Preseason Scouting Report: What Should the Wizards Know About Looming Knicks?

The Washington Wizards couldn't be up against a tougher opponent to open their preseason schedule. Luckily, their opponent's already taken the court together this week, giving the Wizards some recent data to work with.

Feb 3, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) dribbles the ball in front of Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Washington Wizards and New York Knicks ended last season on two completely different poles of basketball's standard success gauges. While the latter capped the playoffs off by securing a five-game NBA Finals win over the San Antonio Spurs, the Wizards led the league in regular season losses in punching yet another ticket to the draft lottery drawing ceremony.

There, while the Knicks fought their way to history, Washington's luck finally began to turn. They bagged this most recent class' No. 1 pick and, effectively, first dibs at AJ Dybantsa, opening the door to a completely different brand of hope to chase this fall. Instead of attempting a repeat championship, the Wizards can begin testing out their next era's frontman in New York as soon as this week when the two sides match up in a Madison Square Garden-hosted preseason showdown.

AJ Dybantsa 43 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK, 15/24 FG, 4/5 3FG, 9/10 FT, 75.7% TS vs. Utah

#1 pick to Washington. pic.twitter.com/AbMXa62kK3

— Basketball Performances (@NBAPerformances) June 24, 2026

While the Wizards remain a general-mystery to those unsure of how to balance their prospect-based upside with the win-now veterans they've recently acquired, the known-quantity Knicks have already provided the viewing public with a peek at their championship-defending team to come. Even if they did fall in their own opener against the shorthanded Philadelphia 76ers, 120-97, they look just as likely to dominate as they did when they went 16-3 in this past spring's playoffs.

The Fully-Former Knicks' Concerns and Comparisons

While the Wizards find themselves caught up in their own in-house races for reserve minutes, the Knicks set out to recreate their own depth equation behind one of the game's premier starting fives. Jalen Brunson and co., each somewhere between their late-20s and early-30s, seem set to continue suffocating the competition as a group-effort.

No one played more than 20 minutes, unsurprising within a preseason setting more focused on getting everyone ready for in-game action than winning every matchup, and they don't need reps nearly as badly as the Wizards do. Every one of their starters appeared in at least 66 outings in 2025-26 with a full season of five-man lineup experience already under their collective belt, while Washington veterans Trae Young and Anthony Davis combined for five Wizards appearances following their respective midseason trades.

Anthony Davis - Trae Young - AJ Dybantsa

Wizards Big 3. 🔥🔥🔥

(via @NBA)

pic.twitter.com/Aa7rAwR1I6

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) September 28, 2026

The generally-inexperienced Wizards have nothing on the Knicks' continuity, but New York isn't perfect. They're smaller than the wing- and big-heavy Wizards (as are most other teams), and they still have some work to do in regards to rebuilding their Mitchell Robinson-less bench.

Last postseason, it was he, spark plug addition Jose Alvarado, the extension-needy Miles McBride and former Wizard Landry Shamet keeping the second-string minutes afloat, and Knicks head coach Mike Brown already sounds astutely aware of his need to inject hunger into his suddenly-accomplished situation.

Mike Brown took the Knicks' starting five aside, looked at his bench players today at practice and said:

"Everybody else in this gym, you're fighting - either to make the team or for minutes" pic.twitter.com/GweTAITsOT

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) October 7, 2026

They made easy work of the Wizards last season, winning all three regular season matchups by an average margin of victory of 26.6 points. Preseason results mean next to nothing in the grand scheme of team-wide development, but if there were any team for the Wizards to rise up to the occasion and play prepared against, it would be their diametric opposite in the Knicks.

That's where their own battle-tested scorers can step up to the plate. Just as Karl-Anthony Towns will have to deal with Davis thrice over the regular season following the upcoming exhibition, Young has plenty of Knicks experience to leverage in attempting to go toe-to-toe with the reigning Finals MVP in Brunson.

Nov 6, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) is defended by New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Even if their hodgepodge mixture of present and future talent likely won't be favored by anyone to upset the Knicks at any time entering the upcoming season of promise, consider the champs one of the more meaningful barometers with which to measure the blooming Wizards. Should Washington look as composed, balanced and deep as local fans hope in the face of a proven threat, the squad's quest to fold the veterans into the youth movement may be farther along than many realize. And if that's the case, there's no telling what this group can accomplish over the short- and long-term.

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