Welcome to Hoop Dreams, a season preview unlike any other you’ll read before the 2016-17 season tips off. The premise is simple. We’ll be providing 30 of these fictional forays because it simply stinks that only one team can win the title each year. The list of contending teams seems to shrink with each campaign, and we wanted to provide something to those fans who only get to dream of Larry O’Brien during the offseason. Before October, every team can win the NBA title. Don’t believe us? Then keep reading. – Ed
The Washington Wizards spent an entire year planning their future around the acquisition of Kevin Durant and, frankly, it is hard to blame them. Ted Leonsis, Ernie Grunfeld, and Co. had the natural draw of Durant growing up in the area and the “coming home” narrative was in vogue after the high-profile return of LeBron James to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In an instant, though, Durant broke the hearts of the DMV with a letter and a pledge to join the Golden State Warriors, leaving Washington in a lurch.
So we thought.
Before the calendar flipped to 2017, the Wizards were generally overlooked. Impact acquisition Ian Mahinmi missed the start of the season following knee surgery and the other new pieces, highlighted by Trey Burke, Tomas Satoransky, and Andrew Nicholson, were slow to acclimate under new head coach Scott Brooks. Washington stayed afloat, though, on the strength of John Wall, who looked to be every bit of the player he was prior to an injury-plagued 2015-2016 season.
Wall’s elite-level defense combined with a breakout start to the season for Bradley Beal (who was unnervingly healthy) and the Wizards were able to hold a modest lead in the underwhelming Southeast Division as the All-Star break neared. From there, Wall suffered an unfortunate (freak) injury to his jaw, sidelining him for a handful of weeks, but in his absence, Brooks captained the team to a new and wildly entertaining identity.
Former NCAA Player of the Year Trey Burke took the reins from Wall, and while he wasn’t quite as good, the former Michigan Man (and Utah Jazz guard) played lights-out basketball, averaging 16 points and seven assists per game in Wall’s absence. Perhaps more importantly, Beal took yet another leap forward, staying on the court to fully realize his NBA potential for the first time, filling it up from deep to the tune of 24 points per game and leading the way offensively for Washington.
When Wall returned in March, the scene was set for a full-on acceleration to the finish line, with Burke now serving as an electric third guard, Mahinmi back to pair with Marcin Gortat in the middle and another step forward from the starting forwards, Markieff Morris and Otto Porter. In fact, Morris reminded the basketball world of his tremendous upside rarely flashed in Phoenix, transforming himself into a rare two-way force as a “small ball” power forward, locking down the opposition and providing spacing and creation offensively.
Morris’ ascension complimented Porter’s quite well, as the darling of the 2015 NBA Playoffs played the now-required “3 and D” role to perfection. With the entire starting lineup healthy and on the floor to pair with Mahinmi, Burke, Satoransky, Nicholson and sophomore Kelly Oubre, Jr., Brooks had his most talented arsenal since James Harden roamed the floor in Oklahoma City, and he was able to shed the demons associated with high-profile collapses with the Thunder.
The Wizards entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, and Washington made quick work of the division rival Charlotte Hornets in round one. From there, it was a showdown with Brad Stevens and the Celtics without the benefit of homecourt, but with Wall swallowing Isaiah Thomas up on the defense based on size, speed and sheer will, the Wizards were able to reclaim the advantage by taking game one on the road.
Boston would not go quietly, but Washington’s star-laden backcourt was the difference, and Brooks deployed Mahinmi as something of an “Al Horford stopper” to turn the tide. In six games, the Wizards put the Celtics away, setting the stage for an encounter with LeBron James in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Except, though, that James tweaked an ankle in the previous round against the Toronto Raptors, sapping his considerable powers in an obvious way that throwing the emphasis on Kyrie Irving. In a match-up between Irving and the perpetually underrated Wall, defense and offensive distribution ruled the day, as Washington’s leading man made it a point to shine over a player that had reportedly surpassed him in terms of overall impact.
LeBron strung together a few lights-out performances throughout the series, but it was clear that every minute on the floor took a toll on the weakened ankle, culminating in a 4-for-20 (blaze it) shooting performance in Game 7 in Cleveland. That was just the glimmer of hope that the Wizards needed, as Wall turned in a legendary 34-point, 17-assist performance and Beal converted seven three-pointers to propel the underdogs to a shocking victory.
That win probably would have been enough to satisfy any rational Wizards supporter in an overachieving season, but it wasn’t enough for Wall, Beal or anyone on the Washington roster. Brooks led his team into the NBA Finals as a sizable underdog for the second straight round but, due to an implosion from Draymond Green both on and off the court in the Western Conference Finals, the Wizards met the Los Angeles Clippers for the right to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
In a match-up billed as the showdown between Wall and Chris Paul for the league’s best two-way point guard, it was Beal and the supporting cast that stole the show. Los Angeles was buoyed by the perennially stout quartet of Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick, but the Clippers put a black hole on the floor with that fifth spot in the lineup, and the suddenly deep Wizards took full advantage.
Otto Porter produced two 20-point games, Markieff Morris averaged a double-double in the series and, perhaps more importantly, the duo of Gortat and Mahinmi played Jordan to a virtual draw at the center position. That opened things up for Beal’s big moment, as the young shooting guard averaged 32 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds per game over the six-game NBA Finals, zooming to a stunning Finals MVP honor as Wall stared longingly from the outside of the limelight.
Considered one of the more unlikely championship runs in the history of the NBA, the 2016-2017 Washington Wizards will dwell in the annals of history alongside the 2004 Detroit Pistons and the 2011 Dallas Mavericks as examples of everything coming together in perfect harmony.
