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The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
team now known as the Wizards began play as the Chicago Packers in the 1961-62 season. The next season, they changed their name to the Zephyrs. In 1963 the franchise moved to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Bullets (no relation to the 1940s–50s Bullets franchise).
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Encyclopedia
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Franchise history
Early years
The team now known as the Wizards began play as the Chicago Packers in the 1961-62 season. The next season, they changed their name to the Zephyrs. In 1963 the franchise moved to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Bullets (no relation to the 1940s–50s Bullets franchise). In their first year in Baltimore, the Bullets finished 4th in a 5–team Western Division.
Prior to the 1964-65 NBA season the Bullets pulled off a blockbuster trade, sending Terry Dischinger, Rod Thorn and Don Kojis to the Detroit Pistons for Bailey Howell, Don Ohl, Bob Ferry and Wali Jones. The trade worked out well; Howell proved to be a hustling, fundamentally sound player who helped the Bullets get into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In the 1965 NBA Playoffs, the Bullets stunned the St. Louis Hawks 3–1, and advanced to the Western Conference Finals. In the finals, Baltimore managed to split the first four games with the Los Angeles Lakers before losing the series 4–2.
The late 1960s and 1970s
In the late 1960s, the Bullets drafted two future Hall of Famers: Earl Monroe, 1967 draft, #2 overall and Wes Unseld, 1968 draft, #2 overall. The team improved dramatically, from 36 wins the previous season to 57 in the 1968-69 season, and Unseld received both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. The Bullets reached the playoffs with high expectations to go further, but they were eliminated by the New York Knicks in the first round. The next season the two teams met again in the first round, and although this one went to 7 games, the Knicks emerged victorious again.
In the 1970-71 season, the 42–40 Bullets again met the Knicks, this time though in the Eastern Conference Finals. With the Knicks team captain Willis Reed injured in the finals, the injury-free Bullets took advantage of his absence, and in Game 7 at New York's Madison Square Garden, the Bullets' Gus Johnson made a critical basket late in the game to lift the Bullets over the Knicks 93–91 and advance to their first NBA Finals in franchise history. They were swept in four games by the powerful Milwaukee Bucks.
Even after Monroe was traded (to the Knicks), the Bullets remained a playoff contender throughout the 1970s. Following a less than spectacular 1971-72 NBA season, the Bullets improved dramatically by acquiring Elvin Hayes from the Houston Rockets and drafting Kevin Porter. After a slow start the Bullets began to make their charge in December, posting a 10–4 record on the way to capturing the Central Division title for the 3rd straight year. The Bullets would again face the Knicks in the 1973 NBA Playoffs, losing for the fourth time in five series against New York.
In 1973, the team moved to Landover, Maryland and became the Capital Bullets; they changed their name to the Washington Bullets the following season.
During November 1973, while waiting for the completion of their new arena in Landover, the Bullets played their home games at Cole Field House on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park. The Capital Centre (later known as the USAir/US Airways Arena) opened on December 2, 1973, with the Bullets defeating the SuperSonics. Through the mid-1990s, the Bullets still played a few games per season in Baltimore.
The 60–22 Bullets made it back to the 1975 NBA Playoffs. That year Washington posted a 36–5 home record at the Capital Centre. In the first round of the playoffs, they survived a 7–game series against the Buffalo Braves as both teams won all of their games at home. In the Eastern Conference Finals, they beat the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics in 6 games to advance to the NBA Finals. The Bullets were favorites to win the NBA Championship, but were shockingly swept by the Rick Barry-led Golden State Warriors in 4 games. They lost game 4 at the Capital Centre.
The loss at the NBA Finals lingered into the 1975-76 NBA season as they won 12 fewer games than last year, and in the playoffs they were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 7 games. After the season the Bullets fired head coach K.C. Jones, despite having a career 62% winning percentage as the Bullets head coach.
In the 1976-77 NBA season under new head coach Dick Motta, the Bullets would again fall short of the Central Division title for the second straight year. Elvin Hayes finished 6th in the league in rebounds with 12.5 rebounds per game. After opening the 1977 NBA Playoffs with a 3–game series victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Bullets took a 2–1 series lead in the second round of against the Houston Rockets. With a chance to take a 3–1 series lead at home, the Bullets would lose 107–103 as the Rockets went on take the series in 6 games.
The miracle 1977–78 season
Although they had future hall of famers Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld on the team, The Bullets finished the season 44–38 and were a longshot to win the NBA Championship, but coach Dick Motta used the famed phrase "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings". This became the rallying cry for the Bullets as they finished a playoff run that led to the NBA Finals, defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in 7 games to bring a professional sports championship to Washington D.C. for the first time in 36 years.
A tough act to follow
In the 1978-79 NBA season the Bullets moved to the Atlantic Division, capturing the title in their first season there. They entered the 1979 NBA Playoffs having lost 8 of the final 11 games to finish the regular season at 54–28. In the playoffs the Bullets nearly blew a 3–1 series lead against the Atlanta Hawks, but managed to hold off the Hawks in 7 games.
In the Eastern Conference Finals, they trailed the San Antonio Spurs 3–1, but they mounted a comeback by winning 2 straight games to force a Game 7 at the Cap Center. The Bullets would rally again, overcoming a 4th–quarter deficit to beat George Gervin and the Spurs 107-105 in one of the NBA's all-time greatest games and advance to the NBA Finals and a rematch with the Seattle SuperSonics.
In Game 1 of the Finals, the Bullets defeated the SuperSonics, 99-97, on two game-winning free throws. However, they lost the next four games - and the series - to Seattle. Still, just appearing in the series gave the Bullets the distinction of being the only team to play in the NBA Finals four times during the 1970s.
1979–1988
Age and injuries finally caught up with the Bullets. In the 1979-80 NBA season, they barely made the playoffs as they captured the sixth and final playoff spot with a tiebreaker despite posting a 39–43 record. In the playoffs, they were swept by the Philadelphia 76ers in a 2–game playoff series. The following year the Bullets failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. Wes Unseld retired and Elvin Hayes was traded to the Houston Rockets the following season.
In '81, Washington played strong under the coaching of Gene Shue and Don Moran, finishing the regular season with a 43–39 record, and although they advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals in the playoffs, they had clearly lost their form of the late 70's. The Bullets continued to play with the same talent they had in the previous year. They finished with a winning record, but in a highly competitive Atlantic Division they finished last and missed the playoffs.
The next two years saw the Bullets continue to play mediocre basketball as they finished with losing records but they made the playoffs in the new expanded NBA Playoffs format that involved the 16 best teams to make the playoffs; the Bullets were eliminated in both years in the first round.
In 1985, the Bullets acquired Manute Bol, whose specialty was blocking shots. That year, he blocked 397 shots (a Bullets record), part of a team that blocked 716 shots (a Bullets team record). But the Bullets finished with a disappointing 39–43 record, and were eliminated by the 76ers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Bullets acquired center Moses Malone from the Philadelphia 76ers for center Jeff Ruland the following season for hope of improvement. Moses would lead the team in scoring with a 24.1 points per game as he would be joined by Jeff Malone who averaged 22.0 points per game. The Bullets' 42–40 record would be their last winning season until the 1996-97 NBA season. Washington was eliminated by the Detroit Pistons in 3 games in the playoffs.
The Bullets selected Muggsy Bogues twelfth overall in the '87 Draft, who at 5'3" is the smallest player in NBA history. The Bullets would get off to a slow start as coach Kevin Loughery was fired 27 games into the season with the Bullets holding an 8–19 record. To replace Loughery, the Bullets hired former MVP Wes Unseld. Under Unseld the Bullets improved as they were able to reach the playoffs again with a record of 38–44. After losing the first 2 games on the road in the first round of the 1988 NBA Playoffs to the Detroit Pistons, the Bullets fought back and forced a 5th game with 2 home wins. They would lose game 5 by 21 points. It would be 9 years before Washington would return to the NBA Playoffs.
1989-1997
The Bullets got off to a 5–1 start in 1989, but hopes of a good season faded quickly as they lost 16 of 18 games from Mid-December to Mid-January. They would finish with a 31–51 record despite stellar seasons by Jeff Malone and Bernard King, who averaged 24.3 and 22.3 points per game respectively to lead the team.
The lone highlight of the Bullets 30 win 1990–91 season was the successful comeback effort by Bernard King as he recovered from knee surgery he suffered while playing for the Knicks in the 1984-85 NBA season to finish 3rd in the NBA in scoring with a 28.4 points per game. In 1990, the team would name Susan O'Malley as its president, the first female president of a franchise in the history of the NBA. She is the sister of former Los Angeles Dodgers owner Peter O'Malley and the daughter of former Dodger owner Walter O'Malley.
The Bullets posted records of 25–57 in the 1991–92 season and 22–60 in the 1992–93 season due to injuries and inconsistent play.
Injuries would continue to bite the Bullets as key players Rex Chapman and Calbert Cheaney (the club's 1st round draft pick) miss significant stretches, and Pervis Ellison misses almost the entire season. The result was a miserable 24–58 record for the 1993-94 season, but help from the Michigan Wolverines was on the way.
The Bullets selected Juwan Howard in the 1994 NBA Draft and traded Tom Gugliotta along with three first round draft picks to the Golden State Warriors for the rights to Chris Webber. While the season started out with promise, a shoulder injury to Chris Webber (ironically against the Warriors) caused him to miss 19 games and the Bullets struggled through the rest of the season finishing a then franchise worst (percentage wise) 21–61. Webber averaged 20.1 ppg and 9.6 rpg but declined surgery for his dislocated shoulder. This would prove costly for the next season.
The Bullets' 95–96 season seemed over before it started as Webber suffered a dislocated left shoulder in a preseason game against Indiana on October 21 and opened the season on the injured list. He was activated on Nov. 27, but strained his shoulder against New York on Dec. 29. After hoping the injury would get better with rest, Webber finally underwent surgery on Feb. 1 which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. The Bullets were 9–6 with Webber in the lineup as he averaged a team-high 23.7 points plus 7.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.80 steals in 37.2 minutes per game when he was able to play. Other players injured included Mark Price (who only played in 7 games) and Robert Pack (31 games played out of 82). Bright spots of the season included the selection of Rasheed Wallace in the 1995 NBA Draft and the All-Star play of Howard. Juwan averaged a career best 22.1 ppg and 8.1 rpg and kept the Bullets slim playoff hopes alive until the end of the season. The Bullets improved to 39–43 but just missed the playoffs.
Washington, boasting the league's tallest player (center Gheorghe Muresan 7'7"), two very athletic forwards (Juwan and Webber) and one of the league's top point guards (Rod Strickland), struggled at the start of the 1996–97 season to a 22–24 start. That led to the dismissal of Head Coach Jim Lynam. Bernie Bickerstaff, an assistant coach with the Bullets when they won their only NBA Championship in 1978, was called upon to resurrect his former team. The Bullets responded, winning 16 of their final 21 games to finish 44–38, their best record since 1978-79. The late surge enabled the Bullets to climb within reach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the final playoff spot. In a winner-take-the-eighth-playoff-spot game with the Cavaliers on the season's final day, the Bullets squeezed past Cleveland 85–81 to end the franchise's longest playoff drought. And while the Bullets were swept by the Bulls in the first round, they lost the three games by a total of just 18 points, a sign that the team is one to be reckoned with.
Webber led the way in scoring (20.1 ppg), rebounding (10.3) and blocks (1.9) and shot 51.8 percent from the floor to make his first All-Star team and became the first All-star of the franchise. Howard averaged 19.1 ppg and 8.0 rpg, while Strickland averaged 17.2 ppg and 1.74 spg and finished fifth in the league in assists with 8.9 per game. Muresan dominated the middle and led the NBA in field goal percentage (.599). Washington also received valuable contributions from Calbert Cheaney (10.6 ppg) and Tracy Murray (10.0 ppg).
Bullets become the Wizards
In 1995, owner Abe Pollin announced he was changing the team's name because Bullets had acquired violent overtones that had made him increasingly uncomfortable over the years. The final straw was the assassination of his longtime friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. A contest was held to choose a new name and the choices were narrowed to the Dragons, Express, Stallions, Sea Dogs, or Wizards. On May 15, 1997, the Bullets officially became the Washington Wizards. The change generated some controversy because Wizard is a rank in the Ku Klux Klan.
A new logo was unveiled and the team colors were changed from the traditional red, white and blue to blue, black and bronze, the same colors as the Washington Capitals, a hockey team also owned by Pollin (the Capitals were traditionally red, white, and blue and would return to that scheme in 2007). That same year the Wizards moved to the then MCI Center, now called Verizon Center. The Verizon Center is also home to the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League, the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Georgetown Hoyas men's college basketball team.
In 1998, they became the brother team to the WNBA's Washington Mystics, and remained officially thus until 2005 when the Mystics were sold to Lincoln Holdings, parent company of the Washington Capitals.
Late '90s decline
The newly-named Wizards began the 1997-98 season playing 5 home games at the Capital Centre before moving to the new MCI Center on December 2, 1997. The Wizards finished the season with a 42–40 record including 4 straight victories to end the season but just missed the playoffs. Highlights of the season included Webber leading the team in scoring (21.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg). Strickland led the league in assists (10.5 apg) before suffering an injury near the end of the season. Tracy Murray averaged 15.1 ppg off the bench including a 50 point game against Golden State. Off court distractions led to the trade of Webber to the Sacramento Kings for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe in May 1998.
The Wizards finished the lockout shortened season of 1998-99 with a record of 18-32. Mitch Richmond led the team in scoring with a 19.7 ppg average. In the 1999-00 season, the Wizards finished with a 29–53 record. Mitch Richmond led the team with 17.4 ppg. 1999 NBA Draft pick Richard Hamilton led the team in scoring the following season with 18.1 ppg on a team that finished with a 19-63 record (a franchise low).
On February 23, 2001, the Wizards were involved in a blockbuster trade days before the trading deadline. The team sent Juwan, Obinna Ekezie and Calvin Booth to the Dallas Mavericks. In return, Washington received Hubert Davis, Courtney Alexander, Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught and Etan Thomas along with $3 million.
Michael Jordan years
2001–02
After retiring from the Chicago Bulls in early 1999, Michael Jordan became the Washington Wizards’ president of basketball operations as well as a minority owner in January 2000. However in September 2001, Michael Jordan came out of retirement at age 38 to play basketball for the Washington Wizards. Jordan stated that he was returning “for the love of the game.” Because of NBA rules, he had to divest himself of any ownership of the team. Before the All-Star break, Jordan was only one of two players to average more than 25 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds as he led the Wizards to a 26–21 record. Unfortunately, after the all-star break, Jordan’s knee could not handle the workload of a full-season as he ended the season on the injured list, and the Wizards concluded the season with a 37–45 record. Still, Jordan had led the Wizards to an 18-win improvement from the previous season.
2002–03
Jordan announced he would return for the 2002-03 season, and this time he was determined to be equipped with reinforcements, as he traded for All-Star Jerry Stackhouse and signed budding star Larry Hughes. Jordan even accepted a sixth-man role on the bench in order for his knee to survive the rigors of an 82–game season. However, a combination of numerous team injuries and uninspired play led to Jordan’s return to the starting lineup, where he tried to rebound the franchise from its early-season struggles. By the end of the season, the Wizards finished with a 37–45 record once again. Jordan ended the season as the only Wizard to play in all 82 games, as he averaged 20.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals in 37.0 minutes per game.
Departure
After the season, Wizards' majority owner Abe Pollin fired Jordan as team president, much to the shock of teammates, associates, and the public. Michael Jordan felt he was betrayed, thinking that he would get his ownership back after his playing days ended, but Pollin justified Jordan's dismissal by noting that Jordan had detrimental effects on the team, such as benching Larry Hughes for Tyronn Lue, making poor trades, and squandering the teams' 2001 1st round draft pick on high schooler Kwame Brown who never panned out. Without MJ in the fold the following year, the Washington Wizards were not expected to win, and they didn’t. Despite the signing of future All-Star point guard Gilbert Arenas, the team stumbled to a 25–57 record in the 2003-04 season.
The Wizards replaced Jordan's managerial role with coach Eddie Jordan and General Manager Ernie Grunfeld. The team's current roster only has two holdovers from the Michael Jordan era: Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood.
Recent resurgence
2004–05
The 2004-05 NBA season saw the team (now in the new Southeast Division) post its finest regular season record in 26 years (45-37) and marked the first time the franchise had ever made the playoffs as the Wizards. In the offseason, the team traded Jerry Stackhouse, Christian Laettner, and the draft rights to Devin Harris for Antawn Jamison. During the regular season, the scoring trio of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Larry Hughes was the highest in the NBA and earned the nickname of "The Big Three." Hughes also led the NBA in steals with 2.89 steals per game. Arenas and Jamison were both named to the 2005 Eastern Conference All-Star team, marking the first time Washington had two players in the All-Star game since Jeff Malone and Moses Malone represented the Bullets in the 1987 All-Star Game.
With a 93-82 win over the Chicago Bulls on April 13 2005, the Wizards clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 1996-97. Long suffering fans celebrated by buying over 16,000 playoff tickets in two and a half hours the day tickets went on sale. In game 3 of the first round against the Bulls, the Wizards won their first playoff game since 1988. Adding to the "long-overdue" feeling was the fact that game 3 was also the first NBA playoff game to be held within Washington, D.C. city limits. In the Wizards' game 5 victory in Chicago, Arenas hit a buzzer-beater to win the game and the Wizards took their first lead in a playoff series since 1986. In Game 6 at the MCI Center, Jared Jeffries picked up a loose ball and went in for an uncontested tiebreaking dunk with 32 seconds left, thus giving the Washington Wizards a 94-91 win and the team's their first playoff series win in 23 years. They were only the 12th team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being down 0-2.
In the conference semifinals, the Wizards were swept by the Miami Heat, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in the 2005 NBA Playoffs.
2005–06
The 2005–06 NBA season was one filled with ups and downs. During the offseason, Washington acquired Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels. During the regular season, the Wizards again had the best scoring trio in the NBA, this time consisting of Arenas, Jamison and Butler as the "Big Three." The Wizards started the 2005–06 season at 5–1, but went on an 8–17 funk to go to 13–18 through 31 games. Then, they went 13–5 in the next 18 games. On April 5, 2006, the team was 39–35 and looking to close in on the 45 win mark achieved the previous year, until Caron suffered a thumb sprain and the Wizards lost all five games without him. Butler returned and the team pulled out their final three games, against the Pistons, Cavs and Bucks, all playoff bound teams, to finish the year at 42–40 and clinch the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. They averaged 101.7 points a game, 3rd in the NBA and tops in the East and clinched a playoff berth for the second year in a row for the first time since 1987.
Their first round match up with Cleveland was widely seen as the most evenly matched series in the 2006 NBA Playoffs. The teams exchanged wins during the first two games in Cleveland, with Game 2 highlighted by the Wizards holding LeBron James to 7-25 shooting from the floor while Brendan Haywood gave James a hard foul in the first quarter that many cited as the key to shaking up the rest of LeBron's game. In Game 3 at the Verizon Center, James hit a 4-footer on the way down with 5.7 seconds left to take the game and the series lead for the Cavs with a 97–96 win. Arenas missed a potential game winning 3-pointer on the other end to seal the win for the Cavs. Game 4 saw the Wizards heat up again, as Gilbert scored 20 in the fourth quarter after claiming he changed his jersey, shorts, shoes and tights in the locker room and the Wizards won 106–96. Yet in Games 5 and 6, the Cavs would take control of the series, both games decided by one point in overtime.
In Game 5, despite the Wizards being down 107-100 with 1:18 to play, the team drove back and eventually tied the game on Caron Butler's layup with 7.5 seconds remaining to send the game to OT, where James would score on a blatant travel that the referees seemed to ignore due to preferential star treatment with 0.9 seconds left in overtime to send the Cavs to a 121-120 win. The series came back to the newly-named Verizon Center for Game 6, where the game went back and forth all night. The Wizards blew a 14-point first-quarter lead, then for 24 minutes, from early in the second quarter to early in the fourth, neither team led by more than five points at any time. The Wizards blew a seven point lead with just under 5 to play and needed Arenas to hit a 31-footer at the end of regulation to take the game to overtime. In OT, Gilbert missed two key free throws after James taunted Arenas at the line. Cleveland rebounded the ball, went downcourt and Damon Jones hit a 17-foot baseline jumper with 4.8 seconds remaining to give the Cavs the lead for good. Butler would miss a 3-pointer on the other end to seal the game, and the series, for the Cavaliers.
2006–07
The 2006-07 season started out very promising for the Wizards. In the offseason they signed free agents DeShawn Stevenson and Darius Songaila. Etan Thomas beat out Haywood for the starting center job. After starting the season 0-8 on the road, Washington rebounded to win 6 of 7 away from Verizon Center. After a 4–9 November, Washington went 22–9 through December and January. Arenas scored a franchise-record 60 points against the Lakers on December 17. Both he and Eddie Jordan were named player of the month and coach of the month for December, respectively. On January 3 and again on January 15, Gilbert hit buzzer-beating three-pointers to beat Milwaukee and Utah.
On January 30, Antawn Jamison went down with a sprained left knee in a win against Detroit. Washington went 4–8 in the 12 games without him. On February 3, Songaila made his Wizards debut against the Lakers. On February 18th, Eddie Jordan became the first Wizards/Bullets coach to coach the NBA All-Star Game since Dick Motta in 1978-1979. Arenas played in his 3rd straight All-Star game and Caron Butler made his All-Star Game debut.
On March 14, Butler went out with a knee injury that kept him out of the lineup for six games. He returned for only three games until he fractured his right hand on April 1 against Milwaukee. On April 4, Gilbert suffered a season-ending knee injury, of the meniscus. An April 15th article in The Washington Post pointed out that with Arenas and Caron gone, the team had lost 42.3% of their offensive production, quite possibly "the most costly" loss for any team in the midst of a playoff hunt in NBA history.
Despite their late season struggles without Arenas and Butler, the Wizards still managed to make the Eastern Conference playoffs, taking the 7th seed at 41-41. They were swept 4 games to none in a rematch of last year's first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite a depleted roster, the Wizards still managed to keep things close in every game in the series and only lost the final three games by a combined 20 points. Business-wise, the team enjoyed their best attendance figures in the post-Michael Jordan era with a season attendance of 753,283 (18,372 per game) .
2007–08
The Wizards retained a majority of their roster from the 2006–07 season, only losing Jarvis Hayes to Detroit, Calvin Booth to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Michael Ruffin to the Milwaukee Bucks as free agents. Washington also signed Oleksiy Pecherov, the team's first-round pick in 2006, as well as 2007 picks Nick Young and Dominic McGuire. Etan Thomas missed the regular season after undergoing open-heart surgery.
The team began the season starting 0–5, but rebounded to win six straight. After 8 games, Gilbert Arenas underwent surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his left knee, as well as a microfracture surgery. This was the same knee he had injured the previous year. The injury forced Arenas out for a total of 68 games. Midway through the season, Caron Butler was forced to the sidelines for a total of 20 games with what initially was a strained hip flexor, but turned out to be a labral tear. Despite all of the injuries, the Wizards managed to go 43-39 on the regular season, good for 5th place in the Eastern Conference and a first-round playoff matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers for the third straight season.
The Washington Wizards will be having minor modifications on their team jerseys and logos. To accommodate the gold/black alternate jerseys they introduced last season along with the design change on the Verizon Center floor, they changed their secondary team colors from bronze to metallic gold, and the player's name on the back of the jersey is changed from white/blue with bronze trim to gold (blue on home uniforms) with a change in lettering.
2008–09
The Wizards emerged from the offseason retaining two of their main pieces of their core: Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison. Arenas signed a 6-year, $111 million contract, while Jamison signed a 4-year, $50 million contract. The Wizards did not, however, re-sign guard Roger Mason, who signed with the San Antonio Spurs. The Wizards did add guards Dee Brown and Juan Dixon, and drafted JaVale McGee 18th overall in the 2008 NBA Draft.
In September, Gilbert Arenas underwent a third operation on his surgically repaired left knee to clean out fluid and debris, and is expected to miss at least the first month of the season. In the first game of the preseason, Antawn Jamison suffered a right knee contusion, and is expected to miss the rest of the preseason. Center Brendan Haywood also announced that he will undergo surgery on his right wrist and is expected to miss four to six months. The preseason also marked the return of Etan Thomas who had missed all of the 2007-2008 season while recovering from open heart surgery.
The Wizards opened the season on October 29th with a loss against New Jersey, and have dropped 15 of their first 19 games. Head coach Eddie Jordan was fired on November 24th after a 1-10 start, and was replaced by interim Ed Tapscott. On December 10th, Washington acquired guards Javaris Crittenton and Mike James in a three-team deal that sent Antonio Daniels to New Orleans. The team also waived guard Dee Brown. They won 14 of their first 60 games, going 14-46 and are en route to suffering their worst season in franchise history.
One of the few high points of the season came on February 27th when recently-inaugurated President Barack Obama attended the visit by the Chicago Bulls, sitting in a northeast court-side seat; the Wizards produced their second-biggest victory margin of the season with a 113-90 win, with Antawn Jamison pacing the side with 27 points.
Post-season rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers
In the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Wizards matched up with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in a first-round matchup, in what would turn out to be the first of (as of 2008) three consecutive postseason matchups, as well as James' first-ever playoff appearance. The series was considered to be one of the most evenly matched of all first-round series that year. After suffering a loss in Game 1, Washington came back to win Game 2 and steal home-court advantage heading back to Verizon Center for Game 3. However, Cleveland stole home-court advantage right back. Washington came back to tie the series at two apiece with a win in Game 4, but suffered two consecutive one-point overtime losses(in which LeBron James traveled but was not called) and thus were eliminated 4 games to 2.
The Wizards and Cavaliers met again in the 2007 NBA Playoffs, this time as a 2-7 matchup. The injury-riddled Wizards (they were missing Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler) were swept 4-0 by Cleveland. Antawn Jamison averaged a team-high 32 points per game in the series.
In April 2008, Arenas made comments saying Cleveland was only a .500 team since a midseason blockbuster trade. After the conclusion of the 2007-08 regular season, the Wizards and Cavaliers were pitted against each other yet again in a 4-5 first-round matchup. Following a regular-season win on March 13th, guard DeShawn Stevenson made comments saying LeBron James was "overrated." James responded to the comment by saying that he would not return the insult, as that would be "almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Soulja Boy." Soulja Boy made an appearance at Game 3 of the series (played in Washington) in support of the Wizards; his music was played over the PA system. Jay-Z, a close friend of James, got involved in the rivalry as well, making a song that trashed Stevenson. The day after Game 3, James reserved a private room at a D.C. area nightclub called "Love" for himself and his teammates. Jay-Z's new song was played while Cavs guard Damon Jones made negative gestures about the Wizards. Unbeknownst to the Cavaliers, Wizards star Caron Butler and his wife were also present, and they stormed out of the nightclub. According to the ABC broadcast of Game 4, Butler and the Wizards have sworn never to visit that particular club again, despite often frequenting it in the past. After suffering a late-game loss in Game 4 at the hands of a Delonte West three-pointer, Washington won a nail-biting Game 5 in Cleveland to bring the series back to Washington for Game 6 of the series. Prior to Game 6, Darius Songaila, a reserve forward, was suspended for hitting LeBron James in the face in the first quarter of Game 5, and without Songaila, the Wizards suffered a season-ending defeat to Cleveland, and lost the series 4–2.
Dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season, the Wizards and Cavaliers have played each other a combined 31 times (including preseason), far more than they have played any other team in the league.
Season-by-season records
Home arenas
Players of note
Retired numbers
Current roster
Depth chart
Additional players of note
Washington Hall of Stars
The Washington Hall of Stars, a series of banners on the right-field wall of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, honors several D.C. sports heroes. The Bullets/Wizards figures honored are:
- 45 - Phil Chenier, G, 1971-1980; Broadcaster
- 24 - Bob Ferry, C, 1964-1968 (all in Baltimore); General Manager, 1970-1987
- 11 - Elvin Hayes, F, 1972-1981
- 41 - Wes Unseld, C, 1968-1981; Head Coach, 1987-1994
- Abe Pollin, Team Owner, 1964-present
The Hall also honors Arnold "Red" Auerbach, who played collegiately at D.C.'s George Washington University, and Horace "Bones" McKinney, who played for the Washington Capitols in the early days of the NBA. Both men also coached the Capitols, who played from the NBA's founding in 1946 until the team folded in 1951.
High points
Individual awards
NBA MVP of the Year
NBA Finals MVP
NBA Rookie of the Year
NBA Most Improved Player of the Year
NBA Coach of the Year
NBA Executive of the Year
All-NBA First Team
All-NBA Second Team
All-NBA Third Team
NBA All-Defensive First Team
NBA All-Defensive Second Team
NBA All-Rookie First Team
NBA All-Rookie Second Team
Media information
Most games are carried on TV on Comcast SportsNet which is available in the Washington, D.C. area and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic states. Alternate local carriers include WDCW-TV and cable station NewsChannel 8. Wizards games are announced by Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier. Chris Miller serves as a sideline reporter for some broadcasts (including most Wizards' home games). On the radio, Wizards games are broadcast on WTEM-980 AM, with Dave Johnson and Glenn Consor doing analysis.
Washington Wizards Forums and Chat can be accessed at
Blogs that cover the Wizards include , , and .
External links
- From Chicago Stag to Washington Wizards
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