Kelly Olynyk, Public Enemy No. 1, Got the Best of the Wizards, Again

October 19, 2018

Kelly Olynyk struck again. Arguably one of the most hated visiting athletes in Washington, D.C., Olynyk sunk the Washington Wizards with a putback with 0.2 seconds remaining to give the Miami Heat a 113-112 win.

🚨 Kelly Olynyk FOR THE WIN 🚨 pic.twitter.com/6NpagKbwTr

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 19, 2018

The play started with an isolation for Dwyane Wade, however, he was picked up by John Wall on the switch. Wall did a great job sitting on Wade preventing any drive. Wade resorted to a fadeaway jumper as Wall challenged to force the miss.

Unfortunately for the Wizards, Olynyk slithered through as Otto Porter got tangled with Heat guard Rodney McGruder and with Markieff Morris a step behind. A stunned Capital One Arena was silenced as the Heat celebrated.

It’s debatable if Porter was pulled out of the play by McGruder or they simply got tangled, however, Morris not boxing out Olynyk may be the culprit of the play. Nonetheless, the play happened and the Wizards are now 0-1 on the season losing to a team that’s topped them now seven of their last nine meetings since 2016-17 season.

Olynyk’s game-winning shot gave the Wizards nightmarish flashbacks to Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals series where he scored 26 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to sink the Wizards out of the playoffs. In D.C. Olynyk is not a popular man after the hard screen on Wizards forward Kelly Oubre that caused a ruckus in Game 3 of that 2017 postseason series. That coupled with his Game 7 performance has made him the most hated sports figure in the city right now, one may argue more than Sidney Crosby of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins or any other rival figure.

On Thursday night fans booed every time he touched the basketball. So it was poetic injustice from the Wizards stand point to have public enemy No. 1 have the game winner. The fact that Olynyk was the hero makes the loss feel worse. The reaction from Twitter exemplifies the notion.