2026 NBA Draft Needs: Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards won the draft lottery and now hold the keys to their future. This time last year, the Wizards were cellar-dwellers looking to build around budding star Alex Sarr. Now the team is revamped with veteran additions and could compete as early as this coming year.

State of the Team
Rebuilding, retooling, competing, then contending.

Positional Strengths & Weaknesses

Guards:

The Wizards guard corps is Trae Young, Tre Johnson, and Bub Carrington. 

Young is the veteran of the group and coming off an injury-plagued 2025-26 campaign. At 27 years old, Young’s speed and acceleration have regressed a half step, leaving him an effective maestro of the offense but no longer the offensive juggernaut he was early in his career. 

Tre Johnson’s rookie year featured the predictable growing pains of any guard. As he took the starting job and upped his shots, his efficiency started to slip. He needs more time in the oven but has already shown he can be a microwave scorer off the bench. 

Bub Carrington’s second year showed development, but he remains a net negative. Young’s presence will eat minutes from both Carrington and Johnson, though having a floor general to learn from could benefit their development.

Wings/Forwards:

The Wizards wing and forward corps is Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Will Riley, and Justin Champagnie.

Compared to the guard and big rotations, the wings and forwards lack a veteran. Khris Middleton and Corey Kispert were traded, and Coulibaly, George, and Champagnie picked up the torch. Coulibaly is the current lead wing and an excellent defender. His offense is struggling to catch up and remains inconsistent. 

George has transitioned to be more of a forward and is coming off a UCL injury. He’s only 22 and could be a valuable bench player or injury replacement, but he lacks experience and reps to solidify his role within the team.

Riley started to heat up towards the end of his rookie year, and at 19 years old, could become a rotational contributor if he picks up where he left off.

Champagnie is the only “veteran” at 24 years old, and is the most polished of the group. He’s become a solid rotation piece and could even be traded, given the Wizards likely won’t compete while he’s on a bargain contract and at peak trade value.

Bigs:

The Wizards big corps is Alex Sarr, Anthony Davis, and Tristan Vukcevic.

Alex Sarr is the rising star, and Anthony Davis is the descending veteran. Sarr has become a great rim protector and dependable offensive threat since he was selected second overall in 2024. At 21 years old, and with 33-year-old multi-time All-NBA selection Anthony Davis to work with, Sarr can make a big jump this coming year. 

Davis is a top-level talent hampered by repeated injuries. He is regressing and might even leave Washington in two years to join a contender in free agency. While he’s there, he can play center or even slide over to his preferred position at power forward to share the court with Sarr. Playing two bigs is possible, as seen with the Rockets’ pairing of Adams and Şengün in 2024, and depending on Davis’s availability, could heavily impact the win column. 

Vukcevic is a decent scorer but doesn’t have the motor to be more than a third center or borderline backup if the Wizards are aiming for the playoffs.

Draft Needs:

The Wizards need a more reliable scoring threat to pair with Young, Davis, and Sarr. They also need another defender to help ease the defensive hole Young creates. They have plenty of project players, but with even half of them improving into a decent supporting cast, they have the team on paper to compete for the playoffs. However, the health of Young and Davis is the limiting factor. Overall, maximizing the Wizards’ current roster requires someone who can be a plus defender to cover Young’s deficiencies. They also need a player who commands defensive focus to thin out the bodies crashing Davis on his drives.

Prospects Who Fit:

With the No. 1 overall pick, the Wizards are positioned to select the best player in this draft.

AJ Dybantsa (SF/Wing, BYU)

Dybantsa is the consensus number one overall pick. At 19 years old, he stands 6-foot-8, 217 pounds, with a wingspan just over seven feet, and is further along offensively than all but the most historically elite prospects. The way Dybantsa breaks down defenders is similar to a young LeBron James. He’s quicker than the bigs and wings, and has more muscle than the guards. His game is full of angles and verticality. He has a real feel for finding tough finishes, and his mid-range has really come around at BYU. His threeball doesn’t set the net on fire, but it can keep defenses honest in the NBA. He has room to hone his shot even further.

He has a massive V8 engine powering his elite athleticism, which raises the question of why his defensive game hasn’t matched his offense. Right now, he’s just an average defender, but everything about his physical tools normally translates to premium defensive impact. This in part could be because of where Dybantsa played. He had a sky-high 33.9% usage rate at BYU and was the offense in Utah. His teammates weren’t at his level and it’s hard to be elite defensively and offensively, and be 19-years-old. With NBA teammates and coaching, he doesn’t need to hold up the offense like Atlas and instead can spend time becoming a top-level wing defender.

Dybantsa is an intriguing prospect. He has a deep well of talent, a Kobe Bryant mindset for honing his craft, and the body to carry him to the highest echelons of NBA greatness. However, being a volume scorer with questionable defensive instincts and few flashes of top-shelf passing, he could be a one-dimensional player. That wouldn’t make him a bust, players like Carmelo Anthony and Brandon Ingram fit that mold and contributed to winning. These weak spots aren’t permanent or guaranteed but should be watched closely.

The Wizards could land their scoring threat in Dybantsa and having plus defenders like Coulibaly and Sarr can let him take his time developing his defense. Young has the playmaking to let Dybantsa fly and win those one-on-ones where he hunts oblique angles on finishing. Then Young can feed him the rock when he finds the spot, and his shot burns white hot. Davis could be a primary scoring option with a clean bill of health but will face fewer doubles and help defense with a player of Dybantsa’s gravity on the court. The Wizards do have an excess of wings, many of whom they have spent premium draft capital on, but Dybantsa is tantalizingly talented. His offensive game is nearly fully formed and ready to be the number one option. Unlocking his defensive upside would make him a yearly All-NBA contender.

Cam Boozer (PF/Forward, Duke)

The Wizards could choose to trade down either with the Jazz at No. 2, given the recent rumors, or down to No. 3 if the Grizzlies want Dybantsa to fully extinguish Morant’s reign as the franchise cornerstone. Cam Boozer, the projected third overall pick, is sitting there ready to be the connective tissue to pull the Wizards together. At 19 years old, he stands 6-foot-8, 253 pounds, with a 7-foot-1½-inch wingspan. Boozer is all feel and instinct. His game is finesse all the way. He has the highest basketball IQ and is the most technically polished player in the draft.

Boozer, the son of NBA veteran Carlos Boozer, is the model of consistency, something the Wizards sorely need. At Duke, he scored in volume without sacrificing efficiency. A true shooting percentage of 65.3% on 22.5 points a night as a freshman in Division 1 basketball puts him in rare company. He lives for threading together post-moves and stringing together those tiny details that lead to quality looks. His three-ball is a surprising 39.1% on 3.6 attempts. He’s also not just a scorer; he’s a hard-nosed rebounder who went to the Dennis Rodman school of positioning and rips rebounds with his strong hands.

Boozer’s feel for the game is scary. He rarely makes mistakes and has playmaking skills that could benefit any NBA team. He averaged 4.1 assists per night, which is unexpected for an inside-the-arc player. His IQ and feel shine brightest on defense. Boozer lacks elite athleticism, but his processing and active hands clog passing lanes and keep him alert and dangerous against any actions in his vicinity. He cannot stick with speedy guards or protect the rim against the giants of the game, but he will earn his paycheck as a help defender.

Boozer is the better short-term fit for the Wizards over Dybantsa. Where Dybantsa is the image of what could be, Boozer is what is. He is polished and ready to step in as connective tissue on any complex NBA offense or defense thrown his way. The Wizards could even roll out a jumbo lineup with Boozer, Davis, and Sarr. If Davis goes down or misses extended time, Boozer will fit in seamlessly at power forward and would preview the Wizards’ long-term frontcourt duo in Sarr and Boozer.