Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks looks on during the first half of Game 4 in a first-round NBA basketball playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers, Monday, May 31, 2021, in Washington.

Nick Wass / AP Photo

Wizards fans have been through …a lot, especially over the past year. After their first round loss in the playoffs, many wondered how the team would regroup. In a Wednesday morning NBA news dump, they received one key answer: head coach Scott Brooks is out.

ESPN reporter Adrian Wajnarowski first tweeted the news that Brooks, whose five-year contract with the team is set to expire this month, didn’t reach an agreement for a new one with the Wizards. Wizards spokespeople later confirmed the reports with DCist/WAMU.

“We have been committed to taking the proper steps over the last two seasons to develop our young players, bring in pieces to complement Bradley Beal and build a winning environment that will ultimately lead to sustained on-court success,” Wizards general manger Tommy Sheppard said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Our organization will always be grateful to Scott for his dedication and work both on the court and in the community over the past five years and I personally admire and respect how he helped keep our team together during the unprecedented events of the last 15 months.”

The “mutual agreement to part ways” comes after the Wizards’ recent playoff run, where they lost 4-1 in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers, and a season marked by numerous obstacles and transitions: COVID-19, injuries, and the trade of long-time Wizard and community fixture John Wall.

Brooks joined the team in 2016 and led the Wizards in three playoff runs over his five-year tenure, while also attracting a fair share of criticism during his time at the helm. (Just take a peek at the Wizards’ subreddit right now). Brooks had one ally in Russell Westbrook, who voiced his support of Brooks’ leadership after the team’s 2021 playoff loss, but the coach failed to instill that same confidence in a large part of the Wizards fan base. (Again, the Wizards subreddit is really celebrating today.)

He’s come under fire for his coaching strategy over the past half a decade — notably his failure to develop younger players that left the team “with a gaping hole in the way their roster was constructed,” as Washington City Paper’s Troy Haliburton has put it.  He leaves the Wizards with an overall 183-207 regular-season record — meanwhile, gleeful fans are celebrating the beginning of a new era.

This post has been updated with a statement from Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard and to correct the Wizards 2021 playoff record. 

Filed Under: Scott Brooks, The Washington Wizards,