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WASHINGTON WIZARDS

The Washington Wizards were founded in 1961 as the Chicago Packers. They were renamed the Zephyrs the following year and moved to Baltimore in 1963 where they became the Bullets. In 1973, the team moved to the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and renamed itself the Capital Bullets. The name didn’t last as the franchise became known as the Washington Bullets.

In 1997, team owner Abe Pollin decided to change the team name because of the violent overtones of the name Bullets. The franchise became the Wizards prior to the 1997-98 NBA season.

The franchise had a lot of success in the 1960s and ‘70s, but since becoming the Wizards the team has only made it past the first round of the postseason four times.

Fans can watch nationally broadcast games on ESPN, ESPN+, ABC, and TNT. The networks are also home to the NBA playoffs schedule. Regional coverage of Wizards games is available through NBC Sports Washington. The complete Washington Wizards schedule is also available for live streaming via the NBC Sports app or at NBA.tv.

HOME OF THE WIZARDS

Upon moving to Baltimore, the Bullets played in the Baltimore Civic Center before moving to the US Airways Arena, also known as the Capital Centre, when the franchise moved to Washington. The Wizards currently play in what is now called the Capital One Arena. It was the MCI Center and Verizon Center before taking on its current name. Capital One Arena seats 20,656 fans for Wizards home games.

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

The Wizards franchise experienced it heyday in the 1970s. Six of the franchise’s seven division titles came during the ‘70s (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1979). The other division crown was the most recent title of any sort for the Wizards. They won the Southeast Division in 2017.

There are also four conference titles, all won while the franchise was known as the Bullets. The Bullets were the 1978 NBA champions, the only NBA title for the franchise. There have been 29 trips to the NBA playoffs for the Wizards franchise.

BEST OF THE WIZARDS

Elvin Hayes joined the franchise in 1972 and spent 10 seasons with Baltimore/Capital/Washington. Hayes was part of the 1978 NBA championship team and was an All-Star in all but one of his seasons in Washington. Hayes is the all-time leading scorer in franchise history with 15,551 points. He’s also second on the career rebounding list with 9,305. A College and Naismith Hall of Famer, Hayes finished his career with averages of 21.0 points and 12.5 rebounds per game.

Hayes’ teammate Wes Unseld is widely considered the greatest player in franchise history. He spent his entire 14-year NBA career with the franchise and even served as the team’s head coach after his playing career. Unseld is the only player in franchise history to have won a league MVP and an NBA Finals MVP. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1969 and was a five-time All-Star selection. Despite being an undersized 6-foot-7-inch center, Unseld finished his career with averages of 10.8 points and 14.0 rebounds per game.