Category: Washington Wizards Blog

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Washington Wizards name Wes Unseld Jr. new head coach

The Washington Wizards have named Wes Unseld Jr. as the franchise’s new head coach. Unseld Jr. becomes the 25th head coach in the organization’s history.

“Wes is one of the most highly-regarded assistant coaches in the NBA and clearly separated himself from the large and diverse group of candidates we considered,” said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “His strong record as an in-game tactician along with his attention to detail on both sides of the ball combined with his reputation for player development and outstanding character during his 20+ years of coaching left no doubt that he was the best choice to guide our team to the next level.”

Unseld Jr. comes to Washington after spending the past six seasons in Denver, including this past season as the Nuggets’ associate head coach. Under his guidance, the Nuggets finished fifth in the West in opponents points per game during the 2020-21 season and 11th overall in defensive rating (while finishing sixth overall in offensive rating). During his six seasons in Denver, the Nuggets finished at least 10 games over .500 four times (including a 54-win season in 2018-19) and have made the playoffs each of the last three seasons.

“I want to thank Tommy and Mr. Leonsis for the opportunity to lead this talented team both on and off the court and to continue moving the franchise in a positive direction,” said Unseld Jr. “Becoming a head coach in the NBA is a goal that I have pursued my entire adult life and to have that dream realized by coming full circle back to Washington is truly special. I look forward to representing the DMV, connecting with our fans and establishing a new standard for Wizards basketball.”

Unseld Jr. was instrumental in both developing Nikola Jokic into the lowest-drafted MVP in NBA history and the year-to-year improvement of Jamal Murray as one of the top young guards in the NBA. He also helped develop several mid-first round and second round picks into important contributors during his time in Denver.

“Tommy was very thorough during our search and the intelligence, information and recommendations he had gathered on Wes were exceeded by how impressive his preparation and planning were during the interview process,” said Monumental Sports and Entertainment CEO and Washington Wizards Governor Ted Leonsis. “We are excited to bring him on board and see those attributes in action with our players and in the community with our fans.”

Prior to joining the Nuggets, he spent two seasons (2012-14) as an assistant coach with the Orlando Magic (where he worked with Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris and Victor Oladipo during the early stages of their careers) and one season (2011-12) with the Golden State Warriors (where he worked with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson during the early stages of their careers).

Unseld Jr. returns to Washington after beginning his career with the Wizards as an advance/pro scout in 1997. He would continue in that role through 2005, while also serving as an advance scout for the Mystics for three seasons (which included a stint as an assistant coach in the 1998 season), before being promoted to assistant coach for the Wizards in 2005. During his six seasons on the Wizards bench, Unseld Jr. was instrumental in game planning and player development and was largely credited with the success of the Wizards’ offensive game plans, with the team posting four consecutive playoff appearances (2005-08) and three straight top 10 offensive finishes (2004-07).

Unseld Jr. played collegiately at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and played high school basketball at Loyola High School in Towson, MD. He is the son of franchise legend/Hall-of-Famer Wes Unseld Sr., the greatest player in franchise history and one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history.

Team USA guard Bradley Beal will no longer play in 2021 Tokyo Olympics

USA Basketball Men’s National Team guard Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), who was placed under USA Basketball’s health and safety protocols Wednesday, will remain in health and safety protocols and will be unable to participate in the July 23 through August 8 Tokyo Olympic Games. A roster replacement will be named at a later time.

Beal was named to the U.S. Olympic Mens Basketball Team on June 28, and participated in the USA Basketball National Team’s training camp and exhibition games in Las Vegas. Starting in the USA’s first three USA exhibition games, Beal averaged 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds while playing 29.0 minutes a game.

Out of an abundance of caution, USA Basketball Men’s National Team member Jerami Grant has been placed under USA Basketball’s health and safety protocols, USA Basketball announced Thursday afternoon.

Search for new Wizards head coach begins

The Washington Wizards coaching search has begun. Via the Washington Times:

As word quickly traveled that the Washington Wizards were parting ways with Scott Brooks, general manager Tommy Sheppard’s cell phone started to light up. There was no shortage of suitors who were already expressing interest in the team’s coaching vacancy, he said.

“I’m getting bombarded,” Sheppard said.

Perhaps Sheppard was trying to quell concerns or hype up the franchise given that there are five other teams in search of a new coach. But after moving on from Brooks following five seasons, one thing is clear: Sheppard will get to choose who he feels is best for the franchise after inheriting Brooks upon his front office promotion in 2019.

This will be Sheppard’s first coaching hire, and he could go any direction with it. For example, does he want an experienced veteran to lead stars Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook? Or does he prefer an up-and-coming candidate who might be better equipped if the Wizards are forced to take a sudden change of direction? Sheppard could even look to make history, leaving open the possibility the team could hire the league’s first woman head coach.

The Wizards core awaiting the next head coach includes Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal in the backcourt, and Davis Bertans, Rui Hachumura and Thomas Bryant in the frontcourt, plus promising rookie guard Deni Avdija. All are signed at least through next season.

Scott Brooks out as head coach of Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards announced today that they will not extend the contract of Head Coach Scott Brooks.

Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard will begin a search for a new head coach immediately.

“We have been committed to taking the proper steps over the last two seasons to develop our young players, bring in pieces to complement Bradley Beal and build a winning environment that will ultimately lead to sustained on-court success,” said Sheppard. “Our organization will always be grateful to Scott for his dedication and work both on the court and in the community over the past five years and I personally admire and respect how he helped keep our team together during the unprecedented events of the last 15 months.”

Brooks was originally signed as the team’s head coach on April 26, 2016. He compiled an overall record of 183-207 (.469), ranking him fifth overall in total wins in franchise history.

Russell Westbrook is now the NBA all-time leader in triple-doubles

Russell Westbrook has become the NBA’s all-time triple-double leader by tallying the 182nd of his career tonight at Atlanta – a record that has stood for 47 years, one month and 16 days since Oscar Robertson’s 181st and final triple-double of his career.

In games where Westbrook records a triple-double, his teams are a combined 136-45 (.751), including the Wizards’ current 21-14 record, where they have won 13 of their last 16 games with a Westbrook triple-double. His 182 career triple-doubles are also more than 26-of-30 NBA franchises, with only the Lakers, Kings, Celtics and Thunder (including Westbrook’s with the franchise) having more. Westbrook recorded 138 of his triple-doubles as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the most in their franchise history. Westbrook is also the franchise leader for Washington (36) and broke Darrell Walker’s franchise record of 15 in just 38 games with the Wizards.

A link to a video tribute created by the Wizards featuring NBA and Monumental Sports & Entertainment luminaries as well as Westbrook’s family can be found here.

Westbrook recorded his first career triple-double on March 2, 2009, during his rookie season, a 17-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist outing against the Dallas Mavericks. Through the first six years of his career, Westbrook tallied just eight triple-doubles but has since recorded 174 in the last seven years, including an NBA-record 42 during the 2016-17 season. Westbrook has four career seasons with at least 25 triple-doubles, the most in league history, and also averaged a triple-double in each of those four seasons (which are four of the five seasons in NBA history where a player averaged a triple-double).

Westbrook’s single-game triple-double accomplishments include two games with 24 assists (January 10, 2019 and May 3, 2021), tied with Rajon Rondo and Isiah Thomas for the most assists in a triple-double. On May 3 of this season, Westbrook added 14 points and 21 rebounds to his career-high-tying and franchise-record-tying 24 assists to record his second career game with at least 20 rebounds and 20 assists, the only player in league history with multiple such games. On April 2, 2019 vs. the Lakers, Westbrook scored 20 points with 20 rebounds and 21 assists, becoming the second player in NBA history to record a 20-20-20 game along with Wilt Chamberlain. Overall, Westbrook has five career triple-doubles with at least 20 assists, the most in league history. On March 29, 2017 at Orlando, Westbrook scored 57 points with 13 rebounds and 11 assists for the second-highest scoring triple-double in league history (Harden, 60). His career-long and league-record streak of 11 games with a triple-double came from January 22 to February 14, 2019, the only 10+ game streak in league history.

With 182 triple-doubles in 940 games played, Westbrook has tallied a triple-double in 19.4% of his games played, the highest rate among the top 15 triple-double leaders. Since 2016-17, Westbrook has tallied a triple-double in 145 of 353, or 41.1% of his games played. Westbrook leads the league this season with 36 triple-doubles, the second-most triple-doubles in a single season in his career and the third-most in league history.

Wizards guard Bradley Beal out with hamstring strain

Wizards guard Bradley Beal has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain following MRI testing conducted yesterday. He will miss the team’s next two games (Monday and Wednesday at Atlanta) before being re-evaluated on Friday.

Beal sustained the injury during Saturday night’s win at Indiana.

Per the Washington Post, “I couldn’t tell you when I tweaked [the hamstring]. I knew it was just a little tight in the second half,” Beal said Saturday. “In the first play of the second half I twisted my damn ankle, and I just wanted to make sure — I went to the back, wanted to make sure it wasn’t too crazy. I’m always a guy who will bounce back pretty quick, especially with ankle injuries… But I went back out there, [and] my left hammy felt a little tight. I didn’t think anything of it. I just kept playing, pushed through it, and then I think the layup on [Doug] McDermott on the end that put us up one, that kind of intensified it a little bit. Then the final little floater I missed at the end, that definitely kind of put it over the top for me. Coach [Scott Brooks] played it smart, got me out of there, and thank God we closed it out.”

Wizards rookie Deni Avdija injured, out for remainder of season

Wizards forward Deni Avdija has been diagnosed with a right fibular hairline fracture following MRI testing conducted earlier today.

There will be no surgery required and the team thinks he’ll be able to make a full recovery in approximately 12 weeks.

Avdija sustained the injury during Wednesday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

The rookie from Israel averaged 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 23.3 minutes per game. He played in 54 games, including 32 starts.

Although his role was limited, Avdija showed solid flashes of potential, and certainly should be a part of the Wizards rotation next season.

The Wizards are on a four-game winning streak

The Wizards are on a four-game winning streak. Via the Washington Post:

Even after they had defeated the league-leading Utah Jazz on the road and conquered Zion Williamson and the visiting New Orleans Pelicans in overtime, perhaps the best test for these streaking Washington Wizards came Saturday night at Capital One Arena.

The opponent? The lowly Detroit Pistons, last in the East yet a victor against Washington already this month. In fact, the Wizards entered Saturday’s contest with a 3-7 record against the five other teams at the bottom of the conference.

Bradley Beal said Friday that his team’s ability to close out a tight win in overtime against New Orleans showed improvement from a squad that has squandered late leads often. The matchup with Detroit offered the opportunity to showcase a different kind of growth.

Even after losing two starters to injury during the game, Washington was up to the task in a commanding 121-100 win.

In the victory, Beal scored 37, Ish Smith scored 16 off the bench, Russell Westbrook put up 15 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists, and Robin Lopez added 15 off the bench.

Wizards sign Jordan Bell to 10-day contract

The Washington Wizards have signed Jordan Bell to a 10-day contract.

Bell will begin his second stint of the season with the Wizards after appearing in the three games with the team in January, where he averaged 3.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game. He averaged 17.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in seven games for the Erie BayHawks this season during the NBA G League bubble.

Bell was acquired by the Capital City Go-Go prior to the suspension of the NBA G League season in March of 2020 before being signed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in June. Bell has played in 157 games (17 starts) in his four-year NBA career with Golden State, Minnesota Memphis, and Washington, averaging 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. He was originally selected with the 38th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft out of Oregon by the Chicago Bulls before being traded to Golden State on draft night.

Some fan attendance will be allowed at Wizards home games starting April 21

The Washington Wizards will welcome fans back to Capital One Arena for the first time this season on Wednesday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m. when the team hosts the Golden State Warriors.

Due to the very limited tickets to be made available (attendance will be limited to 2,100 fans, 10% of the venue’s capacity), priority for ticketing will be given to season ticket members, with information forthcoming on ticket availability for the general public. Fans are encouraged to visit https://www.nba.com/wizards/wizticketpresale to sign up for alerts and information regarding individual game ticket access.

The Wizards and Monumental Sports & Entertainment will welcome pre-selected frontline workers to the April 21 game in recognition of their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Extensive upgrades in safety protocol have been put in place in preparation for welcoming fans back to Capital One Arena, including health screening, mobile-only tickets, and seating pods. For more information, fans can visit www.monumentalsports.com/health-safety.