Wizards Look to Snap Unfortunate NBA Cup Skid

The Washington Wizards aren't focused on winning regular season basketball games just yet. They're locked into the future, looking to build a contending team through the draft and slowly build their prospects up on a patient timeline.

Their priorities go against many other teams in the league, as rebuilding teams possess entirely different goals than those who already have their own franchise stars to spearhead playoff hopes. The Wizards have opted to follow their own road map, but betting on themselves has already cost them dearly to those keeping track of current wins and losses.

The NBA Cup was established two years ago, an in-season tournament meant to spruce up the fall calendar. Various scheduled matchups double as seeding games, where the finalists advance to knockout rounds and the eventual chance for the players to win a big trophy and a small sum of money.

Cup honors don't mean much in the grand scheme of the NBA, certainly not as much as a title or the years-long endeavor of a full-fledged rebuild, but the Wizards have found themselves in possession of an unfortunate record. They're the only team to never win a single Cup seeding game, now 0-for-8 across two seasons.

Even though the franchise's rebuild-oriented direction remains consistent, it's worth wondering whether 2025-26 is the season in which the Wizards finally join the NBA Cup win club. Their group has already been announced, and the Eastern Conference isn't exactly stacked with heavy hitters.