The Washington Wizards are hoping to complete their rebuild and contend soon, thanks to obtaining this year’s No. 1 draft pick. John Wall was the team’s last No. 1 pick, in 2010.
David Banks / Imagn Images
By David Aldridge
CHICAGO — There was a memorable moment in the HBO special “Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino” years ago, when Boston Red Sox fans were asked about their emotions after the team finally won a World Series in 2004, ending an 86-year drought. Their response? Mostly silence. They couldn’t find the words.
A generation later, in a ballroom at Festival Hall on Navy Pier, Michael Winger was similarly speechless.
The president of Monumental Basketball was the Washington Wizards’ representative in the room where the ping-pong balls determined the 2026 NBA Draft order. That room is sealed off like a Chris Rock concert—no cellphones, PDAs, or any devices that could transmit the results. When the Wizards’ four-number combination—4-2-1-13—came up, Winger was in the room with 13 other lottery teams. On Sunday, that combination meant the No. 1 pick in what many consider one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. The Wizards had landed “Moby Dick.”
Despite the monumental win, Winger remained stoic afterward. “I think that, ultimately, it was just, it was our time,” he said. “It was our time to get that pick. Whether it’s because there’s a special athlete at the top of the draft we want, or organizationally we’re ready for a player like that, whatever the case may be.”
General manager Will Dawkins, who had been in the drawing room the previous two years, chose not to attend this time. He was in town for the NBA G League Combine and instead rented a gym downtown where he played four-on-four with scouts after conducting morning interviews with G League prospects. Their game was interrupted when the team’s vice president of strategic communications, Ketsia Colimon, entered the gym with the news. “I think we ended 2-2,” Dawkins said. “We had to go home. We should have played Game 5.” But they had bigger matters to handle.
The Wizards will do their due diligence, evaluating top prospects like Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, and Duke’s Cameron Boozer. However, it would be surprising if they don’t select BYU’s A.J. Dybantsa first. For three years, the Wizards’ front office has viewed 2026 as the pivotal draft—the one that could deliver the franchise-level talent needed to compete at the highest levels. They see Dybantsa as a potential star who could become their version of Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, or Cooper Flagg—a player with both elite talent and the right mindset.
Their fan base, which has endured decades of longing for hope, now has a reason to believe.
