2020–21 Washington Wizards season
Season of National Basketball Association team the Washington Wizards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
| 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] As of the 2025–26 season, this the last time Washington qualified for the postseason.
Draft picks
| 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
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Standings
Division
| 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
| 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
Regular season
Play-in
| 2021 play-in game log Total: 1–1 (home: 1–0; road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Play-in: 1–1 (home: 1–0; road: 0–1)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 2021 playoff game log Total: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Round: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| 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
| 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
| 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
Trades
| 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
| Player | Date Signed | Contract | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davis Bertans | November 20, 2020 | 5 years, $80M | [11] |
| Garrison Mathews | November 22, 2020 | Two-Way | [12] |
Additions
| 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
| 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] |
- Bell was signed to two separate 10-Day contracts