WASHINGTON — The Wizards owned the NBA’s worst defense last season. They’ve ranked bottom-three in defensive rating each of the previous three campaigns.
That won’t fly in a season with heightened expectations. It’s why the first two days of training camp have focused on solving those defensive woes.
A greater buy-in, which Brian Keefe has seen through two practices, will certainly help.
It also helps to add Anthony Davis, a five-time All-Defense selection, to a back line that already features one of the league’s prolific shotblockers in Alex Sarr. Factor in Washington’s length on the perimeter between Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George, and Keefe’s confidence is understandable.
“We’re big. We have more size, versatility. We’re gonna be able to protect the rim well, rebound better,” Keefe said. “I think the collective growth, the collective mindset of where they wanted to go will lead us into a positive direction with our defense this year.”
Injury Updates
Alex Sarr (foot), Tristan Vukcevic (hip) and Khris Middleton (general ramp up) were partial participants for the second straight day.
Keefe said Vukcevic “did a little bit” at the beginning of Tuesday’s practice and was again a partial participant Wednesday.
Keefe said Middleton participated in “all the non-contact stuff” at Wednesday’s practice as part of a general ramp up. He said it gives the 35-year-old some time to build as the season approaches.
Jamir Watkins (ACL) was the lone non-participant on Wednesday.
Davis: Wizards here to play “meaningful basketball”
When Anthony Davis was traded to Washington in February, he made it clear he was under contract for the 2026-27 season. During exit interviews two months later, Davis said he would hold meetings with the front office to discuss their vision for turning a 17-win squad into a competitive basketball team in just one offseason.
It wasn’t exactly the greatest start to a star’s tenure with his new club.
But Washington’s offseason moves — committing $212 million to Trae Young before trading for veterans like Khris Middleton and Deandre Ayton — eased Davis’ concerns. Two days into training camp, the 10-time All-Star understands how quickly the Wizards can turn things around.
“We’re not here to play meaningless basketball. We’re playing meaningful basketball,” Davis said. “… The competitiveness, the hunger, the desire to learn. Guys are are trying to do the right thing. Even when we’re making mistakes, we are going to the guys like, ‘What did you see on that?’ Or, ‘AD, What do you think?’ When you have that dialog, it’s a lot easier to correct things very quickly. I think the conversations, the communication that we’ve been having shows me that we can do something.”
Davis praised the dialogue he and his teammates have engaged in to begin training camp. It’s a collective effort to rectify mistakes, to ensure everyone is on the same page come opening night.
The 10-time All-Star highlighted Kyshawn George, who’s been quite vocal to open camp.
“[Kyshawn] is my guy. Great player. He’s gonna be even better. He’s been in the gym consistently, day in day out, working on the game,” Davis said. “When I got here last year, he wasn’t a big talker … But now we’re talking a lot, on and off the floor.”
George talks differences entering year of expectations
George has only known rebuilding seasons since he entered the league in 2024.
Washington is 25-91 through George’s first 116 games, to no fault of his own. An invisible cap — a restriction of sorts — was placed on the team’s ceiling entering the previous two training camps.
But that phase of the rebuild is over, that dampening effect of the invisible ceiling replaced by excitement and uncapped potential.
The Wizards are free to win as many games as possible for the first time in George’s career, which has him amped for opening night.
“It feels great [to enter a season with winning expectations]. We’re playing real basketball,” George said. “At the end of the day, nothing changes for me because I’m going out there playing my best, playing to win every single night.”
George played a on-ball for a majority of his sophomore season. He acknowledged Young’s skill as the team’s starting point guard, but said he expects to play similar on-ball role this season, especially when paired with the team’s second unit.
“In the starting lineup, we have one of the best point guards in the league. We gotta let him do his thing. That’s what he does,” George said. “I’m just there to connect. But definitely second-unit [on-ball reps].”
Bonus Notes
The Wizards have been split into four groups during the media-viewing portion of training camp. The groups are as follows, in no particular order:
Trae Young, Tre Johnson, Tre Mann, Anthony Gill
Anthony Davis, Deandre Ayton, Felix Okpara
Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington, Justin Champagnie
Reese Beekman, Chris Livingston, Steve Settle III, Trevor Keels
AJ Dybantsa could very well be part of one of these groups. But during the media-viewing portion, he was working on his free throws.
Trae Young went 10-for-10 during an around-the-horn 3-point shooting drill. Anthony Davis worked on his baseline jumper and 3-ball.
Carrington, Coulibaly and George took turns shooting threes toward the end of Wednesday’s practice.
This is really good stuff! Thanks for the great coverage.