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.
| 2020–21 Washington Wizards season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Scott Brooks |
| General manager | Tommy Sheppard |
| Owners | Ted Leonsis |
| Arena | Capital One Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 34–38 (.472) |
| Place | Division: 3rd (Southeast) Conference: 8th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | First round (lost to 76ers 1–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | NBC Sports Washington NBC 4 |
| Radio | Federal News Radio 106.7 The Fan |
This was the first season since 2009–10 without long-time point guard and former first-overall draft pick John Wall 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, who was Westbrook's coach from 2008 to 2015, when he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Wizards qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 2017–18 season following a victory over the Indiana Pacers in the Play-in Tournament.[1] They lost to the top seeded Philadelphia 76ers in five games in the first round.[2]
Following the season, Scott Brooks and the Wizards agreed to part ways after not being able to agree to a new contract.[3]
Draft picks
edit| 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.[4] With the second-round pick they acquired from the Chicago Bulls in a trade last year,[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
Roster
edit| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster |
Standings
editDivision
edit| Southeast Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y – Atlanta Hawks | 41 | 31 | .569 | – | 25–11 | 16–20 | 9–3 | 72 |
| x – Miami Heat | 40 | 32 | .556 | 1.0 | 21–15 | 19–17 | 6–6 | 72 |
| x – Washington Wizards | 34 | 38 | .472 | 7.0 | 19–17 | 15–21 | 3–9 | 72 |
| pi – Charlotte Hornets | 33 | 39 | .458 | 8.0 | 18–19 | 15–20 | 8–4 | 72 |
| Orlando Magic | 21 | 51 | .292 | 20.0 | 11–25 | 10–26 | 4–8 | 72 |
Conference
edit| Eastern Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
| 1 | c − Philadelphia 76ers * | 49 | 23 | .681 | – | 72 |
| 2 | x – Brooklyn Nets | 48 | 24 | .667 | 1.0 | 72 |
| 3 | y – Milwaukee Bucks * | 46 | 26 | .639 | 3.0 | 72 |
| 4 | x – New York Knicks | 41 | 31 | .569 | 8.0 | 72 |
| 5 | y – Atlanta Hawks * | 41 | 31 | .569 | 8.0 | 72 |
| 6 | x – Miami Heat | 40 | 32 | .556 | 9.0 | 72 |
| 7 | x – Boston Celtics | 36 | 36 | .500 | 13.0 | 72 |
| 8 | x – Washington Wizards | 34 | 38 | .472 | 15.0 | 72 |
| 9 | pi – Indiana Pacers | 34 | 38 | .472 | 15.0 | 72 |
| 10 | pi – Charlotte Hornets | 33 | 39 | .458 | 16.0 | 72 |
| 11 | Chicago Bulls | 31 | 41 | .431 | 18.0 | 72 |
| 12 | Toronto Raptors | 27 | 45 | .375 | 22.0 | 72 |
| 13 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 22 | 50 | .306 | 27.0 | 72 |
| 14 | Orlando Magic | 21 | 51 | .292 | 28.0 | 72 |
| 15 | Detroit Pistons | 20 | 52 | .278 | 29.0 | 72 |
Notes
- z – Clinched home court advantage for the entire playoffs
- c – Clinched home court advantage for the conference playoffs
- y – Clinched division title
- x – Clinched playoff spot
- pb – Clinched play-in spot
- o – Eliminated from playoff contention
- * – Division leader
Game log
editRegular season
editPlay-in
edit| 2021 play-in game log Total: 1–1 (home: 1–0; road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Play-in: 1–1 (home: 1–0; road: 0–1)
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Playoffs
edit| 2021 playoff game log Total: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Round: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)
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| 2021 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season
edit| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin Lopez | 71 | 9 | 19.1 | .633 | .278 | .723 | 3.8 | .8 | .2 | .6 | 9.0 |
| Russell Westbrook | 65 | 65 | 36.4 | .439 | .315 | .656 | 11.5 | 11.7 | 1.4 | .4 | 22.2 |
| Garrison Mathews | 64 | 24 | 16.2 | .409 | .384 | .884 | 1.4 | .4 | .5 | .1 | 5.5 |
| Raul Neto | 64 | 22 | 21.9 | .468 | .390 | .882 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 1.1 | .1 | 8.7 |
| Bradley Beal | 60 | 60 | 35.8 | .485 | .349 | .889 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 1.2 | .4 | 31.3 |
| Rui Hachimura | 57 | 57 | 31.5 | .478 | .328 | .770 | 5.5 | 1.4 | .8 | .1 | 13.8 |
| Alex Len† | 57 | 40 | 15.8 | .619 | .263 | .636 | 4.4 | .8 | .3 | 1.0 | 7.1 |
| Dāvis Bertāns | 57 | 7 | 25.7 | .404 | .395 | .870 | 2.9 | .9 | .6 | .2 | 11.5 |
| Deni Avdija | 54 | 32 | 23.3 | .417 | .315 | .644 | 4.9 | 1.2 | .6 | .3 | 6.3 |
| Ish Smith | 44 | 1 | 21.0 | .434 | .367 | .576 | 3.4 | 3.9 | .7 | .3 | 6.7 |
| Isaac Bonga | 40 | 8 | 10.8 | .370 | .277 | .625 | 1.7 | .6 | .3 | .2 | 2.0 |
| Anthony Gill | 26 | 4 | 8.4 | .500 | .292 | .813 | 2.0 | .4 | .4 | .2 | 3.1 |
| Moritz Wagner† | 25 | 13 | 15.0 | .508 | .310 | .788 | 2.9 | 1.3 | .9 | .3 | 7.1 |
| Daniel Gafford† | 23 | 0 | 17.7 | .681 | .672 | 5.6 | .5 | .7 | 1.8 | 10.1 | |
| Cassius Winston | 22 | 0 | 4.5 | .424 | .471 | .833 | .4 | .5 | .1 | .0 | 1.9 |
| Troy Brown Jr.† | 21 | 0 | 13.7 | .371 | .304 | .667 | 2.9 | .9 | .1 | .2 | 4.3 |
| Chandler Hutchison† | 18 | 1 | 15.7 | .400 | .368 | .826 | 3.2 | .7 | .6 | .3 | 5.2 |
| Jerome Robinson | 17 | 6 | 17.9 | .295 | .262 | .800 | 2.2 | 1.5 | .7 | .4 | 4.9 |
| Thomas Bryant | 10 | 10 | 27.1 | .648 | .429 | .667 | 6.1 | 1.5 | .4 | .8 | 14.3 |
| Jordan Bell† | 5 | 1 | 13.4 | .350 | .000 | 3.8 | 1.0 | .6 | .6 | 2.8 | |
| Anžejs Pasečņiks | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
Playoffs
edit| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bradley Beal | 5 | 5 | 39.0 | .455 | .219 | .861 | 6.2 | 4.2 | .8 | .6 | 30.0 |
| Russell Westbrook | 5 | 5 | 37.2 | .333 | .250 | .791 | 10.4 | 11.8 | .4 | .2 | 19.0 |
| Rui Hachimura | 5 | 5 | 34.6 | .617 | .600 | .583 | 7.2 | 1.0 | .4 | .2 | 14.8 |
| Raul Neto | 5 | 3 | 22.4 | .353 | .267 | .800 | 2.2 | 1.0 | .4 | .0 | 6.4 |
| Alex Len | 5 | 3 | 8.4 | .571 | .571 | 2.2 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 4.0 | |
| Daniel Gafford | 5 | 2 | 23.4 | .846 | .625 | 5.8 | .6 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 11.8 | |
| Ish Smith | 5 | 0 | 22.2 | .372 | .286 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 1.4 | .4 | 6.8 | |
| Robin Lopez | 5 | 0 | 14.6 | .720 | .250 | 1.8 | .0 | .0 | .8 | 7.4 | |
| Dāvis Bertāns | 4 | 2 | 26.5 | .407 | .348 | 1.000 | 2.8 | .3 | .3 | .5 | 9.3 |
| Anthony Gill | 4 | 0 | 8.3 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | |
| Isaac Bonga | 4 | 0 | 2.5 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .3 | .0 | |
| Garrison Mathews | 3 | 0 | 5.7 | .000 | .000 | .800 | .7 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.3 |
| Chandler Hutchison | 2 | 0 | 9.0 | .400 | 1.000 | 1.5 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 | |
| Cassius Winston | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | .333 | .000 | 2.0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | 2.0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Wizards only.
Transactions
editTrades
edit| November 19, 2020[7] | To Washington Wizards
|
To Oklahoma City Thunder
| |
| December 2, 2020[9] | To Washington Wizards |
To Houston Rockets
| |
| March 25, 2021[10] | To Washington Wizards |
To Chicago Bulls
|
To Boston Celtics |
Re-signed
edit| Player | Date Signed | Contract | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davis Bertans | November 20, 2020 | 5 years, $80M | [11] |
| Garrison Mathews | November 22, 2020 | Two-Way | [12] |
Additions
edit| Player | Date Signed | Contract | Former Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin Lopez | November 20, 2020 | 1 year (MLE) | Milwaukee Bucks | [11] |
| Anthony Gill | November 20, 2020 | 2 years |  Khimki
|
[11] |
| Raul Neto | November 22, 2020 | 1 year | Philadelphia 76ers | [12] |
| Alex Len | January 23, 2021 | 1 year | Toronto Raptors | [13] |
| Jordan Bell | January 23, 2021 April 14, 2021[note 1] |
Hardship Exception, 10-Day Contract | [13][14] | |
| Caleb Homesley | May 15, 2021 | Multi-year (unspecified) | Erie BayHawks | [15][16] |
Subtractions
edit| Player | Date Left | Reason Left | New Team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnathan Williams | September 6, 2020 | RFA, no offer |  Galatasaray
|
[17] |
| Gary Payton II | November 21, 2020 | UFA | Raptors 905 | [18] |
| Jarrod Uthoff | November 21, 2020 | UFA | New Orleans Pelicans | [19] |
| Shabazz Napier | November 21, 2020 | UFA | ||
| Ian Mahinmi | November 21, 2020 | UFA | ||
| Jerian Grant | November 21, 2020 | UFA | Houston Rockets | [20] |
| Anžejs Pasečņiks | January 18, 2021 | Released | [21] | |
| Jordan Bell | January 31, 2021 April 24, 2021[note 1] |
10-Day Contract | Erie BayHawks Golden State Warriors |
[22] |
| Jerome Robinson | April 8, 2021 | Waived | [23] |
References
edit- ^ "Wizards vs. Pacers score: Russell Westbrook and Co. clinch No. 8 seed in playoffs, send Indiana packing". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
- ^ Wallace, Ava. "Sixers, without Joel Embiid, have plenty in reserve to eliminate Wizards in Game 5". Washington Post. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
- ^ "Sources: Wizards' Brooks out as talks fall apart". ESPN.com. June 16, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ Fendrich, Howard (November 19, 2020). "Deni Avdija, Washington Wizards' No. 9 pick, becomes highest drafted player from Israel in NBA history". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ "Bulls Acquire Tomas Satoransky". National Basketball Association. July 6, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
- ^ NBA media reports (November 18, 2020). "Report: Wizards trade 37th overall pick to Thunder". NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
- ^ a b "Wizards acquire the draft rights to Winston". Washington Wizards. NBA. November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ "NBA Announces Schedule Update for Upcoming Hornets Matchup". NBA.com. January 27, 2021. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ^ Washington Wizards [@WashWizards] (December 3, 2020). "2016-17 MVP. 9x NBA All-Star. 9x All-NBA. 2x NBA scoring champion. Welcome to D.C., @russwest44! https://t.co/To3ULIaGen" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Wizards acquire Gafford and Hutchison". Washington Wizards. NBA. March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c Wallace, Ava (November 21, 2020). "John Wall wants out of Washington; Davis Bertans signs $80 million deal to return to Wizards". Washington Post. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b "Wizards sign Neto, retain Mathews". NBA.com. November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
- ^ a b "Wizards sign Len and Bell". Washington Wizards. January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
- ^ "Wizards sign Bell to 10-day contract". NBA.com. April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
- ^ Washington Wizards [@WashWizards] (May 16, 2021). "OFFICIAL: We've signed G/F Caleb Homesley to a multi-year contract. https://t.co/CHHZEecH81" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 5, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Caleb Homesley Signs Multiyear Deal with Wizards".
- ^ Yahyabeyoglu, Fersu (September 6, 2020). "Galatasaray lands Johnathan Williams III". Eurobasket. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
- ^ Jamshidi, Soheil (January 11, 2021). "Raptors 905 Select Kevon Harris and Gary Payton II in the 2021 NBA G League Draft". NBA.com. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
- ^ "Pelicans sign four players". New Orleans Pelicans. NBA. December 2, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ Feigen, Jonathan (December 1, 2020). "Rockets to sign ex-Wizards guard Jerian Grant". Houston Chronicle. Hearst. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
- ^ Katz, Fred [@FredKatz] (January 17, 2021). "The Wizards are releasing Anzejs Pasecniks, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA. Roster will be down to 14 guaranteed players. Pasecniks had a partial guarantee for $350K" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Jordan Bell: Let go by Washington". cbssports.com. January 30, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ "Wizards waive Jerome Robinson". Washington Wizards. NBA. April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.