59 Fun Facts About Washington Wizards

What name did the Wizards' Chinatown home, shared with the city's NHL team, take in 2017?

Capital One Arena: the building opened in 1997 as MCI Center, became Verizon Center in 2006 after Verizon bought MCI, and was renamed when the Tysons-based bank bought the naming rights.

The Wizards franchise's original 1961 nickname referenced which Chicago industry?

Meatpacking: the Packers name honoured Chicago's stockyards, but it was also the name of the Bears' Green Bay rivals and was dropped after one season.

What was the Wizards franchise called in 1962–63, the second and last season it spent in Chicago?

Zephyrs: the renamed team lasted one season before moving to Baltimore, and Chicago had no NBA club again until the Bulls arrived in 1966.

The 'Bullets' name adopted after the 1963 relocation was borrowed from what?

A defunct 1940s–50s Baltimore BAA/NBA franchise: the new club revived the name of the original Baltimore Bullets, champions of 1948, who had folded in 1954.

Which rookie averaged 31.6 points and 19 rebounds in the Wizards franchise's first season, 1961–62?

Walt Bellamy: the first overall pick won Rookie of the Year and led the league in field-goal percentage, yet his expansion team still lost 62 of its 80 games.

Which owner bought the Bullets with two partners for $1.1 million in 1964 and stayed in charge until 2009?

Abe Pollin: he built the Capital Centre, later privately financed the team's downtown arena, and at his death in November 2009 was the NBA's longest-tenured owner.

Who is the only player in franchise history to win league MVP (1969) and Finals MVP (1978)?

Wes Unseld: he was Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same 1968–69 season, a double only Wilt Chamberlain had managed, as the Bullets went from last place to the league's best record.

Which guard did the Baltimore Bullets draft second overall in 1967?

Earl Monroe: 'the Pearl' was Rookie of the Year in 1968 and took Baltimore to the 1971 Finals, then forced a trade to the rival Knicks that autumn and won the 1973 title with them.

Which team swept the Bullets in their first NBA Finals appearance in 1971?

Milwaukee Bucks: Lew Alcindor and Oscar Robertson swept Baltimore 4–0 after the Bullets had ousted the Knicks in a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.

Which Hall of Fame forward did Baltimore acquire from the Houston Rockets in 1972?

Elvin Hayes: 'The Big E' came from Houston for Jack Marin in 1972, anchored the 1978 title team, and was traded back to the Rockets in 1981.

What was the team's name during its first season in the Washington area, 1973–74?

Capital Bullets: the team left Baltimore for suburban Landover and took the Washington name a season later, yet went back to Baltimore for a few home games each season from 1989 to 1997.

On which college campus did the Bullets play in November 1973 while their new arena was finished?

Maryland: the Bullets borrowed the university's Cole Field House, where Texas Western's all-Black starting five had won the 1966 NCAA title, until the Capital Centre opened that December.

Which ex-Celtic coached the 60-win Bullets of 1974–75?

K. C. Jones: his Bullets won 60 games and reached the 1975 Finals, but he was let go a year later and went on to win two NBA titles as a head coach in the 1980s.

Which team stunned the heavily favoured Bullets with a four-game sweep in the 1975 NBA Finals?

Golden State Warriors: winners of 48 games to Washington's 60, they swept even though an ice show had booked their Oakland arena and pushed their home games to the Cow Palace.

Which team did the Bullets beat in seven games to win the 1978 NBA championship?

Seattle SuperSonics: Washington trailed 3–2, won Game 6 by 35 points, then took Game 7 in Seattle 105–99 for the franchise's only title.

Which Bullets coach made "the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings" the rallying cry of the 1978 title run?

Dick Motta: he borrowed the line from Texas sportscaster Dan Cook during the 1978 playoffs and kept repeating it as his 44-win Bullets went on to take the title.

Which top-seeded team did the 44-win Bullets upset in the 1978 Eastern Conference finals?

76ers: Philadelphia had promised its fans 'We owe you one' after losing the 1977 Finals, but the Bullets won the series in six games and went on to take the title.

In the 1979 East finals the Bullets came back from 3–1 down to beat which team in a Game 7 classic?

San Antonio Spurs: George Gervin's team led the series 3–1, but Washington won three straight by a combined 14 points, taking Game 7 107–105, before losing the Finals in five.

In August 1979 the Bullets became the first NBA team to visit which country?

China: the Bullets were the first NBA team to play there, beating the army's Bayi Rockets in Beijing and winning again in Shanghai.

Which 7-foot-7 shot-blocker set a franchise record with 397 blocks as a Bullets rookie in 1985–86?

Manute Bol: the Sudanese rookie's 397 blocks set an NBA rookie record, and he averaged more blocks (5.0) than points (3.7) a game.

Which centre did the Bullets acquire from Philadelphia in 1986 in exchange for Jeff Ruland?

Moses Malone: the three-time MVP averaged 24.1 points in his first Washington season, while injuries held Ruland to five games for the 76ers before he retired.

Which 5-foot-3 guard did the Bullets draft 12th overall in 1987?

Muggsy Bogues: the shortest player in NBA history spent one season in Washington before Charlotte took him in the 1988 expansion draft, and he became a Hornets mainstay.

Which executive did the Bullets name in 1991 as the first female president of an NBA franchise?

Susan O'Malley: she joined the Bullets in 1986 as advertising director, became president at 29, and ran the business side until 2007.

Which 7-foot-7 centre won Most Improved Player with the Bullets in 1995–96?

Gheorghe Mureșan: the Romanian giant averaged 14.5 points in 1995–96 to win Most Improved Player, led the league in field-goal percentage twice, and starred in 1998's 'My Giant'.

Which forward did the Bullets acquire from Golden State in 1994 for Tom Gugliotta and three first-round picks?

Chris Webber: he rejoined Michigan 'Fab Five' teammate Juwan Howard and became an All-Star in 1997, but a year later was traded to Sacramento for Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe.

Why did the team's owner decide in 1995 to drop the 'Bullets' name?

Its association with gun violence: Washington then ranked among the worst American cities for murders, and the 1995 assassination of his friend Yitzhak Rabin sharpened his unease about the name.

Which name joined Wizards, Dragons, Express and Stallions as a finalist to replace the Bullets nickname?

Sea Dogs: fans phoned in votes on the five finalists, but the team announced Wizards as the winner without ever releasing the tallies.

Why did the 'Wizards' name generate controversy when it was adopted?

'Wizard' is a rank in the Ku Klux Klan: 'Imperial Wizard' and 'Grand Wizard' are Klan titles, an unwelcome echo in a city with a large African American majority.

The 1997 Wizards colours of blue, black and bronze matched which other team with the same owner?

Washington Capitals: the NHL team had dropped red, white and blue for the same palette two years earlier, and both clubs moved into a new downtown arena in 1997.

What did the Mystics, the Wizards' WNBA sister team, get in 2005?

A new owner: the Wizards' owner sold the team to a group in which BET co-founder Sheila Johnson became Mystics president and managing partner, and the two clubs shared an owner again only in 2010.

Which coach did Michael Jordan hire to lead the Wizards in 2001, before his own comeback?

Doug Collins: Jordan's coach in Chicago in the late 1980s took the job, and that September Jordan gave up his ownership stake to play for him at 38.

Which high-schooler did Michael Jordan, as Wizards president, draft first overall in 2001?

Kwame Brown: the first high-schooler ever taken No. 1 never averaged more than 10.9 points in Washington and was traded away after four seasons.

Which guard signed from Golden State as a free agent in 2003 and made three straight All-Star teams for the Wizards?

Gilbert Arenas: picked 31st in the 2001 draft, 'Agent Zero' left the Warriors for Washington and was an All-Star in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Game 3 of the 2005 first round was the Wizards franchise's first home playoff game held where?

Within Washington, D.C. city limits: every earlier home playoff game had been in Baltimore or at the Capital Centre in Landover, across the District line.

Against which team did the Wizards' star guard score a franchise-record 60 points in December 2006?

Lakers: he scored 16 of his 60 in overtime of a 147–141 win in Los Angeles, outscoring Kobe Bryant by 15.

The 2009–10 Wizards season was derailed when their star guard admitted to storing what in his locker?

Unloaded firearms: he admitted keeping unloaded guns in his locker after a dispute with Javaris Crittenton, and a finger-guns pregame stunt got him suspended for the rest of the season.

Which sitting US president attended a Wizards–Bulls game weeks after his inauguration?

Barack Obama: the Chicago fan sat courtside at Verizon Center in February 2009 and watched his Bulls lose to a Wizards side heading for a 19–63 season.

Which owner took control of the Wizards in 2010 through Monumental Sports & Entertainment?

Ted Leonsis: the former AOL executive completed the purchase in June 2010 and a year later brought back the red, white and blue of the Bullets era.

Whom did the Wizards pick first overall after winning the 2010 draft lottery?

John Wall: the Kentucky point guard went ahead of Evan Turner and made five straight All-Star teams from 2014, then lost the whole 2019–20 season to heel and Achilles injuries.

Which Wizards player became the first openly gay active athlete in a major North American team sport in 2013?

Jason Collins: the centre, acquired from Boston that February, came out in a Sports Illustrated essay in April 2013 and later played for the Brooklyn Nets.

Which veteran forward's two-year deal in 2014 helped the Wizards to a 46–36 record?

Paul Pierce: the 36-year-old signed for two years in July 2014, and the 46–36 Wizards then swept Toronto 4–0 in the first round.

Which player did the Wizards draft third overall in 2012 to pair with their 2010 No. 1 pick?

Bradley Beal: the Florida guard went third in 2012 behind Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, became a three-time All-Star, and was traded to Phoenix in 2023.

The 2016–17 Wizards won their first division title since 1979, then lost a seven-game second-round series to which team?

Celtics: Washington won Game 6 by a point on a three-pointer with 3.5 seconds left, but Boston took the deciding Game 7 on its home floor, 115–105.

Whom did the Wizards receive from Houston when they traded their five-time All-Star point guard in 2020?

Russell Westbrook: he averaged 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 11.7 assists in 2020–21, his fourth triple-double season, before being dealt to the Lakers that summer.

Which Japanese forward did the Wizards select ninth overall in 2019?

Rui Hachimura: the Gonzaga forward went ninth in 2019 as the first Japanese player ever taken in the first round, and was traded to the Lakers in January 2023.

Which French centre did the Wizards take with the No. 2 pick in 2024?

Alex Sarr: the 7-foot Frenchman, who played in Australia's NBL before the draft, went second behind Zaccharie Risacher after the Wizards' 15–67 season.

The three stars on the Wizards' 2015 'monument ball' logo represent D.C. and which two states?

Maryland and Virginia: the stars stand for the District and its two neighbouring states, echoing the three stars of the D.C. flag.

The Wizards' pink 2022–23 'City' uniform paid homage to what?

Cherry blossoms: the pink and white uniform echoed the Tidal Basin's spring blossoms and matched the Nationals' 2022 cherry-blossom 'City Connect' jersey.

Which 1978 title-team assistant returned as Bullets coach in 1997 and ended an eight-season playoff drought?

Bernie Bickerstaff: he replaced Jim Lynam midway through 1996–97, went 22–13, and clinched a first playoff berth since 1988 by winning at Cleveland on the season's final day.

Which Virginia city did the Wizards plan to move to before a 2024 deal kept them in D.C.?

Alexandria: the Potomac Yard arena plan collapsed in March 2024, and the District then pledged $515 million to renovate the downtown arena, with a lease running to 2050.

Which 1970s Bullets All-Star guard spent three decades as the team's TV analyst?

Phil Chenier: back surgery ended his 1977–78 season after 36 games, so the three-time All-Star missed the playoff run that brought the Bullets their only title.

The Baltimore Bullets' original blue-and-orange colours matched which two other Baltimore teams?

The Orioles and the Colts: the Bullets' orange echoed baseball's Orioles and their blue football's Colts, until the team adopted red, white and blue for its 1973 move.

Which team took the 60-win Bullets to seven games in 1975?

Buffalo Braves: scoring champion Bob McAdoo pushed Washington to a seventh game in the East semifinals; three years later the Braves left Buffalo and became the Clippers, now of Los Angeles.

Which team took Juwan Howard, Obinna Ekezie and Calvin Booth in the 2001 blockbuster trade?

Dallas Mavericks: Michael Jordan, then running the Wizards' front office, made the eight-player deal to shed Howard's huge contract, taking back Christian Laettner and four others.

Which head coach led the Wizards to their 2005 playoff berth, their first under that name?

Eddie Jordan: hired in 2003, he won 45 games in 2004–05, then saw his team lose the first two games to Chicago and win the next four, the franchise's first series win since 1982.

Which Georgetown All-American did the Wizards draft third overall in 2013?

Otto Porter stayed in the city where he had starred in college; Washington matched a rival's maximum offer to keep him in 2017, then traded him to Chicago in 2019.

Which head coach did the Wizards hire in April 2016 on a five-year contract?

Scott Brooks won 49 games and the Southeast Division in his first Washington season, 2016–17, and stayed for all five years of his deal.

Whom did the Wizards trade away to acquire Kristaps Porziņģis at the 2022 deadline?

Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans left in the February 2022 deadline deal, Bertans only 15 months after signing a five-year, $80 million contract with Washington.

Who led the 15–67 Wizards of 2023–24 in scoring with a career-high 22.2 points per game?

Kyle Kuzma became the first option after Washington traded away its two top scorers in summer 2023, on a rebuilding team that lost a franchise-record 67 games.