Washington Wizards: Khris Middleton Bold Outlook on the 2025-26 Campaign Will Raise Fans' Eyebrows 1 Mar 8, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Washington Wizards forward Khris Middleton (32) drives to the basket as Toronto Raptors guard RJ Barrett (9) tries to defend during the second quarter at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Washington Wizards: Khris Middleton Bold Outlook on the 2025-26 Campaign Will Raise Fans’ Eyebrows

Originally posted on Hardwood Heroics | By Jordan Samar | Last updated Mar 29, 2025 6:54 AM ET

The Washington Wizards are in the middle of yet another forgettable campaign. They own the worst record in the Eastern Conference at 16-57, so they’re expected to gain a high lottery pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.

Despite this, Khris Middleton believes the future is bright in the nation’s capital. The three-time NBA All-Star is impressed with what he has seen from his new teammates after joining them via a trade from the Milwaukee Bucks last February.

“I think this team could definitely be a playoff team. I think we had a stretch recently where we were competing against some of the playoff teams in some games, where we won some games and lost some others,” Middleton said via Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Washington Wizards: Khris Middleton Bold Outlook on the 2025-26 Campaign Will Raise Fans' Eyebrows 2 Mar 5, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Khris Middleton (32) drives to the basket during the second quarter Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

“I think if you give us a full offseason and give us a full season together, with the improvement of the young core, which is going to be huge, I think they can take a big step because of the way they work, how talented they are, and how smart they are,” he added.

Washington Wizards: Khris Middleton faces big decision this offseason

Khris Middleton has a $33.4 player option for the 2025-26 season, and various NBA execs believe he’ll exercise it because it makes sense financially.

Washington Wizards: Khris Middleton Bold Outlook on the 2025-26 Campaign Will Raise Fans' Eyebrows 3 Dec 21, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (9) controls the ball against Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) in the fourth quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards have built an intriguing young core in the past few years with Jordan Poole, Alex Sarr , Kyshawn George, Carlton Carrington, Bilal Coulibaly, Corey Kispert, and Justin Champagnie.

To Middleton’s point, Washington have been slightly better since the NBA All-Star break, going 7-12 while having the league’s 18th-best defensive rating at 116.3 points allowed per 100 possessions, per NBA.com.