The Washington Wizards are hosting the Toronto Raptors Saturday night. At 12-58, the Wizards have already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. The 23-46 Raptors, though still technically alive, are seven games back of the 10th seed and thus are functionally also eliminated.
The stories of the Wizards of late and the post-championship Raptors are quite similar. Both teams held on to good-but-not-great talent for far too long (Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis, Fred VanVleet, Pascal Siakam), resulting in playoff disappointment and mid-to-late lottery picks. The Raptors were lucky and smart enough to draft recent All-Star Scottie Barnes in 2021, while the Wizards grabbed a keeper in Bilal Coulibaly this past draft.