The Washington Wizards hired Brian Keefe as their coach Wednesday, sticking with the man who led the team on an interim basis from late January until the end of the season.
Keefe was in his first season as an assistant coach for the Wizards when he was promoted to interim head coach on Jan. 25, replacing Wes Unseld Jr.
Washington was 7-36 at the time of the change and went 8-31 the rest of the way.
Keefe was an assistant for Oklahoma City when the Thunder reached the NBA Finals in 2012. Keefe joined the Wizards after a couple of seasons with Brooklyn.
“I look forward to continuing to work with our players and helping them grow and develop,” Keefe said. “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 broke up their core — one that wasn’t accomplishing much — last offseason when they traded Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis. The result was predictable: Washington finished with a franchise-record 67 losses.