Wizards' Brian Keefe Explains Why He Benched Starters in Fourth Quarter

The Washington Wizards head coach gave a statement in regards to his approach down the stretch of the season.

Feb 7, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards head coach Brain Keefe on the sidelines against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards' 2025–26 season has seen quite a bit of controversy and losing, with a fair share of encouraging signs mixed into the equation. However, as the season has wound down and as the playoff — and tank race has heated up, fans and media have grown increasingly frustrated with teams who are deliberately losing games.

The Wizards have found themselves in the latest rendition of the attention surrounding the anti-tanking crew, with their recent loss against the Golden State Warriors being called into question.

Whether you want to believe that Washington fits in with the grouping of teams who are attempting to lose or not, it’s undeniable that some of head coach Brian Keefe’s recent lineup strategies have been confusing. However, to fans who have closely followed the Wizards all year, it should come as no surprise to see Keefe trust his second unit to close out games, particularly when they have the hot hand.

Mar 27, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II (0) shoots against Washington Wizards forward Leaky Black (14) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images | Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images

This strategy has in fact proven to be successful on multiple occasions this season, proving that the method isn’t completely rooted in tanking ways. However, as the season winds down and as the tank race tightens up, each loss has been put under a microscope. As previously mentioned, Washington’s recent loss to Golden State was drawn under heavy scrutiny, and for a somewhat valid reason.

Keefe Responds

Despite taking a lead into the fourth quarter, the Wizards chose to not play any starters other than rookie Leaky Black, who currently is riding out a two-way contract. Although it was suspicious at face value, coach Keefe did his best at clearing the air in the post-game press conference.

“Well, first of all, health, this is something we've done all year with all of our players. Our health of our players is our number one thing. And we follow the protocols to keep our guys.” said Keefe. “We want to keep the rotation so the teams can, you know, similar rotations that they're used to playing together. And when they hit that, that's kind of it. But it's mostly health is the number one thing for them.”

Wizards coach Brian Keefe was asked by @JoshuaBRobbins and me why starters Bilal Coulibaly and Bub Carrington didn't play in the 4th quarter of a close game against Golden State, and why Alex Sarr was allowed to foul out in the 3rd. pic.twitter.com/RYbVwjbsKU

— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) March 28, 2026

In short, Washington is prioritizing the health of its players, placing minutes restrictions on any player who has any kind of lingering injury. It may be frustrating to watch at times, as fans are disappointed not seeing their team’s best players play in the biggest minutes. However, the future of the franchise has been and will be the main concern for the Wizards for the entirety of the season, making their choices reasonable in the grand scheme of things.

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