WASHINGTON — No NBA fanbase has suffered more losses over the last three seasons than Wizards fans.
It’s nothing new for a fanbase that’s gone 47 years without a 50-win season — 19 years longer than the next closest franchise. A fanbase that hasn’t celebrated an NBA title since 1978 and hasn’t reached the Eastern Conference Finals since 1979.
Wizards fans watched their team win 15 games in 2024-25. Their hearts sank when NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum revealed their logo way too early in lotteries that featured Zion Williamson, Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg. They endured a 1-27 stretch to close a three-year rebuild that included four unique 16-game losing streaks.
It hasn’t been easy.
Lee Newman remembers his lowest point of the rebuild. The Atlanta Hawks had dominated the Wizards through two quarters, and Newman’s friend, TheSteinLine’s Jake Fischer, turned to him and said: “This is the worst NBA game I’ve ever seen.”
Newman looked around the arena, his team down 20 points en route to another meaningless blowout loss. Only a few thousand fans had shown up to an arena that seats over 20,000. Little did he know this was just the start of another 16-game slide.
It was rock bottom.
But he stuck around because he saw the vision.
“From the day [Will] Dawkins and [Michael] Winger came in, it was a change in mindset,” Newman said. “... They’re the ones who changed everything. They’re the ones who changed the mindset of all the fans to say, ‘Instead of rooting for mediocrity, we can at least see where we’re going in three years.’ It was hard to wait that long, but we made it.”
Washington’s 196 losses during that three-year span turned into seven first-round picks: Bilal Coulibaly, Alex Sarr, Bub Carrington, Kyshawn George, Tre Johnson, Will Riley and AJ Dybantsa. Washington’s three second-round picks during that span — Tristan Vukčević, Jamir Watkins and Felix Okpara — will make the team’s opening-night roster.
Dawkins traded for talented veterans in Trae Young, Anthony Davis, Deandre Ayton and Khris Middleton to strengthen the team’s ability to win in the immediacy.
Newman is correct. Wizards fans stuck around. They persevered through one of the most trying tear-downs in recent history.
Now it’s time to win. And the energy is palpable.
“This is probably the most excited I’ve been about this team in the 26 years of having season tickets,” Jared Ringel said. “It’s a mix of being so excited about this season and knowing the future is so bright with AJ [Dybantsa] and the young core.”
Rufus Byrd has been a Bullets/Wizards fan since the 1970s. He witnessed the 1978 title team. He watched players like Wes Unseld and Earl Monroe dominate games.
Many wouldn’t stick around for nearly 50 years of non-championship basketball. But Byrd never wavered.
The Wizards are his team. He believed in the front office’s vision. And after three excruciatingly bad years, Byrd’s Wizards are ready to return to NBA contention.
“I believed in Will Dawkins and Michael Winger. I understood what they were trying to do,” Byrd said. “... It’s been a long three years. Well, really longer than that, since we had a really good team. I’m really looking forward to the season. I’m very excited.”
Part of that excitement stems from Dybantsa, whom Washington selected two months after winning the 2026 draft lottery. Wizards fans across the world celebrated the team’s lottery triumph like they had won the NBA Finals. Because, in their own way, they had.
Byrd was no exception.
“Oh man, I was jumping up and down. I was very happy. Very satisfied,” Byrd said. “Dunks, steals, excitement. I’m looking for [Dybantsa] to be an All-Star type player, which I think he will be. I’m really pumped.”
Byrd’s excitement spans the Wizards’ fanbase. Look no further than Thursday’s sold-out open practice at Capital One Arena.
Fans lined up hours before to watch the Wizards practice. Not for a game, but for a practice.
It’s a sign of the times in Washington.
“Having this front office to navigate these next seasons and the long term really helps make everything more secure,” Jared Ringel said. “No shoe is about to drop and go back to bad times. Things have changed, and they are gonna stay this way. I’m hyped!”
As a child, I remember elation at winning the title in '78, and crying when they lost in '79 (I still hate Jack Sikma).
There are, of course, no guarantees that this team will win anything. But they have more potential than any team since the Wes-Elvin days.
Go Wizards.
It's been a long time wandering the wilderness. From my perspective, it's not just the losing to get the high picks (very important), but the superb trades the leadership team's been executing over the last couple of years. I'm used to our team being on the losing end of trades, but not so under Dawkins and Winger. Success starts at the top with ownership and these two gents.