NBA Player Said Wizards Players, Coaches Should Be 'Out of the League' For Adebayo's 83-Point Game

Washington Wizards coach Brian Keefe earned a distinction he will have wanted to avoid in a new anonymous NBA player poll published by The Athletic's Josh Robbins, Sam Amick and Joe Vardon.

Keefe received the most votes (22) among the respondents asked to name the coach they find the "least impressive."

One player couldn't even name Keefe but picked him anyway: "I don't even know who's coaching the Wizards, but whoever coaches the Wizards."

Another player referenced Bam Adebayo's historic 83-point performance in March and said of the Wizards collectively, "They should all be out of the league for that."

BAM ADEBAYO FINISHES WITH 83

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Washington lost 60-plus games for the third straight year, with Keefe overseeing the majority of that run. He took over for Wes Unseld Jr. midway through 2023-24.

Adebayo's offensive explosion was the nadir of this campaign for the Wizards.

The Miami Heat center isn't a volume scorer. Forty-one points had been his previous career high, and it was the only time he eclipsed the 40-point mark.

And yet, Adebayo was simply unstoppable when he matched up with Washington on March 10. He shot 20-of-43 from the field and knocked down 36 free throws.

Sure, he and his team ran up the score in what amounted to garbage time, but it's not like Washington didn't try to stop him. The Wizards were throwing as many as four defenders at him late into the second half.

That's almost worse than if Keefe's squad let the game basically become a layup line where Adebayo had an unobstructed path to the basket on every possession.

General manager Will Dawkins told reporters in April he planned on keeping Keefe for the 2026-27 season.

Washington is firmly in a rebuild, so finishing at the bottom of the standings wasn't totally unexpected. But this is now the second straight year Keefe was named the NBA's worst coach in The Athletic's player poll.

Maybe the Wizards' faith in Keefe will be repaid over time. For now, his presence isn't exactly helping their reputation.