The last couple days have been a little trying for Washington Wizards fans. Sure, none of us expected to see the Wizards winning most of their games in the 2025-26 NBA season. But when is the effort to tank going to well?
Yesterday, I wrote on the same topic. But I’ll link to another article from earlier this week by Varun Shankar of The Washington Post. There are additional insights into the circumstances surrounding the players-only meeting that followed the Wizards’ blowout loss to the Brooklyn
Nets last Sunday. From Shankar’s piece:
This loss felt different — and despite the coaches’ denials, it seems as if it was at least partially because of the opponent. Center Alex Sarr said the issues struck the team more after Sunday’s loss because it was a game Washington should have won; asked why, he pointed to the Nets’ record. Sarr also said the coaching staff was not a topic of discussion during the players-only meeting.
Asked about Keefe’s postgame message, forward Kyshawn George said: “Look at yourself in the mirror and answer the deeper questions. It’s more than basketball. What do you really want in life? What do you want to build? What do we want to do here as an organization? Just make sure you answer the question correctly and come up with the correct mindset the next day.”
As an organization, the Wizards want to build a long term contender through the NBA Draft. But to get prime draft position, the Wizards (or any team with such goals) will construct teams that are built to lose games in the short term. Players and coaches do not want to lose games and it takes a toll on them at some point. Still, I’d say that if the Wizards can be resilient and win their fair share of games for the rest of this season, then maybe we as fans will see at least some of the current players be part of Washington’s next playoff team and beyond. But if they are buckling regularly this season, then this rebuild will last longer than what the front office believes.
So do I think the Wizards are “too good” at tanking? No. Not yet. But losing endlessly won’t guarantee a franchise savior at some point.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
