The Washington Wizards, along with the other 29 NBA teams, will find out their full schedule on Thursday. However, all four of their NBA Cup games feature intriguing storylines.
For starters, the Wizards will host the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 30, who are coming off the type of season that Washington fans can only hope to see from their team in 2026-27. The Hornets went 44-38, good for a Play-In appearance after finishing 19-63 in 2024-25. It was also their best season since they went 48-34 in 2015-16, the last time they made the playoffs.
Charlotte took a leap largely thanks to 2025 No. 4 overall pick Kon Kneuppel, who was a Rookie of the Year contender. However, it traded LaMelo Ball to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid this offseason, so there's no guarantee it will maintain momentum.
Meawnhile, the Wizards' new-look lineup will feature No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa, Trae Young, and Anthony Davis, which will undoubtedly lead to their best campaign since installing their current regime in 2023. They've gone 50-196 since then and went 17-65 last season.
Next, Washington will face the Atlanta Hawks on the road on Nov. 6, which will be Young's first appearance with another team at State Farm Arena, health-permitting. The Wizards played there on Feb. 24 and 26, more than one month after they acquired the four-time All-Star from the Hawks, but he missed both contests due to injury.
After that, they will face the Chicago Bulls on the road on Nov. 20. This will feature a matchup between Dybantsa and No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson, who the Bulls will rebuild around after four straight losing seasons.
Finally, Washington will host the Boston Celtics on Nov. 24. The Celtics might not be a championship contender anymore after flipping Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George this offseason, but a convincing win would still show how far the Wizards have come. Boston won all three matchups by a combined 85 points last season.
Locked in for the @NBA Cup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/45qQjz86fU
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) August 12, 2026
Advancing to knockout stage would be win for Wizards
While making the Play-In tournament is more important than making the NBA Cup quarterfinal, the latter would be an early boost for an organization that hasn't made the playoffs since 2021.For perspective, Russell Westbrook led the team in rebounds, assists, and steals that year, and he retired on Wednesday.
In order to qualify for the knockouts, teams must either win their group or be the best second-place finisher. Each conference has three groups.
Finishing ahead of the Bulls is the bare minimum, but the rest of the teams in this group either made the playoffs or the Play-In last year. Although no long-term conclusions can be made solely from group stage play, a top-two finish would show that Washington's young core is learning how to win against playoff-caliber competition.
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