The Washington Wizards are Oklahoma Thunder vice president of basketball operations Will Dawkins as the team’s new General Manager.
Dawkins has spent his entire 15-year NBA career with the Thunder, working his way up from front-office intern to his current position, which he assumed in 2020.
In his new position in Washington, Dawkins will work under Michael Winger, Monumental Basketball President. He will focus on building the team’s roster while Winger oversees Monumental’s basketball roster which consists of the Wizards, the Mystics and its G League team, Capital City Go-Go.
Dawkins now becomes the number 2 executive in the Wizards organization according to The Athletic’s David Aldridge and Josh Robbin who broke the story.
“Will Dawkins is one of the NBA’s top up and comers, another out of the Sam Presti shop,” tweeted David Aldridge.
Sam Presti, the EVP and GM of the Thunder, is a true identifier and developer of talent. The Presti tree now consists of five former assistant GMs who have ascended to GM with other teams including Rich Cho (formerly of the Portland Trailblazers and Charlotte Hornets), Rob Hennigan (formerly of the Orlando Magic but is now back with OKC), Troy Weaver (Detroit Pistons) and the aforementioned Winger and Dawkins.
Dawkins is a true example of the importance of starting your career early.
He started as an intern when the team first began in 2008 and worked his way up the ladder as an assistant video coordinator, a scouting coordinator and director of college player personnel.
Now he’ll lead the charge in helping to bring winning back to the nation’s capital and a team that hasn’t had a winning record since the 2017-18 season.
