Mission accomplished. Sort of.
The Washington Wizards dropped another one Tuesday — a 129-98 loss to the Chicago Bulls — and in doing so, officially secured what they were really after.
Namely, their draft pick.
With the loss, Washington falls to 17-62 and is now guaranteed to finish with one of the three worst records in the league. That means its first-round pick, which was top-eight protected, is staying put.
No drama on lottery night. No sweating it out.
The Wizards can’t fall lower than No. 7 overall.
Instead of sending that first-rounder to the New York Knicks, Washington will convey a pair of second-round picks — one this year, another in 2027.
So yes, the losses mattered. And there were plenty of them.
Washington cycled through 26 players this season and never won more than two games in a row. After a brief bump coming out of the All-Star break, the Wizards leaned fully into the rebuild, dropping 23 of their last 24 games.
They even took a couple of swings midseason, adding Trae Young and Anthony Davis.
But Young appeared in just five games, and Davis has yet to suit up.
So here we are. Three games left. One of the league’s worst records. And a top-seven pick locked in.
Not pretty. But for the Wizards, very much part of the plan.
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