Wizards 2023-24 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions
The Washington Wizards have officially entered a multi-year rebuild after trading their top two players in Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porziņģis this offseason.
Now the team looks toward the future, and that starts with the front office as Will Dawkins takes over as the team's general manager.
He's gotten to work this offseason, including re-signing Kuzma to a four-year, $90 million deal, adding Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole and Memphis Grizzlies point guard Tyus Jones via trade and selecting Bilal Coulibaly with the No. 7 overall draft choice, among other moves.
On paper, it looks like the team will struggle in 2023-24. The Wizards faltered last year en route to finishing 35-47 and tied for 11th in the Eastern Conference, and that was with Beal and Porziņģis aboard.
Still, this roster certainly isn't bereft of young and/or promising talent, and the offseason facelift gives the team a chance to reboot and hope for a brighter future.
With the schedule dropping Thursday, here's a look at the season opener and a link to the Wizards' schedule. You can also view notes on some notable upcoming opponents and a record prediction.
2023-24 Wizards Schedule Details
Season Opener: Oct. 25 at Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m. ET
Championship Odds: +50000 (bet $100 to win $50,000), per FanDuel
Full Schedule: The full schedule is available on NBA.com.
Top Matchups
Golden State Warriors
It didn't end well for Poole in Golden State, which was a shocking result considering the team's financial commitment to him following a four-year, $140 million extension in Oct. 2022.
Poole was essentially taken out of the rotation during the team's second-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers after some on-court struggles, and he was then dealt cross country from a championship-contending team to a second-division one.
That being said, Poole played an integral role on the 2021-22 championship team, averaging 18.5 points per game during the regular season before adding 17.0 PPG on 50.8 percent shooting in the playoffs. He made his mark on a title winner, so it'll be interesting to see how Warriors fans welcome him back to San Francisco. It'll also be fascinating to watch Poole play against his old team too.
Phoenix Suns
Beal is now a Phoenix Sun after a blockbuster summer deal, and his return back to D.C. will be one to watch. Simply put, he's a franchise legend whose number will be raised to the rafters someday.
He's a three-time All-Star who averaged 22.1 points in 11 seasons, including 30.9 PPG over a two-year stretch from 2019-2021.
Washington made the second round of the playoffs just once from 1983 to 2013, but the team got that far three times with Beal and backcourt mate John Wall leading the way.
Ultimately, it'll be an emotional return for Beal to D.C., as it should be considering his profound impact on the franchise.
Season Forecast
It's not impossible to see the Wizards at least remaining competitive in 2023-24 and perhaps fighting for a playoff spot. The rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder and Utah Jazz entered last season with very low expectations, but the former team reached the play-in tournament and the latter franchise nearly met them there.
At the very least, the Wizards have two bona fide scorers in Kuzma and Poole, who could both end up averaging 25 points per game. Jones is also a legitimate starting-level point guard who filled in admirably for Ja Morant in Memphis when called upon. And Bilal Coulibaly showed summer league flashes of being a potential two-way star.
That all being said, this team is going to have serious issues on defense, and this is still by and large a young group that's headed for some growing paints. Losing two stars in Beal and Porziņģis won't be easy, and they just fronted a team that won only 35 games.
(In fairness, though, that duo almost missed a combined 49 contests last year, testing the Wizards' depth).
In the end, the guess here is that the Wizards end up being an entertaining team with plenty of high-scoring games, but that won't necessarily translate to wins. However, look for them to avoid bottoming out altogether, with Poole receiving some All-Star consideration, Kuzma taking another step and Coulibaly making a case for All-Rookie.
Record Prediction: 30-52
