Wizards Defense Stepping Up to End Year

A good defense can always win a team games, as defense can quickly turn into fastbreak offense. The Washington Wizards have been struggling to find this out on their own, and at times are on the other end of realizing this statement to be true. Their defense ranks as the league's worst, having a defensive rating of 122. Their offense is slightly better, but still not great. This is the one clear area the team has been focusing on for the rest of the season: improving on defense.

To end 2025, the squad has turned it up a notch on defense, especially during this stretch of winning basketball. The Wizards have now won four of their last seven games, and it is due to one main reason. The intensity on defense has shifted, and now they are shutting down opponents.

Wizards Defense Stepping Up Lately

The numbers are not those that would put them into national media talks, as the defense can still improve. Compared to where the team was at, this defense is entirely different. In the Wizards' last seven games, their defensive rating is 115.6. That put them at 17th overall in the NBA during that seven-game period. The tone has changed at the DMV, and it may be here to stay.

After the most recent win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Brian Keefe gave credit to his defense. Keefe, after the game, said, "Our defense carried. I think we had 33, what we would call disruptions, deflections, steals, and blocks. We were very active tonight, and that carried us throughout the whole game."

Brian Keefe last night about the defense stepping up in the win: "Our defense carried. I think we had 33, what we would call disruptions, deflections, steals, and blocks. We were very active tonight, and that carried us throughout the whole game."
— Bryson Akins (@BrysonAkinsNBA) December 29, 2025

The defense was definitely the reason the Wizards won that junkyard dog fight against Memphis. Bilal Coulibaly stepped up in significant ways, along with bench players such as Justin Champagnie and Marvin Bagley III. The real backbone of this defense has been Alex Sarr, who set a career high of six blocks in the win.

Sarr was asked about what has changed during this seven-game stretch. He kept it simple, saying it was all about the defense. Sarr said, "I think we've really put an emphasis on our defense. Knowing that's what's gonna help us, whether we have a great shooting night like last game, or when we're not shooting great like tonight, making sure that's what can get us over the hump."

Alex Sarr have a similar answer to Justin Champagnie when I asked him what the Wizards have improved on over the last seven games (thread):

“I think we’ve really put an emphasis on our defense. Knowing that’s what’s gonna help us whether we have a great shooting night like…” pic.twitter.com/vETML3ipL4
— Joshua Valdez (@joshvaldez100) December 29, 2025

The impact Sarr has been leaving, though, has not been given enough attention. While the blocks were impressive, Sarr held his opponents to just seven points when he was the central defender. His opponents in that latest win over Memphis shot only 3-of-12 from the field when he was the defender. His defense was towering and demoralizing, as no one could get a bucket off of him.

Alex Sarr Defense Tape 12/28 vs MEM
~ 7 Points Allowed
~ Held Opponents to 3/12 FG
- 8 Stocks (6 blocks)

WAS On/Off Def Rating w/Sarr (via @PivotFade)
- 28 Minutes
- On Court Def Rating: 105
- Off Court Def Rating: 100

Thoughts on his defense last night? pic.twitter.com/MrwXKyGz4i
— Hoopology (@hoopologyxx) December 29, 2025

The bottom line is that this defense has changed the narrative. Earlier, you said you were always going to have a high-scoring contest against the Wizards. Now, if you want to score 115 points or more, you are going to have to earn those points. It will be interesting to see whether this kind of defense continues to appear in the New Year.

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