than their opponent. Maybe that comes after a couple more years of grinding in the weight room.
• If I could give Tre Johnson a “work on this” list, it would include getting stronger and working on his ball handling.
• Lacking strength or not, Alex Sarr looks like he’s going to be a defensive presence at the rim.
• Corey Kispert didn’t look bad as a ball handler in pick-and-roll sets. He made a couple nice passes in the preseason finale against the Detroit Pistons.
• Will Riley has good length and skills. He has a very long way to go physically.
• Justin Champagnie is going to be a solid pro for several years. I would not be shocked if a contending team that needs a boost came calling for a Kispert-Champagnie package.
• Head coach Brian Keefe is adamant about pushing the pace. He hectored the team to get the ball over half court fast, and yelled repeatedly at his team to “RUN!”
• If preseason is any indicator, the Wizards will follow the Indiana Pacers in picking up defensively full court. I like it.
• Kyshawn George looked promising in preseason — he’s one guy who clearly got stronger and worked on his game in the offseason. His production was a bit uneven, but he’s the guy I’m most interested in seeing against real opponents this season.

Hopefully, Bub Carrington makes a quick return from a “sore knee” that kept him out of much of last night’s game.

Next up: My annual forecast.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...rom-a-three-game-washington-wizards-preseason

 

[Washington Wizards]

The Wizards raise season ticket prices and some fans aren’t happy about that

The Washington Wizards are expected to be the one of the worst teams in the NBA for the 2025-26 season. But ticket prices are expected to keep going up in most locations. And because the team is rebuilding, that means at least some fans are deciding to not renew their tickets altogether.

Varun Shankar of The Washington Post wrote a column recently where several fans were interviewed about their reactions to the Wizards raising prices on season tickets despite the team’s poor record on the court. Some fans have also stopped renewing.

The biggest takeaway however from Shankar’s piece is that the Wizards probably aren’t that dependent on season ticket revenue. Here’s the money quote.

Ticket sales make up about 25 percent of a team’s revenue, according to an executive in another team’s front office, who cautioned that number varies depending on team and market. That figure also excludes game day revenue such as parking and concessions.

NBA teams derive the largest share of their revenue from the league’s media rights deals, the value of which increased sharply and now total over $70 billion. Media revenue is distributed equally among the 30 teams. That might mean the Wizards could have fewer fans walk through their turnstiles and still not suffer too much financially.

And that gives the team’s front office a bit more leniency to execute its patient rebuild. But it could push away some of the team’s most dedicated fans — those shelling out thousands for season tickets — and leave Capital One Arena significantly empty on many nights.

Since ticket sales are a minority of the Wizards’ revenue, the reality is that the team can choose to rebuild the long and hard way without cutting into profits. Also, if a team doesn’t spend extravagantly on players, it’s a way for teams to also keep their profits thanks to revenue sharing of the national media deals.

I’m not trying to insinuate that the Wizards are doing this simply to make or keep profits. But given that the Wizards are rebuilding and aren’t investing into salaries at the moment, it is feasible to see them do this long rebuild, see if things work out or not and not become unprofitable in the process.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/qual...s-season-ticket-price-increases-with-bad-team

 

[Washington Wizards]

Wizards at Pistons Gamethread

The Washington Wizards play the Detroit Pistons at 7 p.m. Thursday. You can watch the game on Monumental Sports Network (preseason games are free). Enjoy the game!

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/washington-wizards-gamethreads/65633/wizards-at-pistons-gamethread

 

[Washington Wizards]

Bub Carrington fully participates in practice

On Oct. 16, Washington Wizards guard suffered sore knee injury in Washington’s game against the Detroit Pistons. This forced him to miss the rest of the game.

Knee got caught underneath Bub after an awkward fall.

Gotta hope he’s okay https://t.co/WSP7ss1n3S pic.twitter.com/75tH2jQVYq

— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) October 16, 2025

Carrington is entering his second NBA season and will be a key player for the Wizards’ 2025-26 campaign. If he had to miss regular season time, that would be a blow to the Wizards’ goal of having a mostly healthy roster to start the year.

Today, the Wizards hosted practice. And thankfully, Carrington participated fully.

Bub Carrington (sore knee) was a full participant in the Wizards' practice today, Brian Keefe said.

— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) October 19, 2025

What do you hope Carrington shows on the court this season? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: https://www.bulletsforever.com/wash...b-carrington-washington-wizards-injury-update