For years, the Washington Wizards have been trying to dig themselves out of the hole at the bottom of the NBA standings, one that the previous front office regime built.
After years of costly draft mistakes, questionable roster decisions, and lackluster coaching, Washington seemed to finally get it right with the hiring of general manager Will Dawkins and President of Monumental Basketball Michael Winger.
The Wizards began to find real value in the draft to bolster their young core, and considering their historic bad luck, the areas in which they found value within the draft were impressive in its own right.
Nonetheless, after years of failing to land the top pick over the course of their multi-year rebuild, Washington was granted one final opportunity this offseason to earn the top pick in the NBA Draft before the new NBA Draft rules put an end to tanking for rebuilding teams.
Fortunately for Washington, their bad luck spell was snapped at the perfect time, helping them avoid what could have been a nightmare scenario in their rebuild.
Wizards last tanking team to earn No. 1 pick before new rules
With the NBA's new 3-2-1 draft rules, the bottom three teams in the league will no longer be given the highest chance to earn the top pick, but instead penalized.
For the Wizards and every other rebuilding team in the league, it gives them an incentive to compete rather than intentionally drop games.
The rules alone are designed to stop tanking, but as a result, Washington found themselves as the last tanking team to be crowned the No. 1 overall pick, at least for the next four years, while the league tries out this new approach to the NBA Draft.
Before the 2026 NBA Draft, the Wizards' last time owning the top pick was in 2010. Considering they've been rebuilding for what seems like nearly a decade, that stat alone feels absurd.
If the Wizards weren't granted the No. 1 overall pick this offseason, they would have gone through their entire rebuild without landing the top selection to land their cornerstone of the future.
Outside of the projected top pick this offseason, the team's highest pick in recent years was Alex Sarr, who they selected No. 2 overall in 2024.
All that to say, the Wizards dodged a bullet.
Wizards ending their rebuild at the perfect time
The Wizards made it clear ahead of the trade deadline after their acquisitions of Trae Young and Anthony Davis that their young squad had given them enough confidence to exit the rebuilding phase.
With the team officially entering the next stage of their process to get back in the mix, earning the top pick this offseason in the last possible draft, where being at the bottom of the standings could earn a team the No. 1 overall pick, the Wizards clearly ended the rebuild at the perfect time.
Had the team not secured a top pick throughout the entirety of their rebuild, it's safe to say that would have been a disaster.
Thankfully, the Wizards don't have to worry about that anymore.
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