The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Capital One Arena, in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. an arena they share with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Georgetown University men's basketball team. The team is owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment.
Danilo Gallinari is an Italian professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After spending his first four years as a professional in his native Italy, Gallinari was drafted sixth overall in the 2008 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He played with the Knicks for two and a half seasons before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in 2011. He has also played for the Los Angeles Clippers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Atlanta Hawks, the Washington Wizards and the Detroit Pistons.
Samuel Presti is an American basketball executive who is currently the executive vice president and general manager for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has held the position since 2007 when he was hired at 29 years old, making him the second-youngest person to ever hold the position in the NBA. Since 2007, he stands as the third-most tenured head of basketball operations in the league.
Bradley Emmanuel Beal Sr. is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Florida Gators before being selected by the Washington Wizards with the third overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft. In 11 seasons with Washington, he was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 2013, the All-NBA Third Team in 2021, and was a three-time All-Star. Beal is second on the Wizards' all-time leading scorer list.
Michael Peter Muscala is a former American former professional basketball player. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, and Detroit Pistons. He played college basketball for the Bucknell Bison.
The Portland Trail Blazers are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The franchise was founded in the 1970–71 NBA season. The team made their first draft pick in the 1970 NBA draft and have selected 283 players total. The franchise won its only NBA championship in 1977, when the team was led by their 1974 first overall pick, Bill Walton, as well as multiple other former draft picks who went on to have their numbers retired by Portland. Many of the players selected have gone on to have accomplished careers while playing for the team. Clyde Drexler and Damian Lillard hold multiple Blazer records and are first in many stats. Along with Walton and Drexler, two other draft picks, Dražen Petrović and Arvydas Sabonis, went on to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame after their playing careers ended, with Petrović being inducted posthumously.
Houston Jerami Grant is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Syracuse Orange and was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft. Grant has also played for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and Detroit Pistons. He won a gold medal with the 2020 U.S. Olympic team.
Spencer Gray Dinwiddie is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Colorado Buffaloes and earned first-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 as a sophomore in 2013. He missed most of his junior year after injuring his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Dinwiddie recovered and was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 2014 NBA draft. After two seasons with the Pistons, he joined the Brooklyn Nets in December 2016 and played with them until being traded to the Washington Wizards in 2021. In February 2022, Dinwiddie was traded to the Dallas Mavericks and in 2023, he was traded back to the Brooklyn Nets and was traded to the Toronto Raptors the following year in February 2024 before being immediately waived by Toronto. He signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for the remainder of the season in a bench role.
Kristaps Porziņģis is a Latvian professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "The Unicorn", he is listed at 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) and plays as a power forward and center.
Hamidou Diallo is an American professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a consensus five-star prospect, and one of the top-rated basketball players in the class of 2017. He won the 2019 Slam Dunk Contest.
The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing at the time COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecticut, with the event held via videoconferencing. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. It was televised nationally on ESPN. The draft lottery was originally scheduled to take place on May 19, 2020, but due in part to the 2020 NBA Bubble, it was rescheduled to take place on August 20, 2020 instead. This was the first draft since 1975 to not be held in June and was also the second to be done later than that month after the inaugural 1947 draft, which was conducted in July by the NBA's predecessor, the Basketball Association of America (BAA). This draft also featured the lack of a proper "green room" due to pandemic restrictions. The first pick was made by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who selected Anthony Edwards out of Georgia.
The 2019–20 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 12th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 53rd in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This was the Thunder's first season since 2007–08 without Russell Westbrook, as he was traded to the Houston Rockets for Chris Paul and future draft picks on July 11, 2019. The trade reunited Westbrook with former Thunder teammate James Harden, who had played for the team from 2009 to 2012. The trade also marked Chris Paul's first time since 2006–07 playing in Oklahoma City after playing his first two seasons there when he was a member of the New Orleans Hornets. This trade was preceded by a trade where Paul George was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers for Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and a record 5 future 1st round draft picks on July 7.
The 2021 NBA draft, the 75th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on July 29, 2021, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The NBA draft returned to Brooklyn after the previous year's draft was held through videoconferencing at ESPN Studios in Bristol, Connecticut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the first overall pick, the Detroit Pistons selected Cade Cunningham. The NBA used a "ceremonial pick" for the late Terrence Clarke, between the 14th and 15th pick of the draft.
The 2020–21 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 13th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 55th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). This is the first season since 2014–15 without head coach Billy Donovan, as he mutually agreed to part ways with the Thunder on September 8, 2020, and 14 days later, went on to become the new head coach of the Chicago Bulls. For the first time since 2012–13, long-time players Steven Adams and André Roberson were not on the roster, as Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans, and Roberson signed with the Brooklyn Nets.
The 2020–21 Washington Wizards season was the 60th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 48th in the Washington, D.C. area.
The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second year in a row due to the loss of a second-round pick for both the Chicago Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers for violating the NBA's tampering rules during free agency. The first overall selection was made by the San Antonio Spurs, who selected the 7'4" French center Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama went on to win the Rookie of the Year.
The 2023–24 Oklahoma City Thunder season was the 16th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 58th in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The 2023–24 Detroit Pistons season was the 83rd season of the franchise, the 76th in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the seventh in Midtown Detroit. On April 10, 2023, Dwane Casey resigned from his position as head coach and transitioned to the Pistons' front office. This was the Pistons' only season under head coach Monty Williams. The Pistons finished with the worst overall record in the NBA for the second consecutive season and worst in franchise history at 14–68, surpassing the 1979–80 team that finished at 16–66, and missed the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
The 2023–24 Washington Wizards season was the 63rd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and 50th in the Washington, D.C. area. This is the first season since 2011–12, where the team entered the season without Bradley Beal, who was traded to the Phoenix Suns during the off-season. The Wizards became the fifteenth team in NBA history to record a winless month, going 0–12 in February. They finished with a franchise worst 15–67 record.
The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft was shortened to two rounds, with earlier drafts consisting of as few as three or as many as seven rounds prior to the current format's debut in 1989.
