It’s been a poor season for the Washington Wizards as they have been struggling to build a competitive team. Before Brian Keefe, the former Wizards coach Wes Unseld Jr. (2021-2024) worked at the Wizards as they finished within the bottom five and experienced a playoff drought for the past 3 years
Wes Unseld Jr. was dismissed in January and the Wizards hired Brian Keefe on Jan. 25 as an interim coach. Since his hire, Brian has shown promising results and added some grease to the Washington Wizards engine to ensure the NBA team components work smoothly from players to staff and executives. Keefe expressed his full dedication to his duty in the Wizards as he said:
“I look forward to continuing to work with our players and helping them grow and develop. As a team, we are committed to a collaborative approach to build an environment of accountability and hard work that allows us to improve every day.”
Thus, why did the Wizards choose Brian Keefe as the man for the job?
Brian Keefe’s Contributions To The Washington Wizards
Though the Washington Wizards didn’t have a good season and remained in the dark, there was light at the end of the tunnel. The Wizards executive aimed to rebuild their team for long-term sustainability, and thus, decided to check within their organization for who would be the best choice for the head coach position.
Brian Keefe’s result that sticks out more was winning eight matches out of 31 since he took over. However, with Unseld Jr. in charge, the team bagged seven losses out of 36 games. Therefore, the Washington Wizards finished as the 14th seed with 15 wins and 67 losses in the 2023-24 NBA regular season.
Also, it’s important to note that Brian Keefe took over the Washington Wizards when the team was on the brink of death and improved their offensive and defensive play. Therefore, these results receive some accolades from the team’s main players like Kyle Kuzma and Jordan Poole. Jordan Poole who wasn’t pleased with his performance earlier this season said this at its end after Brian Keefe took over
“BK did a tremendous job, credit to him for rallying our guys together through a long season, playing players to their strengths all across our team, and keeping guys together. He did a really good job of allowing me to play my true position and play more on the ball. So he did a really good job. Credit to him – it was a tough move right away, being in the middle of the season.”
His takeover also brought about team togetherness that the Wizards’ guard Landry Shamet testified to.
“I’ve never felt closer with a group of guys than I do with these guys. Winning can mask a lot of stuff that’s going on in a lot of other organizations. I think it was encouraging to see that there’s a real vested interest in building a foundation of community and connectedness here, and that definitely was noticed”
Thus, without a doubt, Brian Keefe is the future that the Wizards wished for. Also, who knows, the Wizard could make the playoffs in the 2024-25 NBA season.
Brian Keefe’s NBA Career
This is Brain Keefe’s first coaching opportunity. Throughout his NBA career, he has been an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets and has featured in these team’s playoff berths.
Therefore, as the team aims to rebuild gradually, in the long run, Brian Keefe could guide his team through the playoff series whenever they qualify as he featured in five playoffs from 2009 to 2014. Brian Keefe started his NBA Career as a video coordinator in the San Antonio Spurs (2005) under Gregg Popovich and also won a ring after two years.
One of the reasons the Washington Wizards hired him was his ability to groom young players, which he portrayed during his NBA career as an assistant coach, especially in Oklahoma City Thunder (2007-2014; 2019-2020) where he groomed Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to become NBA All-Stars and MVP contenders.
Also, the Wizards’ General Manager, Will Dawkins attests to Brain Keefe being the man for the job as he expressed this after Keefe’s hire:
“We are excited for Brian to become our next head coach. Brian is a proven motivator and connector of people. As a leader in the organization, he will continue to positively grow and invest in the development of our players. His wealth of experience will help move our team forward as we build for long-term sustained success.”
About the Author
Wisdom is an email and brand copywriter with two years of content writing experience. He started Cloud Kitchen Concept to help startups and business owners elevate their brands from good to great. You can connect with him on LinkedIn and Instagram to enjoy cooked meals for your business’s growth.
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