Brian Keefe Has Attention of Wizards

Brian Keefe appears to have the complete attention of the Washington Wizards.

Apr 7, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Washington Wizards head coach Brian Keefe calls out instructions to his players during the second half against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. / John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards are entering the 2024-25 NBA season as a team that the national media does not expect much from. Very few media members are giving them a chance to be a playoff or play-in contender.

Brian Keefe and company have a much different outlook for their upcoming campaign.

Looking at the roster, there is plenty of talent in place. If they can buy into the system and gel together, they could be a much better team than most are giving them the credit of being.

With that in mind, the team sounds like they're very much in tune with their head coach.

Kyle Kuzma, the team's best player on paper heading into the season, spoke out recently about Keefe. He made it clear that the team is buying in to what the head coach is preaching.

"[Keefe] has the attention of the team. When he talks, everybody is all eyes."

Keefe also talked about his approach to the upcoming season. While he wants to win, he also wants to create a new culture of how to win with the Wizards.

"It's process over outcomes. I'm a competitor. I want to win, but I want to go into the stuff that gets us to win. How we prepare, how we handle practices, how we handle shoot-arounds, how we handle film sessions - those are the things that will build us to be a sustainable winner."

Clearly, the head coach is saying all of the right things. Even more clearly, those things are resonating with the players.

For far too long, Washington has been a team without a winning culture. They have lost that identity since the days of John Wall and Bradley Beal making them an Eastern Conference team to watch.

Over the last couple of years, the front office has been methodically rebuilding the roster. They have brought in pieces that should fit together if they play to their full potential and buy into the system.

That sounds like it's happening ahead of the upcoming season.

Hopefully, fans will get to see all of it come together on the court this year. The Wizards don't have to make the playoffs for the season to be a success. They simply need to show marked improvement from last year and have a team that sticks together.

Make sure you bookmark Washington Wizards on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

• Wizards Rookie Making Early Impression
• Former Wizards Guard Benefits From Knicks Trade
• Wizards Could Make Surprising Bulls Trade
• Wizards HC Shares Thoughts on Dikembe Mutombo Death
• Wizards Nearing Major Decisions on Young Stars