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The Wizards recorded only 17 victories in 2025-26 — their second-fewest in single-season franchise history — before winning the No. 1 overall pick and drafting Dybantsa.
, which will be in place for at least the 2027-29 drafts. The draft lottery will grow from 14 to 16 teams. Lottery odds will be flattened further.
And, most notably,ahead of the 2026-27 campaign. Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington, a 21-year-old gearing up for his third season with the organization, confessed that the Wizards didn't give their all last season. Yet,"We just haven't been told yet to go be the best version of yourself," Carrington said in a"We've all, in a way, been held back. Just because … we were trying to get AJ Dybantsa.
"He repeated those three words again before adding, "But now, no one has handcuffs. Everyone's shackles-free. So that alone is already a conversation starter. But then you put that on top of the coaching, on top of the vets that we have — that's a playoff team.
Really, what's been a conversation starter is Carrington's candor. His remarks were only surprising because he actually said what everyone was thinking. The Wizards recorded only 17 victories in 2025-26 — their second-fewest in single-season franchise history — before winning the No. 1 overall pick and drafting Dybantsa.
They were among a handful of teams, a group that included the Jazz and the Pacers, not so discretely jockeying for draft positioning last season, after which a talent-laden class of NBA prospects were available for the taking. Dybantsa, a standout forward who averaged a nation-leading 25.5 points in his lone season at BYU, headlined that cohort.
The Wizards, who haven't won more than 18 games in each of the past three go-arounds, traded for four-time All-Star guard Trae Young and 10-time All-Star big man Anthony Davis during last season. But Washington didn't hurry them back from the injuries they had suffered with the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks, respectively. Young wound up appearing in only five games with the Wizards, and Davis has yet to play in a contest with Washington.
Not only that, but the Wizards gave plenty of minutes to players who had spent time with their G League team, including those on two-way contracts. With Young and Davis in the rotation, plus a young corps surrounding them, the Wizards could be one of the most improved teams in the NBA this season. They also might be one of the last beneficiaries of tanking as we knew it.
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