The Washington Wizards have officially hired Brian Keefe to be their 26th head coach in franchise history, the team announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Keefe, who took over for Wes Unseld Jr. in the middle of the 2023-24 season, led the Wizards to a 8-31 record over their final 39 games of the season. The team had just seven wins when he took over. Although the product may not have shown it, the Wizards made great progress during the second half of the season as a rebuilding franchise in the Eastern Conference. Now, Keefe will continue to work on developing this young roster as they guide themselves through what will be a multi-year rebuilding process.

In recent days, it became apparent that Keefe was the right person for the Wizards. ClutchPoints reported on Monday that momentum continued to sway in the direction of Keefe being promoted from interim head coach to full-time head coach of the team.

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“We are excited for Brian to become our next head coach. Brian is a proven motivator and connector of people,” Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins said in Wednesday's press release. “As a leader in the organization, he will continue to positively grow and invest into the development of our players. His wealth of experience will help move our team forward as we build for long-term sustained success.”

Keefe has been a coach in the NBA for 16 years. Prior to joining the Wizards as part of Unseld's staff in 203, Keefe served as an assistant and developmental coach for the Brooklyn Nets (2021-23), Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (2007-15, 19-20), Los Angeles Lakers (2016-19), and New York Knicks (2015-16). He also had experience as an assistant in the college ranks for Bryant and South Florida before making the transition to the NBA.

“I am grateful to Michael [Winger] and Will for the opportunity to lead the Washington Wizards,” Keefe stated. “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.”

The Wizards won just 15 games this past season, their fewest in franchise history. Keefe will now be tasked with taking the second-worst team in the league record-wise and attempting to develop his roster into something special. While they have plenty of room for growth, the Wizards do already have established talents such as Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Marvin Bagley III, and Tyus Jones, who will be a free agent this summer.

After drafting Bilal Coulibaly as an 18-year-old in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Wizards will once again look to add onto the young core they are building with the second overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.