Did the Wizards Make a Mistake by Beating the Kings?

Washington Wizards fans have spent years living and dying by the NBA's draft lottery.

They've accumulated losses like few others, but the gods of luck continually refuse to make the rebuild easy. They made it work when they finally got an elite draft pick in what was once viewed as a poor draft class, walking into the fall of 2024 with what turned out to be three productive rookies, and once again used that eye for talent to prevail when the 2025 order handed the Wizards their worst-possible outcome in flipping their Cooper Flagg hopes into Tre Johnson in an effective bounce-back.

Now, with a loaded draft class looming in the coming months, the message among most fans who've closely monitored the active team-building process has been consistent: develop the key players while keeping from winning too often. Even if the Wizards' first-round pick weren't protected within the top-eight of the draft, they could benefit from getting the best-possible chance of picking toward the top of the draft order.

Enter the Sacramento Kings, who have grasped and clawed at any attempt to buy wins since briefly tasting productive basketball three years ago. The fallen fringe-contenders slumped into Washington with 12 wins, like the Wizards, meaning that whoever lost the matchup earned sole-possession of the worst record in the league.

The Wizards understood this; Alex Sarr and Justin Champagnie didn't even suit up, while key fixtures like Bub Carrington and Kyshawn George sat for most of the game's back half. Yet despite their best efforts, and despite Sacramento's own palpable desperation, the Wizards' third-stringers held on to prevail, 116-112.

Washington Wizards Center Skal Labissiere — Feb 1, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards center Skal Labissiere (17) dunks during the second half against the Sacramento Kings at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Long-Term Consequences

While many of the fans who showed up for the fourth game of the Wizards' five-game home stand were happy to see a win, something that the organization hasn't provided with much consistency over the last few years, others averted their eyes to the team's improved record.

Win No. 13 ties Washington with three other franchises entering the season's second-half, taking them even further out of the losing-est spot that the Kings now hold in sole possession of. They also own four more losses than the Wizards do, making them that much tougher to catch from here on out.

Remember, the Wizards' draft position can only go four more spots than however the end-of-season Wizards end up ranking against their contemporaries.

For example, last season they owned the second-worst record, meaning that they could only fall as far as the sixth-overall pick (guess where they ended up). So if they were to hold the line and remain lumped in with teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets and secure something like the fifth-worst mark, they have the chance to fall as far as No. 9 on lottery-drawing night, which would mean forfeiting the pick entirely to the New York Knicks.

Upper management is no doubt keeping an eye on this, but there's no convincing the on-court talent to take the fall for the front office. The players are judged based on their ability to influence winning, as is head coach Brian Keefe's talent for developing winners.

Their deep-cut reserves should be proud of their efforts, but this is the sort of game that'll get brought up should disaster strike again upon the drawing of the lottery's ping pong balls.

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