NBA Snubs Wizards From Holiday Schedule

The NBA gave a sneak peek of what the nationally televised schedule will look like, and the Washington Wizards were left entirely off of any holiday game. This may come as no surprise, as the Wizards boasted an 18-64 record last season. Now missing their leading scorer in Jordan Poole, Washington is in the midst of a complete rebuild, hoping to form something special with Tre Johnson, Alex Sarr and Bub Carrington.

The NBA announced which teams will be playing on opening night, Christmas, MLK Day, and the opening week games. The last time the Wizards played on Christmas Day was December 25th, 2017, where they beat the Boston Celtics 111-103. John Wall finished this game with 21 points and 14 assists.

Last season, the Wizards were tied for second for the fewest nationally televised games at five. Excluding NBA TV, the Wizards only had one nationally televised game. This is a sign of how poorly the league thought the Wizards would play, and a sign of the team not having any highlight reel players. Now, they have some promising talent in the form of Johnson and Sarr, who is currently playing in EuroBasket.

The number of nationally televised games may not jump to double digits for this upcoming season, but it should be a little higher than 5. With the hype surrounding Johnson's potential win of Rookie of the Year, Washington fans might see their team play on networks like ESPN more often.

The veterans on the team, CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton, could also provide a boost to the national TV schedule for Washington. Middleton is a one-time NBA champion, and McCollum is a seasoned veteran. The only downside to having these veterans be key players is the fact that they are not known for making highlight plays.