They were in the bottom 10 for total attendance per game and worst for utilization.
I know, we are supposed to be excited about the Michael Winger era of Monumental Basketball, especially his strategy to handle the Washington Wizards. But I felt that now is as good of a time as any to share the final numbers on regular season attendance, for better or for worse.
(After all, I got a quota to meet, right?)
The Wizards finished 21st in the league for paid attendance per home game with 17,327 fans in the 2022-23 NBA regular season. When we look at the utilization rate based on what percentage of seats get sold, the Wizards were last at 84.1 percent.
Yes, some of you critics are quick to tell me that the Wizards have a very low utilization rate because they have the third biggest arena in the NBA with 20,356 seats. Fair enough. Let’s say 17,327 fans go to a Capital One Arena with just 19,000 seats. That would boost the utilization rate to 91.1 percent. It is a significant bump for sure, but the Wizards would still be tied for 24th in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons.
Perhaps some fans were not buying Wizards tickets as a way to protest Tommy Sheppard’s stewardship of the team as General Manager. Now, he’s no longer here. So do you think Winger’s presence will be enough to boost the utilization rate toward 90 percent in 2023-24 as a gesture of goodwill? I’m not sure, but I’d love to read your responses in the comments.