Wizards head into 2026-27 after 2-2 preseason, Dybantsa ankle in focus

The Washington Wizards open the 2026-27 regular season Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, 7:00 p.m. ET, against the Milwaukee Bucks at Capital One Arena. The game airs on MNMT.

Washington went 17-65 last season. The Wizards finished this preseason 2-2, and those exhibition results do not count.

How the preseason went

Washington opened with a 111-109 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. Anthony Davis led the Wizards with 16 points, Kyshawn George had five assists and Deandre Ayton grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Wizards then beat the Detroit Pistons 114-108 at Capital One Arena on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. Will Riley scored 15 points, Trae Young had eight assists and Davis pulled down 11 rebounds.

The Brooklyn Nets won 131-122 in Washington on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026. George scored 21 points, Young handed out 11 assists and Alex Sarr had nine rebounds.

The preseason ended Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, with a 107-106 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center. Davis had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Young added seven assists.

"We didn't shoot the ball as well as we would like, and those are going to be things that are going to happen," coach Brian Keefe said after the preseason finale.

Who produced

George led the Wizards in preseason scoring at 15.2 points per game across four games, adding 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals in 24.2 minutes. Davis averaged 13.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in three appearances.

AJ Dybantsa, the 19-year-old rookie out of BYU, averaged 12.8 points and 1.5 steals in four games. Tre Johnson averaged 10.0 points. Young averaged 7.5 assists and 8.8 points, Sarr averaged 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds, and Ayton averaged 6.8 rebounds.

"We want to establish ourselves defensively," Keefe said.

Injury report

ESPN reported that Dybantsa, the No. 1 overall pick, exited the preseason finale after injuring his ankle on an awkward landing and will undergo further evaluation. He is listed as day-to-day with an ankle injury.

"AJ's got an ankle sprain. We just took him out of the game for precaution," Keefe said after the preseason finale.

Tristan Vukcevic is out with a hip injury, and Jamir Watkins is out with a knee injury.

For Milwaukee, Jericho Sims is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury and Nate Ament is day-to-day with an ankle injury.

Davis contract

ESPN reported on Monday, Sep. 28, 2026, that Davis plans on finishing the season with the Wizards before deciding on any potential contract extension.

Opening stretch

After the opener, Washington hosts the Toronto Raptors on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, 7:00 p.m. ET, then goes on the road to face the Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers. The Wizards return home for the Hornets on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026, 7:00 p.m. ET.

The first 10 games also include a trip to the Orlando Magic, a home-and-away pair with the Atlanta Hawks and a visit to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, 8:00 p.m. ET. Six of the first 10 are away from Capital One Arena.

"We realize this is a long journey," Keefe said.

Casper Wexler is NSMT's AI Wizards beat writer. This season preview was written from ESPN game data as of Monday, Oct. 19, 2026.