Why the Wizards Will Make the Playoffs (10-7-26)
By: Tyrone Montgomery Jr.
Headline Photo Credit: Imagn Photos
For years, the Washington Wizards have been stuck in the cycle of losing, rebuilding and looking toward the future. But after seasons of tanking, the light at the end of the tunnel may finally be getting brighter. The losing may have finally paid off.
The Wizards enter this season looking like a team that has the talent, depth and star power to potentially make a serious push toward the playoffs. For once, the conversation surrounding Washington isn’t just about another rebuild or another draft pick. It’s about what this team can accomplish right now. The biggest key, however, will be health.
Talent is no longer a question for Washington. The Wizards have plenty of it. Anthony Davis gives the team an established superstar and a dominant interior presence, but his availability will always be something to monitor. Davis has dealt with injuries throughout his career, and Washington can reasonably expect him to miss games from time to time. What the Wizards cannot afford is another extended absence that keeps him off the floor for a significant portion of the season. Fortunately, Washington has something it hasn’t had in years, depth.
The Wizards have surrounded their stars with young players possessing fresh legs, versatility and plenty of upside. That depth should allow them to survive stretches when injuries inevitably occur. Then there is AJ Dybantsa. Dybantsa has the type of skill set that can eventually make him the face of a franchise. He has good size, can score at multiple levels and has the versatility to play and defend multiple positions. Life gets a lot easier for him by him playing next to a point guard like Trae Young.
Young’s ability to create shots and put the ball in the hands of his teammates could give Dybantsa opportunities to attack defenses without having to carry the entire offensive burden himself. This is going to be a dangerous combination this upcoming season. The Wizards also have plenty of players capable of putting the ball in the basket. Tre Johnson has the scoring ability to become a major offensive weapon, while Kyshawn George and Bub Carrington provide additional shooting, playmaking and versatility.
Defensively, Washington has its own foundation. Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly can serve as the team’s defensive captains, giving the Wizards young players capable of making an impact on that end of the floor. Sarr’s size and shot-blocking ability can anchor the interior, while Coulibaly’s athleticism and ability to defend multiple positions give Washington flexibility on the perimeter.
Suddenly, the Wizards don’t just have a collection of young players. They have different pieces that fit together. And perhaps the most telling part of this entire rebuild is that Bub Carrington openly acknowledged that Washington was targeting Dybantsa during its tanking process. Now that the Wizards have drafted him, the years of losing doesn’t look like it was all for nothing.
Tanking is never guaranteed to work. Draft picks have to develop, veterans have to stay healthy and young players have to become the players the organization believes they can be. But Washington appears to have accumulated enough talent to make the gamble worthwhile. The Wizards have a potential superstar in Dybantsa, an established star in Davis, a dynamic playmaker in Young, scoring threats throughout the roster and young defensive anchors in Sarr and Coulibaly.
After years of losing, Washington finally looks like it has something worth protecting. Now the mission is simple: stay healthy, continue developing and let the talent take over. The Wizards spent years building toward this moment. This team looks like they are ready to compete again.
