The Washington Wizards’ rebuild might bear fruit as soon as next season, as they have built a stacked young core — with the number one overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft, AJ Dybantsa, expected to help take this team to the next level. Wizards head coach Brian Keefe, however, will have tough decisions to make as far as how his starting lineup would look like.
One would think that there are already three locks in the starting lineup, with Trae Young, Anthony Davis, and Alex Sarr all but guaranteed a spot in that quintet, health permitting. But for Wizards icon John Wall, the decision as for who will fill the other two starting spots is clear.
“I’m starting Trae Young, Kyshawn [George], AJ, AD, Sarr,” Wall said, via The Team 980 on X. “If AD’s gone (injured), I move AJ to the four, I move Kyshawn to the three, I put Tre Johnson at the two. I want more spacing out there. I need catch and shoot guys out there with Trae Young.”
John Wall gives his Wizards starting five (as things stand right now) after Washington made AJ Dybantsa the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft: pic.twitter.com/ZmhiLL26ee
— The Team 980 (@team980) June 24, 2026
This is a good problem for the Wizards to have, and a lot of Keefe’s starting lineup will decision should hinge on how the players perform during training camp. But on paper, a starting five of Young, George, Dybantsa, Davis, and Sarr has to be good enough to lock down a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
If that five indeed become Keefe’s preferred starting quintet, that would leave the likes of Johnson, Bub Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, and Will Riley coming off the bench. Those players have shown immense potential, and having them come off the bench to provide a spark is a luxury that not too many teams have.
The Wizards even have Justin Champagnie and D’Angelo Russell to provide additional depth, and this Washington squad is looking mighty spooky heading into next season. Washington may have to move for a better backup center, but considering the assets they have at their disposal, that should not be a particularly difficult task to complete.
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