The Washington Wizards have begun a new chapter under head coach Brian Keefe.
Following the exits of John Wall and Bradley Beal, the Washington Wizards essentially entered a new era to rebuild from scratch.
Initially, the franchise went ahead with the duo of Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole under the leadership of head coach Wes Unseld.
The front office ended that experiment as well with the firing of Unseld during the 2023-24 season. Instead, they are now relying on Brian Keefe to coach the roster.
Brian Keefe’s early NBA coaching experience
Following a four-year NCAA career, Keefe failed to find a spot as a player on any NBA team. However, he finally earned a breakthrough in 2009.
How? By joining the Oklahoma City Thunder as an assistant coach. Keefe stayed in OKC until the end of the 2013-14 season.
He later joined the New York Knicks as an assistant coach. This time around, Keefe only stayed in the Eastern Conference for two seasons before moving to the Western Conference.
Keefe signed with the Los Angeles Lakers as an assistant/player development coach in 2016. But during his final season, Keefe let go of his player development duties.
Following the Lakers’ exit, Keefe had short stints with the Thunder and Brooklyn Nets. He ultimately joined the Wizards as an assistant coach ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Brian Keefe’s off to a terrible start as the Washington Wizards’ head coach
With the Wizards firing Unseld, Keefe was promoted to head coach during Year One in Washington.
Under coach Keefe, the Wizards had a devastating run, falling to an 8-31 record in 39 games. It ultimately ended up being the Wizards’ worst season in franchise history as they finished with a 15-67 record.
While fans expected better from coach Keefe and Co. during the 2024-25 season, the Wizards were last in the conference with an abysmal 18-64 record.
So far, the organization has gone 26-95 under coach Keefe, which begs the question: Can he really improve the team in the future? Only time will tell.
