The Washington Wizards are in the midst of a 16-game losing streak tying a record for the longest losing streak in franchise history.
All indiciations suggests that the Wizards disatrous season will lead them to pick atop the NBA Draft once again and considering their last efforts to tank this year, that's the exact scenario the team hopes will unfold this offseason.
Still, with a nightmare history in recent NBA Draft Lotterys, there's no doubt that the Wizards and their fanbase has a bit of PTSD when it comes to their chances to land a top pick, especially considering last offseason where their Cooper Flagg dreams were shattered by earning the No. 6 overall pick.
Fortunately, this offseason's draft class seems to be lining the Wizards up for a can't-lose situation that even their bad luck couldn't screw up.
Wizards almost guarenteed to land a top prospect
Entering the college season, all signs pointed towards Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson being selected as the No. 1 overall pick this offseason.
Since then, the draft order has seemingly shuffled a bunch, with prospects like AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darius Acuff Jr. and even Caleb Wilson turning scouts attention away from an all-out pursuit of Peterson.
Obviously, landing the top pick for the Wizards would put them in position to take their personal preference of the talented bunch, but even if their bad luck resurfaces, this offseason may be the perfect scenario for the team to cap their rebuilding efforts off with a guarenteed elite prospect.
Washington may land their top choice without selecting No. 1
There's no way to know for sure exactly who the Wizards have atop their draft boards entering the offsseason.
Peterson would be a nice compliment to the backcourt alongside Trae Young and Tre Johnson, but an overcrowded backcourt could raise some concerns.
Then again, is an overcrowded backcourt with immense talent really a bad problem to have?
In addition, the possibility of adding a prospect like Dybantsa, Boozer or even Wilson to the frontcourt would be the perfect addition to what many already would consider an extremely underrated part of the Wizards' young roster.
Beyond that, if Washington finds themselves pivoting to a prospect like Acuff Jr., it's clear that their new star guard Trae Young would already be a fan of that pick.
All that to say, the Wizards' draft board won't be leaked to the media, but there's certainly a scenario in which the team finds themselves in position to select their top choice, even without earning the No. 1 overall pick.