The Washington Wizards finally have a team worth watching for more than whoever happens to be visiting Capital One Arena. With AJ Dybantsa beginning his NBA career in the nation’s capital, several home games stand out — especially when another top player comes to town.
Here is a very subjective top five home games to see in person this season now that the 2026-27 schedule is out.
1. Philadelphia 76ers — Wednesday, Mar. 18, 7 p.m. ET
This is the obvious No. 1: Dybantsa vs. LeBron James.
With James now in Philadelphia, this matchup adds to the relative regional
rivalry between D.C. and the City of Brotherly Love. At 42, there also aren’t going to be many more chances to see James play in Washington.
While Philadelphia returns on April 2 at 7 p.m., it’s also possible that the 76ers (or the Wizards) could start taking “load management” measures before the postseason.
2. San Antonio Spurs — Thursday, Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET
Dybantsa vs. Victor Wembanyama on New Year’s Day.
That’s enough to make this one of the year’s best tickets. It’s San Antonio’s only trip to Washington, and the 5 p.m. holiday start makes it a great time to watch an NBA basketball game after celebrating New Year’s Day the night before.
3. Utah Jazz — Friday, Mar. 6, 7 p.m. ET
Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson were the two biggest names entering the 2026 NBA Draft, and now Washington gets its first Capital One Arena look at the two young stars against each other. This is also a matchup between Dybantsa’s current team against an NBA team in the state where he played college basketball last season at Brigham Young.
Utah only visits Washington once, making March 6 the date for anyone who wants to watch what could become one of Dybantsa’s intra-draft class rivalries.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder — Wednesday, Jan. 7, 7 p.m. ET
This is a measuring-stick game.
Rather than another rookie storyline, Dybantsa and the Wizards get to see how they stack up against one of the NBA’s elite teams and the 2024-25 NBA champions. Besides the fact that OKC is a Western Conference team, the Thunder are still a pretty young team, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. It’s like this is the Wizards playing a potential future version of themselves.
5. Golden State Warriors — March 27, 7 p.m.
Stephen Curry is getting older, which means every remaining trip to Washington is worth appreciating. When this game is on a Friday night, and when Dybantsa faces off against Curry (though not directly), this is a good game to circle.
What about the Knicks?
I’ll be honest. The New York Knicks are the defending NBA champions. They’ll visit Washington twice: Friday, December 18 at 7 p.m. and Monday, March 16 at 7 p.m. If I had a sixth slot and really wanted to see the Wizards play the defending champions at home, the December game is the better bet.
That said, Washington will be an underdog to New York either way, and matchups against Western Conference teams are scarce. They just play in D.C. one time a year.
What keeps New York outside my top five is simply scarcity. You get two opportunities to see the Knicks. There is only one home game against Wembanyama, Peterson, Gilgeous-Alexnader and Curry. James on the other hand is the oldest player and still one of the best players in the league, so watch him while you still can.
