The Washington Wizards odds to win the NBA title do not exist as a result of their 35-47 record. They finished tied for 11th in the Eastern Conference with the Indiana Pacers. Few if any franchises have performed as poorly as Washington in recent decades. It’s been a hard-to-believe 45 years since the Washington franchise won 50 games. They’ve settled into NBA purgatory for the past decade since drafting John Wall, never bad enough to draft elite players but never good enough to win meaningful games.
Check out Washington Wizards odds for every game below, as well as their NBA title odds.
Washington Wizards Odds
View Washington Wizards odds below. Click on the odds to bet.
Wizards NBA Title Odds
There were points during the 2022-23 season in which the Wizards had only the faintest of chances to win the NBA Finals. To break a drought that has lasted since the 1978 finals (their only title banner), the Wiz needed to find their way into the playoff bracket proper.
They did fight for a play-in spot. In late February, they sat in ninth place with an under .500 record. The Wizards finished five games behind the Chicago Bulls (40-42), the 10 seed.
If Washington did make the play-in, they would’ve likely been underdogs against any team they faced.
Wizards Roster
Starters/Top Bench Options
- Kyle Kuzma: Second on the team in usage but not nearly as efficient as Bradley Beal or Kristaps Porzingis. Has stepped up his defense and rebounding since leaving the Lakers, but he’s probably in too big of a role for his skills on Washington.
- Bradley Beal: Still an elite shooter (93rd percentile efficiency at his position, per Cleaning The Glass) on a high usage rate (also 93rd percentile). Not handling the ball quite as much as he has in some previous seasons (assists per game down to 5.4 from 6.6 in ’21-22).
- Kristaps Porzingis: Seems to have reversed what looked like early-career injury-related decline since coming to Washington. Still, his 55.2 eFG% is not great for a high-dollar big man. What’s worse, that number represents a career-high.
- Monte Morris: Classic caretaker point guard (95th-percentile turnover rate) who can shoot the ball accurately on the rare occasions he fires. Hardly ever gets easy buckets or free throws, though, and doesn’t create enough for others (5.3 APG).
- Corey Kispert: Second-year mid-first round pick doesn’t shoot it enough (11.6% usage) and never creates for others (1.2 APG). When he does let fly, he does damage (60.7 eFG%).
- Deni Avdija: Still very young (22) despite being in his third season, Avdija has evolved into a unique player. He can’t shoot, but he’s the de-facto stopper on D and rebounds like a big man (8.6 boards per 36).
- Delon Wright: Veteran combo guard is one of the better playmakers on the team and a hell of a thief (2 SPG leads the team by a mile), but his 3-point shooting has cratered to 30.8% (career 35.1%).
- Daniel Gafford: Has a 99th percentile points per shot figure and appears to be a net positive on defense (-3.6 net DRtg, lower is better). Maybe the team should find him more minutes.
Deep Bench/Reserves
- Kendrick Nunn: Salary filler trade acquisition has perked up a bit in Washington (57.9 eFG%).
- Jordan Goodwin: Stuffed the box score (12.6/6.5/4.9/2/1 averages) on not-terrible efficiency in an early-season injury cameo. The coaching staff doesn’t appear to care.
- Anthony Gill: Veteran journeyman who didn’t make it to an NBA court until age 28.
- Taj Gibson: Thirty-seven-year-old locker room leader.
- Johnny Davis: College superstar who looks like a spectacular bust. Has only appeared in 28 games after being picked 10th overall.
- Isaiah Todd: Second-year big man who took the no-college route. Has yet to really get any burn.
- Quenton Jackson: Undrafted rookie who shares a name with a famous MMA fighter.
Who Are The Best Players On The Wizards?
Somehow, Bradley Beal still plays for the Wizards. He’s probably the best player on the roster, with a skillset (great shooting, solid playmaking and defense) that still makes him an attractive trade target for many teams in contention. He’s been the subject of countless trade rumors in recent seasons.
But, Washington signed him to a large extension with a no-trade clause prior to the season. Both sides appear set to continue a relationship that has resulted in star-level performance but only a brief period of fringe contention that coincided with Beal and John Wall both playing at All-Star levels.
Aside from Beal, it counts as good news for the team that Kristaps Porzingis has found his legs again after looking rickety near the end of his time in Dallas. He’s rebounding the ball and blocking shots at acceptable rates again, although the team’s defense improves when he sits. His offense has peaked in terms of efficiency this season. Despite seeming like a withered vet, he’s still only 27.
Wizards Props
Player props are an increasingly popular way to bet on sports. However, unlike major markets (game lines, totals), prop markets can change significantly from one sportsbook to another. Luckily for bettors, TheLines has a built-in prop tool that enables you to find the best prices on any players you’re looking to bet.
Just type a player’s name into the search bar, and the player prop lines will populate from all over the market.
Also, keep an eye on TheLines’ YouTube channel, where the Coast 2 Coast crew breaks down NBA player props multiple times per week.
Wizards’ Current Season
The market expected the Wizards to be a below .500 squad, pegging them for about 33 wins in preseason win totals markets.
After a hot 10-7 start that had them at the top of the (very weak) division, reality hit in a hurry. Between Nov. 23 and Dec. 18, the Wizards lost 13 of 14 games to crash to 11-20. Some pundits expected them to hit the tanking button and try to position themselves for a high draft pick in a very strong class.
However, Washington righted the ship. They got especially hot in January, winning 10 of 14 heading into the All-Star break.
The team has enjoyed good health this season, with only Beal missing significant time. That must continue for the good times to keep rolling, given the weakness of the back half of the roster.
Wizards Transactions
Here’s a look at the moves the Wizards have made this season and prior to the season.
- January: Traded Rui Hachimura to the Lakers for Kendrick Nunn and three second-round picks (2023, 2028, 2029).
- July: Traded Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith to the Nuggets for Will Barton and Monte Morris.
- July: Signed Bradley Beal to a five-year, $251M deal. The contract runs through 2025-26 (age-32 season) with a $57.1M player option in 2026-27. It includes a no-trade clause.
The KCP trade, which brought in Barton, looks like a major bust right now. KCP has been a productive starter for the Nuggets, while Barton’s production has fallen off a cliff this year. The 11th-year vet plummeted to a ghastly 39.5% on 2s from a career 47.8%. He took a buyout already and it’s possible his NBA career has reached a sudden end.
Getting Hachimura foisted over to the Lakers for some minor draft picks looks like a productive piece of business, though. Hachimura proved a somewhat disappointing pick at ninth overall. He rebounds like a guard and the shot never really became consistent enough to be a real weapon.
How To Bet On Washington Wizards Odds
Many different avenues exist for betting the Wizards in an NBA game.
First, the major market options: spread betting, moneyline betting and over/under betting. These are the most common bets. To understand how betting them works, let’s look at an upcoming example, with Washington set to play host to the Knicks in the team’s next game.
- Wizards -2.5: This is the point spread. Since the Wizards are favorites (denoted by the minus sign), they must win the game by at least three points to cash this bet.
- Wizards -140: This is the moneyline. Again, since the Wizards are favorites (minus sign again), the bettor must lay a price. In this example, every $140 wagered can net the bettor a $100 win.
- Over/Under 224.5: This is the betting total. Bettors wagering on the over need at least 225 points to be scored between the two teams in the game. Bettors wagering on the under need 224 points or fewer on the scoreboard.
Any of these bets can usually be combined with other bets in parlays. Bettors who want to get really spicy can build same game parlays with multiple wagers from one Wizards game.
Smaller Markets, Other Wizards Betting Options
Getting past the basics, player props are probably the next most popular way to bet the NBA. Since few if any team sports are more individual player-driven than the NBA, player props for the association are a very popular option. Rather than simply betting the Wizards to beat the Knicks, one can bet that Bradley Beal will score more than, say, 23.5 points. Or Kristaps Porzingis will snag more than 7.5 rebounds. People love to bet props on their favor players and in nationally televised games.
We’ve already discussed futures bets above. These allow a bettor to make a wager that the Wizards can accomplish some feat at a later date: win the division, the conference, the NBA Finals, surpass a certain number of wins, etc.
Teasers are also available for NBA betting. Usually, NBA teasers involve buying four points from the sportsbook — for example, turning Wizards -2.5 into Wizards +1.5 against the Knicks — but in exchange, the bettor must parlay that adjusted price with at least one more adjusted price. Generally speaking, it isn’t advised to bet NBA teasers. “Key numbers” don’t exist they way they do for NFL games. Therefore, buying points is usually a losing proposition.
Finally, there’s live betting. Live betting has gained more and more steam in recent years, particularly in the NBA. Live betting the NBA is a great way to take advantage of things like lineup changes and random scoring runs. Teams very frequently make up large deficits in the modern, 3-point-centric NBA. That makes live betting teams that fall behind early an attractive option.
Pay attention to plus-minus data as well to help find an edge. For example, of the high-minutes Wizards players, Kyle Kuzma has the best net rating on the team by a large margin (+7.3). If the team sends, say, Kuzma and Bradley Beal to the bench at the same time and the Knicks make a 12-2 run before a Washington timeout, that might be a good time to buy in at a reduced price before those stars return to the game.
Washington Wizards Franchise History
Washington is one of the older franchises in the NBA, dating to a 1961-62 one-year run as the Chicago Packers.
Two years later, the team moved to Baltimore and began a 10-year run as the Baltimore Bullets. They experienced little success, although they did make the NBA Finals and lost to the Lakers in 1970-71. That came after drafting future Hall of Famers Wes Unseld and Earl Monroe at the top of back-to-back drafts in the late 1960s.
The franchise moved again to the nearby D.C. area for 1973-74, and after one year as the Capital Bullets, they settled into more than two decades as the Washington Bullets. Sixty wins in their first season proved to be the franchise’s peak, at least in the regular season. They fell short in the finals that year but broke through in 1977-78 in spite of a mediocre 44-38 regular season. It remains the team’s only championship. Washington won 54 games and made the finals again the following season, losing to the same Seattle team they’d beaten the year prior.
It’s basically been downhill ever since. Hayes and Unseld ended their times with the team in the early 1980s. Unseld would return for a stint as coach, but Washington won zero playoff series between 1982-83 and 2004-05, which included Michael Jordan’s brief tenures as part-owner and then player. The team was renamed again to the Wizards prior to 1997-98 to avoid negative connotations with gun violence.
After mostly first-round exits with the unpredictable Gilbert Arenas leading the way, the Wizards began a promising run of seasons with high draft picks at John Wall and Bradley Beal, who teamed up for a young and dynamic backcourt. Three times in four years, the team won a first-round series. Twice, they nearly made the Eastern Conference Finals, but a broken wrist for Wall ended their hopes in one season and a 4-3 loss to the Celtics the other.
Since that loss to Boston, the team has averaged fewer than 34 wins per season and moved on from the perpetually injured Wall.
FAQs About Washington Wizards Odds
Who is favored to win the 2023 NBA title?
Currently, the Milwaukee Bucks () and Boston Celtics () are narrowly favored over the Phoenix Suns (). This looks like one of the more wide open NBA finals races in recent seasons, continuing a theme from 2021-22.
What are the odds that the Wizards will win the NBA championship this year?
Washington’s market price for winning the NBA championship is . As of late February, that equates to a 0.2% chance, without considering the vig, or sportsbook juice.
How likely are the Wizards to make the playoffs?
Washington’s market price for reaching the playoffs are off the board. However, in late February, they had a 35.2% chance of getting in. Remember even if the Wizards found themselves in the play-in, they would’ve likely been underdogs.
Are the Wizards out of the playoffs?
Yes, the Wizards are out of the playoff picture. The Hawks, Knicks and Heat all finished ahead of them and all have more talented teams than Washington.
Has a Washington player ever won MVP?
No. Since the advent of the NBA MVP award in 1956, no Wizards or Bullets player has won it.
Where do the Washington Wizards play?
Washington plays at Capital One Arena, located just a few blocks from the White House in the heart of the D.C. metro area. It seats about 20,000 fans.
Who owns the Washington Wizards?
Ted Leonsis. An American businessman, Leonsis also owns the NHL’s Washington Capitals and several other smaller franchises. He purchased a controlling stake in the Wizards in 2010 after having been a minority owner. Longtime owner Abe Pollin had died in 2009.