Fans of the Washington Wizards can only pay so much attention to the cream of this summer’s draft crop. They miss watching supporting local basketball as much as anyone who’s followed a distantly-eliminated team, and unlike many other league-wide viewers, they have the pieces and the hope to soon make the jump into a higher class of competition.
We’re just one game into this unique NBA Finals matchup between the young San Antonio Spurs and the veteran, albeit unprecedented New York Knicks, yet the contenders have already revealed several important keys to success for Washington’s team-builders to keep in mind between this upcoming NBA Draft, free agency and everything in between. There’s plenty to talk about besides “Knicks won” and “Spurs lost,” even in regards to those who remain a few steps behind the conferences’ final representatives.
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1. Brunson Continues Resuscitating the Small Guard’s Dream
There’s only one Jalen Brunson, let’s just get that out of the way now.
We’ll be lucky if we see another ascendance from a second round prospect quite like his, because it’s not like he was some unknown like Nikola Jokic. He won the NCAA National Player of the Year as a multiple-time champion at Villanova, dinged by scouts for his age on draft night before slowly proving himself as a franchise player over four years in Luka Doncic‘s shadow as fellow Dallas Mavericks.
Dec 8, 2021; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Jalen Brunson (13) talks with guard Luka Doncic (77) during the first half against the Memphis Grizzles at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
The Wizards can’t kid themselves into trying to recreate such a meteoric rise, especially considering just how rare it is for a 6′ guard to inflict the damage he has over the decade and across these playoffs. But in the midst of a 21st century defined by burly wings and multifaceted bigs prevailing as the last men standing, consider his comfortability in the sport’s biggest moments as a hope injection for anyone currently led by a “small guard.”
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This isn’t a narrative that only applies to the Wizards in draft talks, as team executives remain secretive on their decision between AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cameron Boozer as their top pick. Peterson, the only guard among that tier, was a devastating defender in Kansas’ back court, and he seems like just the kind of easy scorer and creator who’ll flourish under more attention.
Their de facto go-to guy, Trae Young, is slightly taller than Brunson, and though he doesn’t play with anything approaching the Knick’s physicality, he’s playoff proven as a constant threat to hunt the rim with his own finishing package, tough shotmaking and flashy lob-passing.
Nov 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) is defended by New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
The postseason is where the ability to body up on both ends of the court define which playoff runs are worthy of extension and doomed to fail, and though the skinny Young doesn’t spell that need singlehandedly, he can survive if the Wizards surround him with the defense that the Knicks have assorted.
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This note takes me to my second point:
2. Defensive Versatility Continues Producing Nightmare Matchups
The Knicks were smart enough to understand that Brunson, a general non-disruptor on defense, has to be built around to maximize his time on the court, and put together a supporting case full of stoppers and hustlers. This falls right in line with the Wizards’ own vision for contention, and management’s decisive words show in their previous moves.
Most of the players they’ve drafted over this lengthy rebuild, whether they’re wings like Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George or a defensive whiz kid like the 7′ Alex Sarr, profile as potentially-meaningful contributors on this front. Many of those instinctive deterrents may not be as ready to fully transition to the playoffs just yet, but that’s where newcomer Anthony Davis comes in as a win-now option.
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Washington Head Coach Brian Keefe has stressed defensive improvements at every turn, a keystone element within his dream for the Wizards to develop into a squad who can routinely turn stops into offense. Now, even the older Brunson can occasionally step up and hold his ground when needed, as he did in San Antonio in preventing a Game 1 win for the Spurs, thereby setting some kind of bar for fellow offense-first guards like Young.
The Wizards’ own point guard is aware of what’s needed out of him, saying as such in his exit interview in D.C. this spring, and merely sticking to his assignments and rotating when needed should be as easy as its ever been now that Young’s surrounded by as much lengthy talent as he’s ever had in a support system.
The question remains as to whether he can deliver on his self-imposed goal to defensively improve, as the stakes are clear: even with a Victor Wembanyama standing opposite, giving opponents as few options to attack in switches as possible is a clear avenue to winning at the highest level.
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3. Shore Up the Rebounding, Wherever Necessary
New York’s game-planners understood good and well where to hurt the Spurs in the Finals opener. They’ve been getting exposed on the boards for the near-entire duration of the playoffs, offering very few reliable rebounders aside from Wembanyama, and the Knicks still found a way to maximize the game’s most timely possessions with their lineup versatility.
It’s not just that the Knicks roster Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the league’s leading rebounders, or Mitchell Robinson, arguably the greatest per-rate board horse of this past regular season. 6’5″ guard Josh Hart seemed to come down with the most backbreaking possession-extenders, leading all participants with 15 rebounds and showing the viewing audience just how easy it is to contribute outside of just scoring.
The Wizards have been getting killed at this particular skill since beginning their teardown phase three years ago. Even adding a center in Sarr didn’t make a marked difference; he proved too skinny for most of the NBA’s proven bruisers, necessitating an early partnership with veteran bulldozer Jonas Valanciunas and contributing to a void that felt that much emptier when Marvin Bagley III was shipped out to Dallas midway through the 2025-26 campaign.
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Sarr could afford to bulk up, as could most of the members of Washington’s young corps, and the Wizards’ scouts certainly wouldn’t turn their noses up at another traditional rotational center to pick up the slack outside of deep-cut reserve Julian Reese. The players who should really take notes on Hart’s unconventional dominance, though, are the non-shooting wings who defenses consistently sag off of, an archetype that’s growing steadily more popular in D.C.
Mar 16, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) blocks out Washington Wizards forward Julian Reese (15) during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images
Pieces like Coulibaly and Jamir Watkins are always worth deploying as two of the best perimeter defenders in the Wizards’ prospective fall lineup, but opponents aren’t going to stop daring those clunky floor-spacers to beat them from outside until they prove themselves as multi-dimensional scorers.
If no one’s covering these guys in lieu of doubling up on their more dangerous teammates, that means that they’re theoretically free to wander downhill and fight for boards free of a boxout. It’s a lesson that Justin Champagnie has already learned in finding his own path to sticking it out in the bigs, and one that factors into the kind of off-ball activity that Keefe would likely greatly appreciate.
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Winning teams like the Knicks and Spurs only play their good players by this point in the postseason, living by the cliche that efficient units are only as strong as their weakest link. A team-wide commitment to hole-patching would go a long way in the Wizards’ initiative to make a leap from the doldrums of the Eastern Conference, a takeaway that applies to all of the little things necessary to prevail.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/wizards/onsi as Three Team-Building Lessons for Wizards to Take Away from NBA Finals.