Power Rankings: Wizards Stand Pat After Promoting Unseld Jr.

The Washington Wizards have been worse than expected, leading to a promotion for Wes Unseld Jr. and a steadily low ranking in the NBA.

The Washington Wizards were 7-36 and ranked No. 29 in NBA Power Rankings following their 118-107 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last week.

Now, the Wizards are 8-37 with one win and one loss each since they promoted former coach Wes Unseld Jr. and replaced him with interim head coach Brian Keefe.

At least, promotion is the way NBA.com is seeing the move Washington made after playing much worse than many expected in to start the season.

Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) drives on Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) during the second half at Capital One Arena / Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

"The Wizards weren’t expected to compete for a playoff spot this season, but they probably weren’t expecting to be this bad, especially offensively," says NBA.com in its Week 15 NBA Power Rankings article. "They were well on their way to a third straight season in the bottom 10 on both ends of the floor when Wes Unseld Jr. was … promoted! He was moved to the front office on Thursday, with Brian Keefe acting as the interim coach for the remainder of the season."

Washington sits 29th in the NBA in this week's power rankings, exactly where it stood last week, and is ahead of only the Detroit Pistons whom the team beat 118-104 on Saturday afternoon. The win was Keefe's first, and so far only, as the interim coach.

There is an opportunity for the Wizards to move up in the power rankings next week if they can beat forward-center Victor Wembanyama and the No. 27 San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. 

Wizards Hoping To Keep Momentum Going After First Win With Keefe

The last time the two teams faced off Wembanyama scored 24 points in 28 minutes and secured eight rebounds in a 131-127 win for the Spurs. 

His amateur teammate, and current Washington silver lining, guard Bilal Coulibaly scored 14 points in 23 minutes in the losing effort.

A win against San Antonio would be the first two-game winning streak of the year for the Wizards, and with 11 straight games against teams currently above .500 to follow it could be the last real chance at a win for quite some time.

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