2026-2027 Wizards Path to Improvement – Part I

The Wizards have three players that played significant minutes and shot better than 35% from 3PT range last year (Bub Carrington at nearly 41%, Kyshawn George, 38.1%, and Tre Johnson at 35.8%. They added Trae Young, a career 35.2% shooter and have players that could improve their shooting percentages (Sarr, Coulibaly), but overall, there aren’t enough good shooters (among those likely to log significant minutes – I’m omitting Tre Mann for example) on the projected 2026-27 roster.

That means running a 5-out offense won’t be the base scheme or a good idea in general. It means the offense will depend on mid-range and rim attempts. That means lots of P&R, elbow screens, pin downs, back cuts, and player movement, not just ball movement, not just DHO up top to hunt and open look from 3PT range.

It also means (especially given the youth on the roster) that the Wizards should be a running team. Last season, they were 6th overall in pace, something Coach Keefe pushed for routinely. That ranking is remarkable given they were a poor rebounding team – 26th overall. You can’t run if you don’t finish the defensive possession with a rebound. Good news – adding Anthony Davis should be a huge help on the defensive boards -- he’s averaged 8 a game for his career. Not only on his own but because Alex Sarr (7.4 rebounds/game) had limited help on the boards last season (except when Justin Champaignie (5.6 rebounds/game) was allowed to play). Two good rebounders on the floor have a synergistic effect on team rebounding, especially on preventing offensive boards by opponents.

Related is the poor perimeter defense last season. Part of the reason Sarr had such gaudy shot-blocking stats last year was because the Wiz gave up so much dribble penetration. When Sarr had to try to clean that up, it gave room for opponents to crash the offensive boards without much resistance – the Wizards were dead last at 13.1 offensive rebounds given up per game last year.

So, the Wizards need to run this year to generate early offense to make up for the lack of three-point shooters. They need to improve perimeter defense and defensive rebounding to do that. In the half-court, they need lots of movement, also to make up for the lack of 3PT shooting.

Training camp is likely going to emphasize not only new offensive and defensive schemes to integrate AD and Trae, but lots of conditioning work. The depth on the squad, combined with the youth, will allow Keefe significant flexibility when it comes to rotations. Those rotations may not be nailed down until around game 20. Players like predictable PT and timing but they may not get it right away. Players may be on the floor for 10 minutes one game and 20 the next. There’s likely to be some effort to not overwork AD and Trae, especially when back-to-back games are on the calendar. That will also affect rotations. More on rotations and other challenges in my next post.