Wizards in Need of Big Man Support

It’s no secret that the Washington Wizards have no current aspirations of playing winning basketball, and are doing so with aspirations of bottoming out and acquiring a top pick in the 2026 Draft.

However, losing isn’t Washington’s only goal. The team still strives to be competitive on a night-to-night basis, trying to at the very least put up a fight in every game. For the most part, they have been able to do so, but in recent weeks a problem has arisen that has halted this goal.

Washington Wizards Center Anthony Davi — Jan 6, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Anthony Davis (3) dunks the ball against the Sacramento Kings in the first quarter at the Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Said problem is the Wizards’ severe lack of big man depth. Washington’s lack of depth is a bit humorous considering they have two of the arguable 10 best big men in the entire NBA when healthy in Alex Sarr and Anthony Davis, but the problem is that both have rarely been healthy this year. The result of that is a depleted big man room that has been especially thin in recent weeks.

What The Wizards Are Working With

With Davis and Sarr both missing extended periods of time, Washington has turned to third-year big Tristan Vukcevic to handle the majority of the center duties. Vukcevic has proven to be an impactful offensive player when given the chance, flashing a rare combination of mobility and scoring feel for a player his size. However, his defensive limitations have often left the Wizards in very inopportune situations.

Washington looked to patch his defensive faults by signing a more defensively minded big man in Julian Reese, bringing him on a two-way contract for the remainder of the 2025–26 season. Reese is still very new in his NBA tenure, but flashed some positive signs, racking up three steals in his NBA debut, which was sadly cut short due to him fouling out. Although impressive in some ways, Reese is still very clearly behind the curve of the rest of the NBA, particularly on offense where his lack of size and shot touch hinders his impact greatly.

HC Brian Keefe on Julian Reese: "I thought he was really steady, really had a good presence out there" https://t.co/l430UbGS0W pic.twitter.com/RYAH7p5Fa9
— Wizards on Roundtable (@WizRoundtable) March 3, 2026

Can They Fix This?

Although Washington does still have a contract opening if they choose to move on from D’Angelo Russell — which seems less and less likely by the day — the front office does not seem to be in any rush to patch their big man issues. The first and most glaring reason behind this is that free agency doesn’t exactly have many elite big men. The league covets size arguably more than anything else, so it is very rare to see a hidden gem center hiding in plain sight.

Washington Wizards Center Alex Sar — Feb 8, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) defends a shot from Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) during the first quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Along with that, Sarr and Davis are bound to return soon and give the Wizards some valuable minutes down the stretch of the season, so signing another big may end up being pointless in a matter of weeks. Either way the cookie is cut, Washington will be in for a tough stretch of games until they can figure out their problem at center.

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