Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team that plays in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team competes in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The Wizards play their games at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
The Wizards entered the NBA for the 1961-1962 season as the Chicago Packers. The next season the team changed its name to the Chicago Zephyrs. The team moved to Baltimore for the 1963-1964 season and was called the Baltimore Bullets. For the 1973-1974 season, the team was known as the Capital Bullets. The team moved to Landover, Maryland, in 1974-1975 and was called the Washington Bullets until the 1997-1998 season, when it changed its nickname to the Wizards and moved to downtown Washington, D.C.
The Bullets were one of the dominant teams in the NBA during the 1970’s. The team won the 1977-1978 NBA championship. That team was led by forwards Mitch Kupchak and Bob Dandridge, center Elvin Hayes, and guards Kevin Grevey and Phil Chenier. Hayes was one of the greatest centers in NBA history, playing for the Bullets from 1972 to 1981. Other stars of the Bullets included forward Gus Johnson (1963-1972) and center Wes Unseld (1968-1981).
The team declined from the 1980’s into the early 2000’s but made the playoffs three straight seasons from 2004 through 2007. In 2000, NBA star Michael Jordan became part owner of the Wizards and president of basketball operations. He resigned his management position the next year and joined the team as an active player. Jordan played for the Wizards through the 2002-2003 season. The 2004-2005 team won a playoff series for the first time since 1981-1982 by defeating the Chicago Bulls. The team was led by guards Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes and forward Antawn Jamison. Washington won the division championship in 2016-2017, led by high-scoring guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.
See also Hayes, Elvin; Jordan, Michael; Unseld, Wes.
