The Washington Wizards rebuild is still in the early stages as general manager Will Dawkins continues to build towards the future.
Washington has assembled one of the most talented young cores in the NBA, and although they're not close to competing in the Eastern Conference yet, it's clear the team has made strides in the right direction.
However, it's becoming abundantly clear throughout this season that the team is still one player away from truly being a force to be reckoned with in the East.
Fortunately, the team's abysmal start to the season has put them once again in the same place they found themselves at the end of last year; leading the the sweepstakes for the No. 1 overall pick.
With top prospects like Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, AJ Dybantsa and Mikel Brown Jr. leading a loaded 2026 NBA Draft class, this could be the offseason that allows not only for the Wizards to land a premiere prospect, but could allow the struggling organization to forget about the team's recent strikeouts in pass drafts.
The problem? Take last year's NBA Draft Lottery for example.
Washington entered last offseason tied for the highest odds to earn the top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
With the chance to land a generational talent in Cooper Flagg, the Wizards seemed destined to put their historic bad luck in the past and land the future cornerstone for them to build around.
Instead, the Wizards were forced to see their worst nightmares come true when a true dark horse in the Dallas Mavericks earned the top pick and Washington slid out of the top five entirely earning the No. 6 overall pick.
All that to say, when it comes to the Wizards banking on the odds to fall in their favor, it seems that things simply just never go to plan.
Regardless if the Wizards continue to tank and somehow find themselves with the highest odds for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the odds always seemed stacked against the organization, which alone allows for the flattened odds to make their dreams just a bit unlikely.
If the team can somehow find a way to turn those odds around and find the missing piece to the puzzle, Washington could put themselves in position to turn their future around for the better.
However, until proven otherwise, the odds make the team's hopes unlikely to come to fruition.