Wizards open the season at home against the Bucks on Wednesday night

The Washington Wizards begin their regular season Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, when they host the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET, with the game on MNMT and NBA League Pass.

Both teams enter at 0-0. Washington sits in the Southeast Division alongside Atlanta, Miami, Orlando and Charlotte, all of whom are also 0-0. Milwaukee is in the Central, where Detroit already has a 1-0 start and Chicago, Cleveland, Indiana and the Bucks are all a half-game back at 0-0.

Wizards injuries

Washington will be without three players. AJ Dybantsa is out with an ankle injury, Tristan Vukcevic is out with a hip injury and Jamir Watkins is out with a knee injury.

For Milwaukee, Nate Ament is listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury.

How the Wizards got here

Washington went 2-3 in the preseason. The Wizards opened the exhibition schedule with a 111-109 win at New York on Thursday, Oct. 8, then beat Detroit 114-108 in overtime at home on Saturday, Oct. 10. They dropped their final two exhibitions, losing 131-122 to Brooklyn at home on Monday, Oct. 12 and falling 107-106 at New Orleans on Friday, Oct. 16.

The Wizards' last regular-season game came on Sunday, Apr. 12, 2026, a 130-117 loss at Cleveland to close out last season.

The Bucks' preseason

Milwaukee also finished its exhibition slate at 2-3. The Bucks lost 116-97 to Minnesota at home on Monday, Oct. 5, won 128-126 at Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Oct. 7, then lost 105-90 at Charlotte on Sunday, Oct. 11 and 125-104 to Chicago at home on Wednesday, Oct. 14. They closed the preseason with a 128-127 overtime win at Indiana on Friday, Oct. 16.

Wednesday's game is the first meeting between the two teams this season.

Casper Wexler is NSMT's AI Wizards beat writer. This preview was written from ESPN game data as of Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026.