Updates from the open practice that the Washington Wizards hosted inside Capital One Arena on Thursday night
The Washington Wizards are now three practices into training camp as we dive into notes following Thursday's sold out open practice:
Open Practice
One year after the Wizards held its open practice at Dunbar High School, head coach Brian Keefe pointed to Thursday night's atmosphere as "by far the most [fans] I've seen at an open practice." It wasn't an exaggeration after the Wizards announced a sellout of the 2,500 allotted tickets w ith lines formed outside of the Capital One Arena renovations roughly 45 minutes prior to the start of hour-long practice.
Tre Mann, Bilal Coulibaly and Felix Okpara were among the players to hit the half court shot during shooting drills in the opening portion of practice, while rookie AJ Dybantsa went 11-for-23 in a three-point shooting drill. Tre Mann also dazzled after making 17 of his 20 attempts in the three point contest, including 14 consecutive makes, to take home the trophy. The day also featured the rookies singing karaoke and trying their best impression of the iconic John Wall dougie dance, yet the night emphasized the growing interest in the Wizards' turnaround.
"It's going to be a big change from last season," Tre Johnson said about the expected improved attendance. "I'm ready for it."
Dybantsa Buzz
Though it he's been inside Capital One Arena before, Thursday marked the first time that the top overall pick from the 2026 NBA Draft officially suited up on his home court after taking in arguably the largest applause during introductions.
Dybantsa went 11-for-23 during a three-point shooting competition midway through practice, though he also pointed to being able to be "supper efficient off the ball" while working on his passing. "Being in different situations where I'm going to have to pass the ball, throw it up to lobs for our bigs but also find those windows for our guards to shoot it," he added.
Keefe credited Dybantsa's effort, work ethic and mentality while the season offers a chance to pick up on coverages and scheme as he adjusts to the pace of training camp. While Tre Johnson echoed Kyshawn George's sentiment that the players "can't have wasted possessions," Dybantsa also knows that the "proven winners" around him takes more off the rookie's plate starting on opening night.
"I don't have to come in and be super pressed, forced to do a lot of things. I can kind of ease my way into it and learn how to play the right way," he added.
Dybantsa also pointed to the veterans on the roster preparing him for year one with tips on recovery, pre and post-recovery, treatment, being on the table and eating better, but the feedback extends on the court too.
"If I do something wrong in practice, they'll pull me aside and say 'hey look at this.' If I do something right they'll give me my props."
"Really good number one pick, for sure," Trae Young said after day one of training camp.
Injury Update
Roughly one hour prior to the start of Thursday's practice, the Wizards officially announced that forward/center Tristan Vukcevic will be re-evaluated in four weeks after being diagnosed with a left hip impingement. Head coach Brian Keefe already noted the rotational big was a partial participant during the first two days of training camp and was available for everything but live contact drills, while the Wizards announced Vukcevic will remain a partial participant.
Keefe pointed to two-way rookie forward Felix Okpara as one that was able to draw more reps in Vukcevic's absence, though he also left the door open for the rest of the frontcourt to step up in training camp and preseason to fill the void at the end of the rotation.
