TEAM HISTORY
The Washington Wizards are an NBA basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at the Capital One Arena, in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
The franchise was established in 1961 as the Chicago Packers based in Chicago, Illinois, and were renamed to Chicago Zephyrs the following season. In 1963, they relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, and became the Baltimore Bullets, taking the name from a previous team of the same name. In 1973, the team changed its name to the Capital Bullets to reflect their move to the Washington metropolitan area, and then to Washington Bullets in the following season. In the early 1990s, Washington Bullets owner Abe Pollin was becoming frustrated with the association of his team’s nickname and gun violence. After Pollin’s friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, was assassinated, Pollin decided to take action and announced his plans to rename the team. A name-the-team contest was held and fans voted on a list of finalists that included Wizards, Dragons, Express, Stallions, and Sea Dogs. On May 15, 1997, the Bullets officially became the Washington Wizards.
The Wizards have appeared in four NBA Finals, and won in 1978. They have had a total of 28 playoff appearances, won four conference titles (1971, 1975, 1978, 1979), and seven division titles (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 2017). Their best season came in 1975 with a record of 60–22. Wes Unseld is the only player in franchise history to become the MVP (1969), and win the Finals MVP award (1978). Four players (Walt Bellamy, Terry Dischinger, Earl Monroe, and Wes Unseld) have won the Rookie of the Year award.
