2020–21 Washington Wizards season

The 2020–21 Washington Wizards season is the 60th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 48th in the Washington, D.C. area.

2020–21 Washington Wizards season
Head coach	Scott Brooks
General manager	Tommy Sheppard
Owners	Ted Leonsis
Arena	Capital One Arena
Results
Record	4–12 (.250)
Place	Division: 5th (Southeast) Conference: 15th (Eastern)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	NBC Sports Washington NBC 4
Radio	Federal News Radio 106.7 The Fan

This is the first season since 2009–10 that long-time point guard John Wall won't be on the roster, as he was traded to the Houston Rockets for Russell Westbrook on December 2, 2020. The trade reunited Westbrook with Wizards head coach Scott Brooks, whom was Westbrook's coach from 2008–2015, when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The trade also reunited Wall with his former college teammate DeMarcus Cousins in Houston, as the two played for the Kentucky Wildcats from 2009–2010.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	Team
1	9	Deni Avdija	SF	Israel	Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C.
2	37	Vít Krejčí	PG	Czech Republic	Casademont Zaragoza

With their natural selection at #9, the Wizards drafted the Israeli forward Deni Avdija. It was the first time in NBA history an Israeli had been drafted in the Top 10.[1] With the second-round pick they acquired from the Chicago Bulls in a trade last year,[2] the Wizards drafted the Czech guard Vít Krejčí. Later that night, the team proposed to trade Krejčí to the Oklahoma City Thunder for the rights to their #53 pick, Cassius Winston, and a future second-round pick.[3] The trade was finalized the next day, with the rights to Krejčí and Admiral Schofield going to the Thunder in exchange for Winston and the Thunder's second-round pick (via the Memphis Grizzlies) in the 2024 NBA draft.[4]

Roster

Roster listing

Washington Wizards roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From F 9 Avdija, Deni 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 2001-01-03 Israel G 3 Beal, Bradley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 1993-06-28 Florida F 42 Bertāns, Dāvis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1992-11-12 Latvia G 17 Bonga, Isaac 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1999-11-08 Germany G/F 6 Brown, Troy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1999-07-28 Oregon F/C 13 Bryant, Thomas  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 1997-07-31 Indiana F 16 Gill, Anthony 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1992-10-17 Virginia F 8 Hachimura, Rui 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1998-02-08 Gonzaga C 27 Len, Alex 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1993-06-16 Maryland C 15 Lopez, Robin 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 281 lb (127 kg) 1988-04-01 Stanford G 24 Mathews, Garrison (TW) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1996-10-24 Lipscomb G 19 Neto, Raul  6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1992-05-19 Brazil G 12 Robinson, Jerome 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1997-02-22 Boston College G 14 Smith, Ish 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1988-07-05 Wake Forest F/C 21 Wagner, Moritz 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1997-04-26 Michigan G 4 Westbrook, Russell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1988-11-12 UCLA G 5 Winston, Cassius (TW) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-02-28 Michigan State	Head coach Scott Brooks Assistant coach(es) Tony Brown Jarell Christian Corey Gaines Mike Longabardi Robert Pack Mike Terpstra Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended (GL) On assignment to G League (TW) Two-way affiliate player Injured Roster Last transaction: January 31, 2021

Standings

Division

Southeast Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
Atlanta Hawks	10	12	.455	0.0	5–7	5–5	1–2	22
Charlotte Hornets	10	13	.435	0.5	5–7	5–6	4–1	23
Orlando Magic	9	14	.391	1.5	5–7	4–7	4–1	23
Miami Heat	8	14	.364	2.0	6–7	2–7	2–3	22
Washington Wizards	5	14	.263	3.5	2–7	3–7	1–5	19

Conference

Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	GP
1	Philadelphia 76ers *	16	7	.696	–	23
2	Milwaukee Bucks *	14	8	.636	1.5	22
3	Brooklyn Nets	14	10	.583	2.5	24
4	Boston Celtics	12	9	.571	3.0	21
5	Indiana Pacers	12	11	.522	4.0	23
6	Atlanta Hawks *	10	12	.455	5.5	22
7	Toronto Raptors	10	12	.455	5.5	22
8	New York Knicks	10	13	.435	6.0	23
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	10	13	.435	6.0	23
10	Charlotte Hornets	10	13	.435	6.0	23
11	Orlando Magic	9	14	.391	7.0	23
12	Chicago Bulls	8	13	.381	7.0	21
13	Miami Heat	8	14	.364	7.5	22
14	Washington Wizards	5	14	.263	9.0	19
15	Detroit Pistons	5	17	.227	10.5	22

Game log

Regular season

2020–21 game log Total: 5–13 (Home: 2–7; Road: 3–6)
December: 0–5 (Home: 0–4; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 December 23 @ Philadelphia 107–113 Bradley Beal (31) Russell Westbrook (11) Russell Westbrook (15) Wells Fargo Center (0) 0–1 2 December 26 Orlando 120–130 Bradley Beal (39) Russell Westbrook (15) Russell Westbrook (12) Capital One Arena (0) 0–2 3 December 27 Orlando 113–120 Bradley Beal (29) Deni Avdija (9) Bradley Beal (7) Capital One Arena (0) 0–3 4 December 29 Chicago 107–115 Bradley Beal (29) Russell Westbrook (15) Russell Westbrook (11) Capital One Arena (0) 0–4 5 December 31 Chicago 130–133 Beal, Bryant (29) Russell Westbrook (10) Russell Westbrook (11) Capital One Arena (0) 0–5
January: 4–7 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 6 January 1 @ Minnesota 130–109 Bradley Beal (31) Thomas Bryant (7) Ish Smith (9) Target Center (0) 1–5 7 January 3 @ Brooklyn 123–122 Bradley Beal (27) Thomas Bryant (14) Russell Westbrook (10) Barclays Center (0) 2–5 8 January 6 @ Philadelphia 136–141 Bradley Beal (60) Russell Westbrook (8) Russell Westbrook (12) Wells Fargo Center (0) 2–6 9 January 8 @ Boston 107–116 Bradley Beal (41) Thomas Bryant (8) Russell Westbrook (8) TD Garden (0) 2–7 10 January 9 Miami 124–128 Garrison Mathews (22) Moritz Wagner (7) Ish Smith (7) Capital One Arena (0) 2–8 11 January 11 Phoenix 128–107 Bradley Beal (34) Robin Lopez (11) Bradley Beal (9) Capital One Arena (0) 3–8 January 13 Utah Postponed (COVID-19) January 15 @ Detroit Postponed (COVID-19) January 17 Cleveland Postponed (COVID-19) January 18 Cleveland Postponed (COVID-19) January 20 @ Charlotte Postponed (COVID-19) (Makeup date: February 7)[5] January 22 @ Milwaukee Postponed (COVID-19) 12 January 24 @ San Antonio 101–121 Bradley Beal (31) Russell Westbrook (8) Russell Westbrook (6) AT&T Center (0) 3–9 13 January 26 @ Houston 88–107 Bradley Beal (33) Russell Westbrook (11) Russell Westbrook (7) Toyota Center (0) 3–10 14 January 27 @ New Orleans 106–124 Bradley Beal (47) Jordan Bell (11) Bradley Beal (6) Smoothie King Center (0) 3–11 15 January 29 Atlanta 100–116 Beal, Westbrook (26) Alex Len (9) Russell Westbrook (4) Capital One Arena (0) 3–12 15 January 31 Brooklyn 149-146 Russell Westbrook (41) Russell Westbrook (10) Russell Westbrook (8) Capital One Arena (0) 4–12
February: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 16 February 2 Portland 121–132 Bradley Beal (37) Russell Westbrook (12) Russell Westbrook (10) Capital One Arena (0) 4–13 17 February 3 @ Miami 103–100 Bradley Beal (32) Rui Hachimura (9) Ish Smith (6) American Airlines Arena (0) 5–13
2020–21 season schedule

Transactions

Trades

November 19, 2020[4]	To Washington Wizards Draft rights to Cassius Winston (#53) Second-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft	To Oklahoma City Thunder Draft rights to Vít Krejčí (#37) Admiral Schofield
December 2, 2020[6]	To Washington Wizards Russell Westbrook	To Houston Rockets John Wall Protected first-round pick in the 2023 NBA draft

Re-signed

Player	Date Signed	Contract	Ref.
Davis Bertans	November 20, 2020	5 years, $80M	[7]
Garrison Mathews	November 22, 2020	Two-Way	[8]

Additions

Player	Date Signed	Contract	Former Team	Ref.
Robin Lopez	November 20, 2020	1 year (MLE)	Milwaukee Bucks	[7]
Anthony Gill	November 20, 2020	2 years	Khimki	[7]
Raul Neto	November 22, 2020	1 year	Philadelphia 76ers	[8]
Alex Len	January 23, 2021	1 year	Toronto Raptors	[9]
Jordan Bell	January 23, 2021	Hardship Exception		[9]

Subtractions

Player	Date Left	Reason Left	New Team	Ref.
Johnathan Williams	September 6, 2020	RFA, no offer	Galatasaray	[10]
Gary Payton II	November 21, 2020	UFA
Jarrod Uthoff	November 21, 2020	UFA	New Orleans Pelicans	[11]
Shabazz Napier	November 21, 2020	UFA
Ian Mahinmi	November 21, 2020	UFA
Jerian Grant	November 21, 2020	UFA	Houston Rockets	[12]
Anžejs Pasečņiks	January 18, 2021	Released		[13]

References

1. Fendrich, Howard (19 November 2020). "Deni Avdija, Washington Wizards' No. 9 pick, becomes highest drafted player from Israel in NBA history". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
2. "Bulls Acquire Tomas Satoransky". National Basketball Association. July 6, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
3. https://www.nba.com/news/report-wizards-trade-37th-overall-pick-thunder
4. "Wizards acquire the draft rights to Winston". Washington Wizards. NBA. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
5. "NBA Announces Schedule Update for Upcoming Hornets Matchup". NBA.com. January 27, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
6. https://twitter.com/WashWizards/status/1334321846699913217
7. Wallace, Ava (21 November 2020). "John Wall wants out of Washington; Davis Bertans signs $80 million deal to return to Wizards". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
8. "Wizards sign Neto, retain Mathews". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
9. "Wizards sign Len and Bell". Washington Wizards. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
10. Yahyabeyoglu, Fersu (September 6, 2020). "Galatasaray lands Johnathan Williams III". Eurobasket. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
11. "Pelicans sign four players". New Orleans Pelicans. NBA. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
12. Feigen, Jonathan (1 December 2020). "Rockets to sign ex-Wizards guard Jerian Grant". Houston Chronicle. Hearst. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
13. https://twitter.com/FredKatz/status/1350900005872271362