WASHINGTON — A glance toward the Capital One Arena stands during the 2025-26 NBA regular season often painted a worrisome portrait about fan interest in the rebuilding Washington Wizards. Wide swathes of upper-deck seats typically remained empty, especially when the home team played mediocre opponents with minimal star power. On some occasions, many lower-bowl seats also went unsold.The Wizards finished the season averaging 16,107 fans per home game, the second-lowest average home-attendance figure in the league, ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Greater Washington’s fans clearly needed some kind of jolt to regain their attention, and their business.The Wizards’ ticket-sales operation has benefited in recent months from three events that resonated like thunderclaps: the January trade for four-time All-Star point guard Trae Young, the February trade for 10-time All-Star power forward/center Anthony Davis and this month’s victory in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery.In an interview Wednesday, Jim Van Stone, president of business operations and chief commercial officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment — which includes the Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals, the WNBA’s Washington Wizards and the NBA G League’s Capital City Go-Go — said the trades for Young and Davis, the lottery win and ongoing renovations to the arena have sparked “an awakening of what we have always believed to be one of the best basketball markets in the country.”Monumental officials said more than 95 percent of season ticket holders renewed their seats for the 2026-27 season and said new season-ticket sales are approximately three times greater than they were at this point last year.Continued growth is expected in the months ahead as the Wizards’ front office, led by Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger and Wizards general manager Will Dawkins, decides what to do with the No. 1 pick and, perhaps, makes a tweak here and there to the rest of the roster.Former Wizards guard John Wall represented the team on stage as it won the No. 1 pick at the NBA Draft Lottery. (David Banks / Imagn Images)“Once we get through the draft and the summer, I think we’re poised to see some incredible numbers,” Van Stone said. “Organizationally, we have a goal. We would love to be able to hit 10,000 full-season equivalents in the upcoming season.“So we definitely have our work cut out for us, but (with) the excitement, the energy and all the work that Michael and Will and the team have put into the last three years, we think we’re going to see some really significant growth in a short period of time, which is really exciting for us.”