The definitive 2010’s Washington Wizards “All-Decade Team”
By Keith Cork
Starting Center
Marcin Gortat (2013-18) 11.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 55.5% FG%, 1.5 apg, 0.5 spg
This was another no-brainer as Marcin Gortat, The “Polish Hammer,” held down the big man spot for the Wizards for half the decade. In four of those seasons, the Washington Wizards made the playoffs, and in two of those seasons he averaged a double-double.
His pick-and-roll rapport with John Wall was on another level and, sometimes donning his iconic mohawk, had a ton of Earth shattering dunks for our 2010’s Wizards teams.
Gortat truly patrolled the paint in the playoffs for the Wiz, averaging 9.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in the high-intensity atmosphere of the NBA playoffs.
And all of this from an overlooked guy not drafted until nearly the end of the 2nd round of the 2005 NBA draft, 57th overall. He even won an Eastern Conference Player of the Week nod in 2015.
No center has come close to his level of production (yet) with a constant rotation of big men from Kevin Séraphin to Emeka Okafor before Gortat came on board. The trade for Gortat might be the best of all time in Wizards history, as it netted our organization Gortat, Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, and Kendall Marshall, all for Okafor and a 2014 protected first-round draft pick, which was used to draft Tyler Ennis. Okafor never appeared for the Suns due to a herniated disc in his neck that kept him out the entire following season.