2021 Washington Wizards Depth Chart
| # | # | # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point Guard |  Russell Westbrook | 4 |  Raul Neto | 19 |  Ish Smith | 5 |
| Shooting Guard |  Bradley Beal | 3 |  Jerome Robinson | 1 | ||
| Small Forward |  Deni Avdija | 9 |  Isaac Bonga | 17 | ||
| Power Forward |  Rui Hachimura | 8 |  Davis Bertans | 42 | ||
| Center |  Thomas Bryant* | 13 |  Robin Lopez | 15 |  Daniel Gafford | 21 |
After reaching the playoffs in four of their last five seasons, and the second round in three of those appearances, the Washington Wizards should head into the 2020 season with a newfound hope of success with LeBron James heading out West. They won 43 games last year, their fifth-straight season with 40-plus wins, and will return their entire starting backcourt and forwards, with the lone change to their starting lineup being the addition of Dwight Howard. Howard was acquired through free agency and will replace the newly departed Marcin Gortat as the team’s big man. The Wizards also added Jeff Green and Austin Rivers through free agency, two very underrated moves that fill needs for this team. Having an almost identical starting lineup for another season is a luxury that most teams don’t have, giving the Wizards a leg up on other teams in the Eastern Conference. While playoff success is certainly a goal for the Wizards, they will also need to improve several facets of the game. They were basically a league-average team on both ends of the floor, posting an offensive rating of 109.3 and a defensive rating of 108.7, but having a presence like Dwight Howard in the paint can make that happen.
All-Star John Wall missed half of the season last year but will kick this season off healthy and leads a dynamic group of backcourt players. Wall only averaged 19.4 points and 9.6 assists per season last year but is still one of the top point guards in the NBA and brings excellent speed and court vision to the floor. Despite being more of a small forward, Tomas Satoransky is the team’s backup point guard and was outstanding for the Wizards last season when filling in for Wall. He averaged 7.2 points per game but shot 52.3 percent from the floor and 46.5 percent from beyond-the-arc. He will share some backup duties with the newly acquired Austin Rivers who comes over from the Clippers after averaging a career-high 15.1 points and four assists per game last season. Having experienced guards like Satoransky and Rivers is a huge strength for their bench, especially is Wall is unable to stay healthy again this season. Bradley Beal will start alongside John Wall in the backcourt once again this season and is coming off a season where he averaged 22.6 points and 4.5 assists and appeared in all 82 games for the first time in his career. While Austin Rivers is listed as the backup shooting guard for the team, at least while Jodie Meeks is serving the remainder of his suspension. The duo of Rivers and Meeks gives the Wizards a lot of depth in the backcourt this season, solidifying a bench that had trouble scoring last season.
The Wizards forward situation is another strength for this team as they have Otto Porter leading the charge and Kelly Oubre Jr. backing him up. Porter is coming off a career year where he averaged 14.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and he did so by shooting above 50 percent from the floor. He connected on 44.1 percent of his three-point attempts, providing the Wizards with an excellent three-point shooter on the wings. Kelly Oubre Jr. is entering his fourth season wearing a Wizards’ uniform and can be a valuable swingman on the perimeter. He can play as the backup forward behind Porter and also as the shooting guard behind Beal, Rivers, and Meeks. He averaged 11.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season and is a very high-energy player.
With Markieff Morris once again starting at the power forward position, the Wizards will have a consistent shooter and defender in the paint and one that provides continuity with Wall, Beal and Porter and power forward is another position of strength for the Wizards. Washington went out and acquired journeyman Jeff Green who had an excellent year in Cleveland last season. Green will play ahead of Jason Smith off the bench but having the luxury of being able to use Smith and Green together in a small lineup is something Scott Brooks could employ. The Wizards were one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA and they fixed that in the offseason by going out and getting Dwight Howard in the offseason. Howard brings a strong rebounding and defensive presence to the Wizards and will be backed up by veteran Ian Mahinmi. Center is once again a position of strength for this squad as Mahinmi is another defensive specialist in the paint.