{"id":3663,"date":"2026-05-11T19:50:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/?p=3663"},"modified":"2026-05-11T19:50:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:50:44","slug":"wizards-land-no-1-pick-as-franchise-enters-next-phase-of-rebuild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/wizards-land-no-1-pick-as-franchise-enters-next-phase-of-rebuild\/","title":{"rendered":"Wizards Land No. 1 Pick as Franchise Enters Next Phase of Rebuild"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Washington Wizards officially secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Sunday in Chicago, giving the franchise its first top selection since <a href=\"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/john-wall-starts-front-office-journey-at-howard\/\" title=\"\">drafting John Wall <\/a>in 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The moment carried extra symbolism for the organization, as Wall represented the Wizards on stage during the NBA Draft Lottery, a full-circle moment acknowledged by Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger following the announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking with <a>Double Take Sports<\/a> on-site after the lottery, Winger reflected on the significance of having the franchise\u2019s last No. 1 overall pick present as Washington earned the opportunity to potentially add its next one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo have the last No. 1 pick on the dais to welcome the possibility of adding the next No. 1 pick\u2026it was terrific,\u201d Winger said. \u201cIt was a symbiosis between sort of John and the hope of our future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The moment the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Wizards?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Wizards<\/a> won the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBADraftLottery?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NBADraftLottery<\/a>! That\u2019s right\u2026Washington has the #1 pick in the NBA Draft \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffe<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dbltakesports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@dbltakesports<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ForTheDistrict?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ForTheDistrict<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XuNHF1QpBo\">pic.twitter.com\/XuNHF1QpBo<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CaritaCParks\/status\/2053557441917260232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Washington entered the night with a 14% chance of landing the top selection and will now pick first overall for the fifth time in franchise history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The result marks another major milestone in the Wizards\u2019 rebuild, though Winger suggested the organization believes its timeline already shifted earlier this year following the additions of Trae Young and Anthony Davis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWell, I think that we sort of accelerated our rebuild in January and February by acquiring Trae Young and Anthony Davis,\u201d Winger told Double Take Sports. \u201cBut really, we sort of are just following the lead of our young players.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Winger added that the rapid development of Washington\u2019s young core convinced the organization the team was ready to take another step competitively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur young athletes sort of told us by virtue of their performance, by virtue of how much better they\u2019re getting and how quickly they\u2019re getting better, that they were ready for the next step,\u201d Winger said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I asked Michael Winger if landing the No. 1 pick accelerates the Wizards rebuild.<br><br>Winger said the rebuild accelerated when the organization traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis, adding the roster\u2019s development shows the players are ready for the next step.<br><br>\u201cIt\u2019s an\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/i98WOLTx8g\">pic.twitter.com\/i98WOLTx8g<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CaritaCParks\/status\/2053603771922649278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Wizards now find themselves positioned to potentially select projected <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/nba\/news\/nba-mock-draft-2026-lottery-aj-dybantsa-darryn-peterson-cameron-boozer\/\" title=\"\">No. 1 prospect AJ Dybantsa<\/a>, who also spoke with Double Take Sports immediately following the lottery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked about the possibility of landing in Washington, Dybantsa expressed confidence in both himself and the Wizards\u2019 situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m betting on myself to be the number 1 pick,\u201d Dybantsa said. \u201cI think I\u2019m very adaptable. I think I could play anywhere. Obviously they have a great young core, have a couple good vets there. So I think I\u2019ll be solid over there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2026 NBA Draft will take place June 23-24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, where the Wizards will officially make the first selection in the draft for the first time in 16 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Spoke with projected No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa immediately after the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBADraftLottery?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NBADraftLottery<\/a> about the possibility of coming to the Wizards. <br><br>\u201cI\u2019m betting on myself to be the #1 pick.\u201d<br><br>Via <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dbltakesports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@dbltakesports<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NBADraft?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NBADraft<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ForTheDistrict?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ForTheDistrict<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/F5mba3bCtB\">pic.twitter.com\/F5mba3bCtB<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CaritaCParks\/status\/2053578480172810646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"Michael Winger on Wizards Landing No. 1 Pick | Full Media Availability\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QnRownrql4A?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Wizards secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, marking a major moment in the franchise\u2019s rebuild. Double Take Sports was on-site in Chicago as Michael Winger discussed the team\u2019s next phase and projected top prospect AJ Dybantsa reacted to the possibility of landing in Washington.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Wizards secured the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, marking a major moment in the franchise\u2019s rebuild. Double Take Sports was on-site in Chicago as Michael Winger discussed the team\u2019s next phase and projected top prospect AJ Dybantsa reacted to the possibility of landing in Washington.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[70],"tags":[29,41,22],"class_list":["post-3663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wizards","tag-features","tag-home-page-carousel","tag-washington-wizards"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DraftLotteryGroup2.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3663"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3665,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3663\/revisions\/3665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbltakesports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}