Wizards strip interim tag off Brian Keefe, name him head coach

Wizards strip interim tag off Brian Keefe, name him head coach

Brian Keefe was named the interim head coach of the lowly Washington Wizards 43 games into the 2023-24 season after Wes Unseld Jr. got moved to a front office role.

Roughly five months after that change, Keefe has officially been named as the team’s head coach, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski was among the first to report Wednesday.

The Wizards are hiring Brian Keefe as coach, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 29, 2024

The team announced the move shortly thereafter.

“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 via 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.”

Official: Brian Keefe has been named the 26th Head Coach in franchise history.

📰 Read more: https://t.co/3WA0VWUSCz pic.twitter.com/D0lv8w5lck

— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 29, 2024

Keefe, 48, was an assistant for 16 years with the Brooklyn Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. Before being an assistant, he began his professional career with the San Antonio Spurs as a video coordinator, winning a title in 2006-07 before joining Oklahoma City.

The Wizards closed last season going 8-31 under Keefe–15-67 overall, the worst record in franchise history. Now, Keefe will have a fresh slate without much expectation. Washington, led by Kyle Kuzma, Deni Avdija and Jordan Poole, sported the sixth-worst offense, third-worst defense and fourth-worst NET Rating. It’s made the postseason just once over the last six seasons, having yet to finish with more than 35 wins over a single season in that span.

Dawkins is a bright general manager but has plenty of work ahead of him with this group, including deciding what they want to do with the No. 2 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

At least Dawkins now has his guy in Keefe, who has plenty of coaching experience, even if it’s not as a head coach, to work with for potentially the next several years if everything goes to plan for them.

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

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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