The Washington Wizards are going chalk with their next head coach.
The Wizards announced on Wednesday that they are officially making Brian Keefe their permanent head coach. The 48-year-old Keefe becomes the 26th head coach in the franchise’s history.
Keefe was the expected hire for the Wizards all along. He took over as the interim coach for the team in January after predecessor Wes Unseld Jr. was removed as head coach and reassigned to the front office. While Keefe went a miserable 8-31 (.205) after taking over, that was actually an improvement over Unseld’s record during the season of 7-36 (.163)
Known primarily as a defensive guru, Keefe also has a very strong track record in the player development department. After winning a title as a video coordinator for the San Antonio Spurs in 2007, Keefe became an assistant coach and served on staff for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets before joining the Wizards in 2023. Among the big names that Keefe has been credited with helping to develop are Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kristaps Porzingis, Brandon Ingram and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (all of whom have since become All-Stars or more).
The Wizards finished this season at a brutal 15-67 (.183), so Keefe has a lot more work to do. But they do own the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft and have both veteran scorers like Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma plus younger upside pieces like Corey Kispert, Deni Avdija and Bilal Coulibaly to work with. That said, Keefe, though a familiar in-house figure, may have to build an entirely new staff since the Wizards recently cleaned house there.
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