Washington Wizards coach Brian Keefe didn’t strike fear in the hearts of opponents during his first year on the job, and that feeling surfaced in an anonymous poll released Tuesday. Players voted him the worst coach in the NBA.
The Athletic polled one-third of the league’s players in the final two months of the season to answer questions about the best and worst players, organizations and coaches around the league.
Keefe ran away with the race for worst coach, garnering 24.7% of the votes.
To the players who voted, it was an easy calculation. The Wizards were the second-worst team in the NBA. Their defense was porous, and the offense was inefficient. Washington strung together two 16-game losing streaks to finish with an 18-64 record.
Keefe led a slight improvement from the previous year’s 15-67 finish, but only the Utah Jazz recorded more losses this season.
The Washington Times has reached out to Keefe through the Wizards for a comment.
A majority of surveyed players skipped this coach question. They noted it’s hard to assess a coach they don’t play for. They also mentioned that too many factors — injuries, players and front-office decisions — account for wins and losses.
“I’m not answering because I think the coaches are really good now. You could pick one of the bottom-feeders,” one player said before naming a specific coach that The Athletic redacted. “But I’ve had (him as a coach), he’s good and it’s not his fault.”
Former Phoenix Suns coach Mike Budenholzer ranked second among the worst coaches in the voting. The organization fired him shortly after the season ended.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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