The Washington Wizards

Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...

 are an American professional basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 team based in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 They are a member of the Southeast Division

Southeast Division (NBA)

The Southeast Division is one of the three divisions in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . The division consists of five teams, the Atlanta Hawks, the Charlotte Bobcats, the Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic and the Washington WizardsThe division was created at the start of...

 of the Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference (NBA)

The Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association is made up of fifteen teams, organized in three divisions of five teams each.The three division winners and the non-division winner with the best record are seeded 1 through 4 for the playoffs in order of their records, with all...

 in the National Basketball Association

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 (NBA). The team plays its home games at the Verizon Center

Verizon Center

Verizon Center is a sports and entertainment arena in Washington, D.C., USA, named after telecommunications sponsor Verizon Communications, and has been nicknamed the "Phone Booth" because of its association with telecommunications companies...

. The franchise was established in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

 as the Chicago Packers in 1961; after one season, its name was changed to the Chicago Zephyrs. In 1963, the franchise moved to Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 and was renamed the Baltimore Bullets. It moved to Landover, Maryland

Landover, Maryland

Landover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...

 in 1973 and changed its name to the Capital Bullets. After one season, the team became the Washington Bullets. In 1978, the Bullets won the 1978 NBA Finals

1978 NBA Finals

-Series summary:Bullets win series 4-3-Game 1:The Bullets, behind Kevin Grevey's 27 and Elvin Hayes's 21 points, held a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter at the Seattle Center Coliseum. But, the Sonics staged a comeback in front of the home crowd, led by "instant offense" guard Fred Brown...

 in seven games for the franchise's only championship. In 1997, the team became the Washington Wizards, which is the team's current name. Since their formation, the Wizards have won six divisional championships, four conference championships, one league championship and have appeared in the playoffs twenty-three times.

There have been 22 head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

es for the Wizards franchise. The franchise's first coach was Jim Pollard, who led the team for one season. Dick Motta

Dick Motta

John Richard "Dick" Motta is a former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association spanned 25 years, and he continues to rank among the NBA's all-time top 10 in coaching victories....

 is the only Wizards coach to have led the team to a championship; the team won the 1978 NBA Finals as the Washington Bullets during his tenure. Gene Shue

Gene Shue

Eugene William "Gene" Shue is a retired American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association . During his playing days he was a 6'2" 170 lb guard....

 is the only Wizards coach to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award

NBA Coach of the Year Award

The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966...

; he won it twice, in 1969 and 1982. No Wizards coach has been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach, but four have been elected into the Hall of Fame as a player: Jim Pollard, Buddy Jeannette

Buddy Jeannette

Harry Edward "Buddy" Jeannette was a professional basketball player and coach.Jeannette was widely regarded as the premier backcourt player between 1938 and 1948. He was named to the First Team of the NBL four times, and won titles with the NBL's Sheboygan Red Skins and Fort Wayne Pistons...

, K. C. Jones

K. C. Jones

K. C. Jones is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. K. C. Jones is his full name.-Playing career:...

 and Wes Unseld

Wes Unseld

Westley Sissel "Wes" Unseld is an American former basketball player. He spent his entire NBA career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.-Early life and college career:Unseld starred on a Seneca High School team...

. Shue is the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season games coached (1027) and wins (522); Jones is the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season winning percentage

Winning percentage

In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...

 (.630). Dick Motta is the franchise's all-time leader in playoff games coached (51) and wins (27), as well as playoff-game winning percentage (.529). Five Wizards coaches have spent their entire NBA head coaching career with the team: Mike Farmer

Mike Farmer

Don Michael Farmer is a retired American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'7" forward, he was selected with the 3rd pick in the 1958 NBA Draft by the New York Knickerbockers, after a college career at the University of San Francisco...

, Bob Staak

Bob Staak

Bob Staak was a star at the University of Connecticut from 1968 through 1971.He had also served as the head coach at Xavier and at Wake Forest.He served one game for the Washington Bullets as an interim head coach in 1997, a loss....

, Jim Brovelli

Jim Brovelli

Jim Brovelli is the former University of San Francisco Dons men's basketball head coach and hall of fame player.-Biography:As a player Brovelli was a three-year letterman for USF, helping lead the Dons to the NCAA Western Regional in 1963 and 1964. He earned All-WCC honorable mention honors in 1964...

, Leonard Hamilton

Leonard Hamilton

Leonard Hamilton is the current head basketball coach at Florida State University. He is a former coach at Oklahoma State University, the University of Miami, and the NBA's Washington Wizards...

 and Ed Tapscott

Ed Tapscott

Ed Tapscott is the former interim head coach of the NBA's Washington Wizards.-Coaching:Tapscott, a graduate of Tufts University and American University Washington College of Law, was an assistant to Gary Williams at American University in the 1970s while a law student, and took over head coaching...

. Flip Saunders

Flip Saunders

Phillip "Flip" Saunders is an American basketball head coach of the Washington Wizards. He previously coached the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves.-High school and college player:Saunders was born in Cincinnati, Ohio....

 is the current coach.
__FORCETOC__

Key

GC	Games coached
W	Wins
L	Losses
Win%	Winning percentage Winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...
#	Number of coaches
*	Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Packers/Zephyrs/Bullets/Wizards

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the .

#	Name	Term	GC	W	L	Win%	GC	W	L	Win%	Achievements	Reference
			Regular season				Playoffs
11			80	18	62	.359	—	—	—	—
22			38	12	26	.316	—	—	—	—
33		– (as player-coach)	122	44	78	.361	—	—	—	—
44			80	37	43	.463	10	5	5	.500
55			80	38	42	.475	3	0	3	.000
66	*		9	1	8	.111	—	—	—	—
7—			16	3	13	.188	—	—	—	—
87		–	548	291	257	.531	40	14	26	.350	NBA Coach of the Year NBA Coach of the Year Award The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966...
98		–	246	155	91	.630	31	14	17	.452
109		–	328	185	143	.564	51	27	24	.529	NBA Championship (1978 1978 NBA Finals -Series summary:Bullets win series 4-3-Game 1:The Bullets, behind Kevin Grevey's 27 and Elvin Hayes's 21 points, held a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter at the Seattle Center Coliseum. But, the Sonics staged a comeback in front of the home crowd, led by "instant offense" guard Fred Brown... )
11—		–	479	231	248	.482	15	5	10	.333	NBA Coach of the Year
1210		–	122	57	65	.467	8	2	6	.250
1311		–	547	202	345	.369	5	2	3	.400
1412		–	210	82	128	.390	—	—	—	—
1513	*		1	0	1	.000	—	—	—	—
1614		–	149	77	72	.517	3	0	3	.000
1715	*		18	5	13	.278	—	—	—	—
1816			44	14	30	.318	—	—	—	—
1917			38	15	23	.395	—	—	—	—
2018	*		82	19	63	.232	—	—	—	—
2119		–	164	74	90	.451	—	—	—	—
2220		–	421	197	224	.468	26	8	18	.308
2321	*		71	18	53	.254	—	—	—	—
2422		–present	164	49	115	.299	—	—	—	—