The 2024–25 Washington Wizards season is the 64th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 51st in the Washington, D.C. area. On May 29, 2024, the Washington Wizards hired Brian Keefe as their full-time head coach.[1]
| 2024–25 Washington Wizards season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Brian Keefe |
| General manager | Will Dawkins |
| President | Michael Winger |
| Owner(s) | Ted Leonsis |
| Arena | Capital One Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–21 (.125) |
| Place | Division: 5th (Southeast) Conference: 15th (Eastern) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | Monumental Sports Network |
| Radio | Federal News Radio 106.7 The Fan |
Background
editThe previous season ended on the lowest ever note for the Washington Wizards franchise, with a 15–67 record through the regular season, including an 0–4 record in the group stage of the new 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament, and a 16-game losing streak. The only team to perform worse during that season was the Detroit Pistons, who finished with a 14–68 record, including a record-high 28-game losing streak. Continuing their rebuild, the new front office prioritized finding and developing youth talent. The team decided to make Brian Keefe, who finished the season as the interim head coach after Wes Unseld Jr.'s removal, the full-time Head Coach for the coming season. The front office also made multiple trades to land multiple picks in present and future drafts. After winning the #2 overall pick through the lottery, and a pair of draft-night trades, the team finished the 2024 NBA Draft with three first-round picks. Those picks turned into Alexandre Sarr, Carlton "Bub" Carrington, and Kyshawn George. In addition, Deni Avdija was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers to land Malcolm Brogdon, while Jonas Valančiūnas was acquired in a sign-and-trade deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Wizards then signed multiple players to lower-end contracts. Of note were extensions to Corey Kispert ($54M over four years), Richaun Holmes ($25.9M over two years), and from the Detroit Pistons, Saddiq Bey ($19M over three years).
October
editThe Wizards opened their season at home in Capital One Arena, with Sarr starting at Center, Bilal Coulibaly and Kyle Kuzma in the front court, and Jordan Poole and Carrington bringing up the rear. Despite a strong performance from Poole that night, the team lost as no one else made any 3 Point Shots (except one from Patrick Baldwin Jr.) and did not get as many Free Throw attempts. Despite the sluggish start, the Wizards finished the month with back-to-back wins against the Atlanta Hawks, and ended October at 2–2.
November
editThe Wizards did not win a single game in this month, including a rematch against the Hawks on November 15 that ended with a 117-129 loss, and were the only NBA team to have not won a game in the mid-season tournament since it was created last year. After back-to-back drubbings at the hands of the Pistons and Knicks in the following two games, Keefe publicly called out himself and his players for poor efforts.[2] Though the team appeared to play with more effort after that, they still did not win a single game, ending the month on a 14-game losing streak and a 2–16 overall record after a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on November 30.
Draft picks
edit| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alex Sarr | PF |  France
|
Perth Wildcats Australia |
| 1 | 26 | Dillon Jones | SF |  United States
|
Weber State |
| 2 | 51 | Melvin Ajinça | SF | France
|
Sanit-Quentin LNB Élite |
The Wizards entered the draft holding two first-round picks and one second round pick.[3][4] The Wizards would not swap their top pick with either the Memphis Grizzlies or the Phoenix Suns this year following their Bradley Beal trade from last season since their pick remained the best out of three possible selections this year.
With the #2 Overall selection, the Wizards drafted the tall French prospect Alex Sarr from the Perth Wildcats in Australia. Shortly before the start of the draft, the Wizards traded Deni Avdija to the Portland Trail Blazers and got their #14 pick as part of the return, which they used on Bub Carrington from Pittsburgh. During the first draft night, the Wizards then struck a trade with the New York Knicks to move up two spots, giving their last two picks of this year's draft (#26 and #51) to acquire the rights to the Knicks' #24 pick, which became Kyshawn George.
Roster
edit| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Standings
editDivision
edit| Southeast Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando Magic | 17 | 11 | .607 | – | 10–1 | 7–10 | 4–0 | 28 |
| Miami Heat | 13 | 11 | .542 | 2.0 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 3–1 | 24 |
| Atlanta Hawks | 14 | 13 | .519 | 2.5 | 7–6 | 7–7 | 3–2 | 27 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 7 | 19 | .269 | 9.0 | 5–10 | 2–9 | 0–6 | 26 |
| Washington Wizards | 3 | 21 | .125 | 12.0 | 2–11 | 1–10 | 2–3 | 24 |
Conference
edit| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | Cleveland Cavaliers * | 23 | 4 | .852 | – | 27 |
| 2 | Boston Celtics * | 21 | 5 | .808 | 1.5 | 26 |
| 3 | New York Knicks * | 16 | 10 | .615 | 6.5 | 26 |
| 4 | Orlando Magic | 17 | 11 | .607 | 6.5 | 28 |
| 5 | Milwaukee Bucks | 14 | 11 | .560 | 8.0 | 25 |
| 6 | Miami Heat | 13 | 11 | .542 | 8.5 | 24 |
| 7 | Atlanta Hawks | 14 | 13 | .519 | 9.0 | 27 |
| 8 | Indiana Pacers | 12 | 15 | .444 | 11.0 | 27 |
| 9 | Chicago Bulls | 12 | 15 | .444 | 11.0 | 27 |
| 10 | Detroit Pistons | 10 | 16 | .385 | 12.5 | 26 |
| 11 | Brooklyn Nets | 10 | 16 | .385 | 12.5 | 26 |
| 12 | Philadelphia 76ers | 8 | 16 | .333 | 13.5 | 24 |
| 13 | Charlotte Hornets | 7 | 19 | .269 | 15.5 | 26 |
| 14 | Toronto Raptors | 7 | 20 | .259 | 16.0 | 27 |
| 15 | Washington Wizards | 3 | 21 | .125 | 18.5 | 24 |
Game log
editPreseason
edit| 2024 preseason game log Total: 2–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preseason: 2–3 (home: 2–0; road: 0–3)
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| 2024–25 preseason schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Regular season
edit| 2024–25 game log Total: 3–21 (Home: 2–11; Road: 1–10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 2–2 (home: 1–2; road: 1–0)
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November: 0–14 (home: 0–6; road: 0–8)
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December: 1–5 (home: 1–3; road: 0–2)
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January
: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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February
: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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March
: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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April
: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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| 2024–25 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NBA Cup
editThe groups were revealed during the tournament announcement on July 12, 2024.[5][6]
East Group C
edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta Hawks | 4 | 3 | 1 | 485 | 470 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Boston Celtics | 4 | 3 | 1 | 482 | 459 | 23 | |
| 3 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 480 | 450 | 30 | |
| 4 | Chicago Bulls | 4 | 2 | 2 | 518 | 512 | 6 | |
| 5 | Washington Wizards | 4 | 0 | 4 | 408 | 482 | −74 |
Transactions
editTrades
edit| June 26, 2024[7] | To Washington Wizards Draft rights to Kyshawn George (No. 24) |
To New York Knicks Draft rights to Dillon Jones (No. 26) Draft rights to Melvin Ajinça (No. 51) |
| July 6, 2024 | To Washington Wizards Malcolm Brogdon Draft rights to Bub Carrington (No. 14) First round pick in the 2029 NBA draft Two future second-round draft picks |
To Portland Trail Blazers Deni Avdija |
| July 6, 2024[8][9] | To Washington Wizards |
To New Orleans Pelicans 2027 CHI protected second-round pick |
Free agency
editRe-signed
edit| Date re-signed | Player | Contract | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 29 | Richaun Holmes | $25.9M / 2 years, with only $250K guaranteed for the 2025–26 season. | [10] |
| July 3 | Tristan Vukčević | Two-way contract | [11] |
| July 25 | Anthony Gill | $4.7M / 2 years | [12] |
| October 21 | Corey Kispert | $54M / 4 years, with 2028-29 Club Option | [13] |
| October 21 | Jared Butler | Two-way contract |
Additions
edit| Date Signed | Player | Contract | Former Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 11 | Saddiq Bey | $19M / 3 years | Detroit Pistons | [14] |
Subtractions
edit| Date Left | Player | Reason | New Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 6, 2024 | Landry Shamet | Waived | ||
| August 21, 2024 | Eugene Omoruyi | Waived |
References
edit- ^ "Wizards Name Brian Keefe Head Coach". NBA.com. May 29, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
- ^ Shankar, Varun (November 19, 2024). "Amid nine-game skid, Wizards coach questions team's competitiveness". Washington Post. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
- ^ Quinn, Sam (May 13, 2024). "2024 NBA Draft order: Complete list of picks as Atlanta Hawks win No. 1 selection in Lottery". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NBA Draft Order: Picks 1-58". NBA.com. May 14, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "NBA unveils new logo and game dates for Emirates NBA Cup 2024". NBA.com. July 11, 2024. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
- ^ "Emirates NBA Cup 2024: Group Draw Results". NBA.com. July 12, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ "Wizards Select Alex Sarr with 2nd Overall Pick in 2024 NBA Draft". NBA.com. June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ "New Orleans Pelicans complete sign-and-trade agreement with Washington Wizards". NBA.com. July 6, 2024. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
- ^ "Wizards Acquire Valanciunas". NBA.com. July 6, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
- ^ Hill, Arthur (June 29, 2024). "Richaun Holmes Declines Option, Signs Extension With Wizards". Hoops Rumors. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
- ^ "Wizards Sign Vukcevic to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
- ^ "Wizards Re-sign Anthony Gill". Washington Wizards. NBA. July 25, 2024. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
- ^ Adams, Luke (October 21, 2024). "Wizards Sign Corey Kispert To Four-Year Extension". Hoops Rumors. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
- ^ Adams, Luke (July 10, 2024). "Wizards Sign Saddiq Bey To Three-Year Deal". Hoops Rumors. Retrieved September 28, 2024.