Wizards Stat Suggests Historically Poor Season

The Washington Wizards have one of the worst statistical seasons to date.

Dec 7, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards guard Jordan Poole (13) yells at an official as Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson (8) looks on in the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards have the league's worst record at 3-19, but there's another number that sticks out for even worse reasons.

Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey points towards the Wizards' -15.2 net rating, which is among the worst for any team in NBA history.

"Last season, the Charlotte Hornets had the worst mark in the league, and they were at minus-10.6. The year before, the low mark was minus-9.9," Bailey writes.

"And when you combine point differential with strength of schedule (as Basketball Reference's "simple rating system" does), Washington is on track for the third-worst season on record. Only the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks (who went 11-71) and the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats (7-59) have lower marks in SRS."

Net rating is the difference between a team's offensive and defensive rating, and the Wizards trail all of the other teams in the league by a wide margin. This suggests that the Wizards have a long road ahead.

However, this could work out in Washington's favor with a little lottery luck.

"If all of this results in the top pick in the draft, and the Wizards emerge with a bona fide franchise player, great. But between now and this summer, things are going to be rough," Bailey writes.

Having the league's worst offensive and defensive ratings will have an effect, and this is exactly why the Wizards dropped 16 games in a row. In order for things to turn around, the Wizards need to do a few things.

First, they need to get healthy. The injury report continues to grow and that isn't helping Washington whatsoever. Then, the defense needs to improve since it's the end of the floor that the Wizards have more control in. Sometimes a little added effort is all that's needed to improve the defense.

If that defense improves, the Wizards will be able to start seeing the effects on the offensive end, building a more complete team.

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