Washington Wizards
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Washington Bullets
The Washington Wizards are a National Basketball Association team based in Washington, D.C..
- Founded: 1961
- Formerly known as: Chicago Packers (1961-1962), Chicago Zephyrs (1962-1963), Baltimore Bullets (1963-1972), Capital Bullets (1973-1974), Washington Bullets (1974-1997)
- Home Arena: MCI Center
- Uniform colors: Blue, White, Gold, and Black
- Logo design: A blue stylized wizard standing in front of a gold crescent moon and star, holding a basketball
- NBA Championships: 1978
- 2004-05 Record: 45-37
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Franchise history
The team now known as the Wizards started as the Chicago Packers in the 1961-62 season. The next season, they changed their name to the Zephyrs. And the season after that, they moved to Baltimore, Maryland and became the Baltimore Bullets, no relation to the 1940s Bullets franchise.
In 1973, the team moved to Landover, Maryland and became the Capital Bullets, and they changed their name to the Washington Bullets the next season. During the transition, the Bullets also played home games at Cole Field House, the home of the University of Maryland Terrapins, while waiting for the completion of their new arena in Landover, the Capital Centre (later known as the USAir/US Airways Arena.) Through the mid-1990s, the Bullets still played a few games per season in Baltimore.
On May 15, 1997, the Bullets officially unveiled their new name and logo. They had changed it because the name Bullets carried a violent overtone. The names Seadogs, Express, and Monuments were also considered but rejected. Also that year the Wizards moved to the MCI Center located at 601 F Street in Northwest Washington, DC. The MCI Center is also home to the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.
The 2004-2005 season marked the first time the franchise had ever made the playoffs as the Wizards; the last time the team had made the postseason was in 1996-1997, when it was still known as the Bullets. In Game 3 of the first round against the Chicago Bulls, the Wizards won their first playoff game since 1988. In a Game 5 victory against Chicago they took their first lead in a playoff series since 1986. In Game 6, the Wizards won their first playoff series in 23 years defeating the Chicago Bulls 94-91 and became only the ninth team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being down 0-2.
Following this game, the Wizards were swept by the Miami Heat (#1 seed in the 2005 playoffs), ending a stellar season.
Players of note
Basketball Hall of Famers
Not to be forgotten
- Michael Adams
- Manute Bol
- Phil Chenier
- Bob Dandridge
- Juwan Howard
- Gus Johnson
- Michael Jordan
- Bernard King
- Gheorghe Muresan
- Robert Pack
- Brent Price
- Rod Strickland
- Ben Wallace
- Rasheed Wallace
- Chris Webber
- Don Nelson
Retired numbers
- 11 - Elvin Hayes
- 25 - Gus Johnson
- 41 - Wes Unseld
Current Roster (As of May 8, 2005)
Starters
- PF - #4
Antawn Jamison (North Carolina)
- SF - #1 Jared Jeffries (Indiana)
- C - #33 Brendan Haywood (North Carolina)
- PG - #0 Gilbert Arenas (Arizona)
- SG - #20 Larry Hughes (Saint Louis)
Bench
- PG - #2 Steve Blake (Maryland)
- F/C - #5 Kwame Brown (Glynn Academy, Brunswick, Georgia)
- G - #3 Juan Dixon (Maryland)
- SG - #8 Anthony Peeler (Missouri)
- G/F - #7 Laron Profit (Maryland)
- PF - #51 Michael Ruffin (Tulsa)
- F/C - #36 Etan Thomas (Syracuse)
Injured Reserve
- SF - #10 Damone Brown (Syracuse)
- SF - #24 Jarvis Hayes (Georgia)
- C - #34
Peter Ramos (Puerto Rico)
Media Information
All Wizards regular season games can be seen on Comcast SportsNet which is available in the Washington, DC area and other local areas. Wizards games are announced by Steve Buckhantz and Phil Chenier.
External links
- Washington Wizards official web site (http://www.nba.com/wizards/)
- Washington Wizards Official Summer Pro League web site (http://www.summerproleague.com/)
- WizFans at RealGM (http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=35/)
- AmIAnnoying.com - Washington Wizards (http://www.amiannoying.com/(tvzdgtiwcey31555j0cjsvff)/collection.aspx?collection=3069)
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