The Washington Wizards are 6-23 with a roster that has, save for one or two dire stretches, maintained consistent health. It’s safe to say that the current vision for the team, under second-year head coach Brian Keefe, simply isn’t in a competitive position long-term.
Even so, the team’s latest battle against the Toronto Raptors yielded exactly the kind of result that was expected of this roster prior to the season beginning.
In a 138-117 rout, Washington, playing at home, took their now 18-14 visitors to task by way of a blistering performance on the offensive end. Led in scoring by forward Kyshawn George (23), the Wizards were able to overcome their traditionally bad defense. Now, given one more win this weekend, the team could notch their first back-to-back wins of the campaign.
Don’t look now, but the Wizards are 3-3 over their last six games, with two of those wins by 19+ points.
It’s not the most impressive record over a 6-game span, but for a team which started the season 3-20, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. pic.twitter.com/YZq0qr84DB
— Greg Finberg (@GregFinberg) December 27, 2025Going Back-to-Back
Most every one of Washington’s successes this season have been isolated incidents; whether it’s a one-off good performance from a budding star – in a loss – or a game, like the one against the Raptors, where the team finally puts it together in full, what Washington does well is done sporadically.
Against the Memphis Grizzlies, also at home, the Wizards are offered what would be their most tangible sense of success on the season thus far.
Washington’s first victory over Memphis came just three games ago on the road, in a comeback effort spurred by an equivalent 28-point outing from both the aforementioned George and veteran guard CJ McCollum.
Rinse and Repeat
In that game, too, the Wizards simply outscored their opponent, chalking up a runaway 130 points in comparison to the Grizzlies’ 122. At 13-15, Memphis traveling to D.C. appears to be the perfect opportunity for Washington to finish the season series in style.
For Washington, wins now feel less like pertinent means to an ultimate end, such as they are for the majority of teams in a serious hunt for playoff contention. Whether or not the franchise continues under Keefe in the future, their young talent must develop and be ready to lead the group out of its perpetual rebuild regardless.
George, Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly and the rest of their still-spry cohorts are the heart of what this Wizards team could be. And even if the group can’t achieve that as a whole right now, pitstop wins and occasional successes – such as going back-to-back – can certainly spell the struggles until they can.