Despite the low expectations for the Washington Wizards coming into the 2023-2024 season, the team has arguably even underperformed. The Wizards just recently ended their 16 game losing streak, tying a stretch in the 2009-2010 season for the longest losing streak in franchise history.
After this string of bad performances, the Wizards have no chance at competing for a spot in the NBA playoffs, and fans are already turning to next season.
It is highly likely this season will go down as the worst season in the Wizards franchise history. So far this season the Wizards are 11-55, winning a meager 16% percent of their games this year. If the Wizards continue at this rate, they are projected to win no more than three games during the rest of the regular season.
Washington’s worst record since the beginning of the 82 game season format was 19 wins to 63 losses, which the team finished at in both the 2000-2001 and 2008-2009. If the Wizards prove their projection to be true, they will make history by breaking their own franchise’s and the NBA’s standing record, at 18-62, for the lowest season records.
The Wizards have started experimenting for next season. Star player Kyle Kuzma explains that the team is “at that point in the season where a lot of different guys are going to be in the rotation, a lot of different guys are going to be on the roster.”
He believes that the change that needs to occur is “a little bit bigger than finding a rhythm … It’s all about the habits. It’s cliché, but that’s the only thing that you can look forward to trying to improve every day.”
Later, when asked about the team’s long term rebuilding phase, Kuzma added, “You got to have short-term memory and you got to just have faith at the end of the day.”
“I feel like we’re learning from every game,” forward Deni Avdija said after a close loss in their 15th game of the streak.
He says, “You know, it’s tough right now, I’ll be honest. It’s not fun. It’s not fun to lose those games. But I know we’re gonna grow from it.”
Both players offer an optimistic view for the future of the franchise. Another bright spot for fans to look ahead to is the 2024 NBA Draft, in which the Wizards are a strong contender for the first pick.
