The line on F Street Northwest began at 1:30 p.m., long before the Washington Wizards put sneakers on the Capital One Arena floor. Kevin Miles and his 18-year-old son, McKinley, waited 3 1/2 hours in 85-degree heat for a free open practice, a small but pointed measure of how much the mood around the franchise has changed.
When doors opened, the Miles family landed four rows off the floor near midcourt in Section 100. By the end of the night, with Anthony Davis, Trae Young and No. 1 pick AJ Dybantsa drawing the building’s biggest reactions, neither had any doubt the wait was worth it.
A different kind of turnout
The Wizards moved this year’s annual public practice back to their home arena after staging the previous two editions at Washington high schools, where students made up much of the crowd. With ticket demand climbing, the club released free tickets on Sept. 25, and the available inventory was claimed within days.
Nearly 85 percent of the lower bowl was occupied Thursday, with several hundred more fans spread through the middle level. Brian Keefe, approaching two decades in the NBA, said he had never seen a Wizards open practice draw a crowd of that size.
Kevin Miles, a 52-year-old Arlington, Virginia, resident who has followed the franchise since the 1980s, saw a reason for the renewed buzz.
“I have great optimism right now because of the mixture of the veterans with the young core,” Miles said. “I’m expecting great things from this Wizards team.”
McKinley Miles pointed to a sequence that has reshaped the roster and expectations: Washington’s February deal for 10-time All-Star Davis, its May victory in the NBA Draft Lottery and the selection of Dybantsa with the first overall pick in June.
“I think they’re going to be a top-three seed if they stay healthy,” McKinley said.
How the open practice unfolded
- The Wizards first held a full practice at their Southeast Washington facility earlier Thursday.
- Nearly six hours later, the public event began at Capital One Arena with the roster being introduced one player at a time. Most of the building stood to greet the team, while Davis, Young and Dybantsa received the strongest ovations.
- The program took on an All-Star Saturday feel, including a 3-point competition. Tre Mann, beginning his first season in Washington, beat fourth-year wing Bilal Coulibaly in the final.
- Davis took the microphone for a rookie initiation, asking the crowd whether Dybantsa and fellow rookie center Felix Okpara should perform.
- Dybantsa and Okpara sang Drake’s “One Dance,” missing some notes but leaning into the moment, then followed it with the Dougie.
- The event wrapped at 7 p.m., with Kevin and McKinley Miles leaving after more than five hours at the arena.
Kian Harris, a 19-year-old from Rockville, Maryland, got to the building at 2 p.m. and joined the first wave of fans waiting outside. He and a friend secured front-row seats in Section 100, close to the temporary floor setup.
“I think it’ll be cool to see this new season’s team,” Harris said. “There’s a lot of talent.”
Dybantsa gets his first taste of the building
For Dybantsa, the night offered more than a loud welcome and a required rookie performance. The top pick got an early read on the arena he will call home once the regular season begins.
“It was great being in here, getting to squeak the shoes on the arena floor, getting to know how loud it can get here,” Dybantsa said. “It wasn’t even halfway full, and it was super loud. So, you can only imagine what it’s going to be like when the season comes around.”
Kevin and McKinley Miles had managed the afternoon heat with occasional trips across the street to Compass Coffee for water and a few minutes of air conditioning. Around 4:45 p.m., roughly 100 to 150 additional fans had joined the line behind them, many in Wizards jerseys and caps.
Asked after the event whether the 1:30 p.m. arrival had been worthwhile, father and son answered together: “Yeah!”
“We thoroughly enjoyed it,” Kevin Miles said.
