They would finish with a record despite stellar seasons by Jeff Malone and Bernard King, who averaged The lone highlight of the Bullets 30 win season was the successful comeback effort by Bernard King as he came all the way back from knee surgery he suffered while playing for the New York Knicks in the NBA season to finish 3rd in the NBA in scoring with a In , the team would name Susan O'Malley as its president, the first female president of a franchise in the history of the NBA.
Injuries 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 record, but help was on the way. 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 Webber averaged This would prove costly for the next season.
The Bullets' —96 season seemed over before it started as Chris 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. After hoping the injury would get better with rest, Webber finally underwent surgery on Feb. The Bullets were with Webber in the lineup as he averaged a team-high Other players injured included Mark Price who only played in 7 games and Robert Pack 31 games played out of Howard averaged a career best The Bullets improved to , but just missed the playoffs.
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 , was called upon to resurrect his former team.
The Bullets responded, winning 16 of their final 21 games to finish , their best record since 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 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 Howard averaged Muresan clogged the middle and led the NBA in field goal percentage. Washington also received valuable contributions from Calbert Cheaney In , owner Abe Pollin announced that the franchise was to be renamed because Washington Bullets carried violent overtones.
A contest was held to choose a new name and the choices were narrowed to the Dragons , Express , Stallions , Sea Dogs , or Wizards. The change generated some controversy because Wizard is a rank in the Ku Klux Klan.
In , they became the brother team to the Women's National Basketball Association's Washington Mystics and remained officially thus until when the Mystics were sold to Lincoln Holdings headed by Ted Leonsis , parent company of the Capitals.
However, upon the purchase of the Wizards by Leonsis in , the Wizards and Mystics again became sibling teams. 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 Rod Strickland led the league in assists Tracy Murray averaged The Wizards finished the lockout shortened season of —99 with a record of 18— Mitch Richmond led the team in scoring with a In the season , the Wizards ended with a 29—53 record.
Mitch Richmond led the team with However, as a team they did even worse with a 19—63 record a new franchise low. Despite the solid play of Juwan Howard, he was starting to get booed during home games because of the fact that the amount of his contract did not allow the Wizards team to make moves to improve the team.
On February 23, , the Wizards were involved in a blockbuster trade days before the trading deadline. After retiring from the Chicago Bulls in January , Michael Jordan became the Washington Wizards' president of basketball operations as well as a minority owner in However in September , 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 record. What he's done this year is off the charts Our league has the best players in the world, and the best one is 39 years old. Still, Jordan had led the Wizards to an win improvement from the previous season. Jordan announced that he would return for the 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 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.
The move led to mixed results, as several of Jordan's younger teammates complained about playing in Jordan's shadow and his unfair expectations of them. By the end of the season, the Wizards finished with a record once again. Jordan ended the season as the only Wizard to play in all 82 games, as he averaged After the season, Wizards' majority owner Abe Pollin discarded Jordan as team president, much to the shock of teammates, associates, and the public.
Michael Jordan felt that 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 Tyronne Lue when Lue passed the ball to Jordan more, making poor trades, and squandering the teams' 1st round draft pick on high schooler Kwame Brown who never panned out.
Jordan's stint with the Washington Wizards was closely watched by both fans and the media. While the team failed to qualify for the playoffs in either of Jordan's two seasons as a player, the team was competitive and sold out arenas around the league. Everyone watched the Wizards to see if Jordan was still the same player that he was with the Chicago Bulls , and at times he was. However, at other times, it was clear that time had caught up with him.
Jordan was clearly still an effective player, but he was no longer a superstar. The team's current roster only has two holdovers from the Michael Jordan era, Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood, and these two centers were both signed to contract extensions by Grunfeld.
The Grunfeld tenure has been widely lauded as being tremendously successful. Without Jordan in the fold the following year, the Washington Wizards were not expected to win, and they did not. Despite the signing of future All-Star point guard Gilbert Arenas , in a move that was ironically made possible by Jordan's prior cap-clearing maneuvers as a team executive, the team stumbled to a 25—57 record in the —04 season. The —05 NBA season saw the team now in the new Southeast Division post its finest regular season record in 26 years and marked the first time the franchise had ever made the playoffs as the Wizards.
With a 93—82 win over the Chicago Bulls on April 13 , , the Wizards clinched a playoff spot for the first time since [1]. Long suffering fans celebrated by buying over 16, playoff tickets in two and a half hours the day tickets went on sale [2]. In Game 3 of the first round against the Chicago Bulls , the Wizards won their first playoff game since In the Wizards Game 5 victory in Chicago, Gilbert Arenas hit a buzzer-beater to win the game [3] and the Wizards took their first lead in a playoff series since In Game 6 at the MCI Center , the Wizards won their first playoff series in 23 years, defeating the Chicago Bulls 94—91 and becoming only the 12th team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being down 0—2.
Following the series ending victory, the Wizards wore T-Shirts commemorating their advancement to the 2nd Round. The NBA season was one filled with ups and downs. The beginning of the season was marred with talk that the loss of Larry Hughes to the Cleveland Cavaliers would greatly impact the team. Then, they went in the next 18 games. On April 5 , , the team was and looking to close in on the 45 win mark achieved the previous year, yet Caron Butler suffered a thumb sprain and the Wizards lost all five games without him.
Caron 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 and clinch the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. They averaged Their first round match up with Cleveland was widely seen as the most evenly matched series in the NBA Playoffs.
The teams exchanged wins during the first two games in Cleveland, with Game 2 highlighted by the Wizards holding LeBron James to 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.
Coach Eddie Jordan, Wizard players and fans, believed that James was traveling when he hit this shot. 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 Arenas scored 20 in the fourth quarter after claiming he changed his jersey, shorts, shoes and tights in the locker room and the Wizards won 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 with to play, the team drove back and eventually tied the game on Caron Butler's layup with 7.
The series came back to the Verizon Center for Game 6, where the game went back and forth all night. The Wizards blew a 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 footer at the end of regulation to take the game to overtime. Yet in OT, Arenas missed two key free throws after James taunted Arenas at the line, the Cavs rebounded the ball, went downcourt and Damon Jones hit a foot baseline jumper with 4.
Caron Butler would miss a 3-pointer on the other end to seal the game, and the series, for the Cavaliers. The —07 season started out very promisingly for the Wizards. 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 November 4—9, Washington went 22—9 through December and January.
Arenas scored a franchise-record 60 points against the Lakers on December 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, Arenas hit buzzer-beating three-pointers to beat Milwaukee and Utah.
On January 30, 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 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, Arenas suffered a season-ending knee injury, of the meniscus. 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— They were swept four games to none in a rematch of the previous year's first-round series against the eventual runner-ups 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. The team enjoyed their best attendance figures in the post-Jordan era with a season attendance of , 18, per game. The Wizards retained a majority of their roster from the —07 season, only losing Jarvis Hayes to Detroit, Calvin Booth to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Michael Ruffin to the Milwaukee Bucks as free agents.
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, 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, 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 Wizards, like in , lost that series in six games.
In September, Arenas underwent a third operation on his surgically repaired left knee to clean out fluid and debris, and was expected to miss at least the first month of the season. The forecast came in longer than expected, as Arenas missed 5 months of action due to concerns on his knee before returning on March 29, In the first game of the preseason, Jamison suffered a right knee contusion, and was expected to miss the rest of the preseason.
Haywood announced that he would undergo surgery on his right wrist and was expected to miss 4—6 months. The preseason marked the return of Etan Thomas who had missed all of the — season while recovering from open heart surgery. The Wizards added guard Fenny Falmagne from the Dakota Wizards on August 23, that later was waived by the team after knee injury.
The Wizards opened the season on October 29 with a loss against New Jersey, and dropped 15 of their first 19 games. Head coach Eddie Jordan was fired on November 24 after a 1—10 start, and was replaced by interim coach Ed Tapscott.
Later in the playoffs, Motta used it to inspire the Bullets, who were underdogs to Julius Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers. Grevey set the tone for the Bullets in Game one as he led the Bullets with 26 points in a win, outplaying Doug Collins. After the Sixers took Game two, Washington beat the 76ers to take a series lead. Dandridge outplayed Dr. J during the series, and the Bullets would go on to beat Philadelphia in six games despite losing Unseld to an ankle injury for games The Sonics finished the season on a roll after future Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens was hired.
The series followed an unusual format because of a scheduling conflict in Seattle. In Game one in Seattle, Grevey came through for the Bullets with 27 points on a variety of jump shots and drives to the basket.
However, the Sonics outlasted Washington behind 16 points in the last nine minutes from Brown. In the next game, Henderson hit a layup with five seconds left to cut the Sonics' lead to one. Silas stepped on the out-of-bounds line, giving the ball back to the Bullets. Bobby D missed a shot at the buzzer as the Sonics held off a late comeback by Washington, and won to take a series lead. The Bullets evened the series at two, with a thrilling overtime win behind six points each in the extra period from Charles Johnson and Henderson.
The Bullets overcame a point deficit despite 33 points from Dennis Johnson. The Sonics then won Game five, to take a lead behind 26 points from Brown and 24 from D. With their backs against the wall in Game six, the Bullets scored 70 points in the second half to rout Seattle for the largest margin of victory in an NBA finals game.
Dandridge and Johnson each scored 19 points. Unseld had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and made two late free throws to seal the win. Charles Johnson averaged 20 points a game over the final four games of the series. Dandridge, Grevey, and C. Kupchak made a key three-point play with just over a minute to go, and Webster scored 27 to lead the Sonics. The Bullets ran off the floor, jumping up and down all the way to the locker room.
Hayes and Unseld let out more than a decade of pent up frustration as they celebrated their first world championship. The Bullets became only the third team ever to win the title in a seventh game on the road. They did it with Unseld, Dandridge, and Grevey all missing time during the playoffs due to injuries.
When the team returned to Dulles Airport, nearly 10, cheering fans were waiting for them. This was a very hungry city for something to sink your teeth into. This time, the Supersonics, winners of 52 games, won the series But in Washington and Seattle, fans were rabid over the finals. Game four in was played before 39, spectators at the Kingdome, the largest crowd ever to watch a single professional basketball game.
Game three in was held in the Kingdome in front of 35, The 9. He led Washington with 23 points in a win against the New Jersey Nets in He made all four of his three-point shots, as the Bullets swept the first round playoff series.
Washington lost in the second round against Boston. Grevey missed half the season with injuries and his scoring average fell to 7. He was traded in October to the Milwaukee Bucks for a second round draft choice, where he played the final two seasons of his NBA career.
From Bullets to Wizards. The Bullets made the playoffs five straight times between and , but never won more than 42 games. Then the team missed the playoffs for eight straight seasons. In , the Bullets changed their name to the Wizards. Owner Abe Pollin decided that the name "Bullets" was inappropriate for a city that had suffered so much gun violence over the years.
The team also stood to benefit financially from the change. It came at a time when the franchise moved from the U. The name Bullets, once synonymous with winning, had become known for mediocrity, and finally futility.
Merchandise sales were also near the bottom of the league. The team had gone away from its stars and stripes uniform to a plainer version in recent seasons. Grevey, other ex-Bullets, and legions of fans disagreed vehemently with the name change.
Could you imagine them changing the name of the Redskins? I think it was a stretch. New coach, new players, new colors, new name, new city…so it was a windfall financially to change the name. An area that once was filled with abandoned buildings is now teaming with nightclubs, restaurants, and retailers. The Wizards playoff aspirations were ruined and the team traded away Butler, Jamison and Haywood. Washington was a mess, finishing dead last in the Southeast division with a record. The Wizards were once again associated with the very thing Abe Pollin fought to rid the team of.
Guns and potential violence were brought into what was suppose to be a family friendly environment. Attendance dropped along with the teams record, and a recently successful basketball franchise was at a crossroads, tarnished in both image and pride.
This was crucial as it gave the franchise a new identity, a fresh face that the fans could come back to and cheer for. Ted Leonsis is obviously making great customer service strides, trying to prove that a Wizards game is once again something you can be proud to bring your family to.
Why ruin what you're trying to build by bringing back a team name that is directly related to the very thing that destroyed your image just a season ago? Until he starts scoring 20 points a game again people will primarily associate him with last seasons fiasco.
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