History of the Washington Wizards

60s - Landing a Coach

The franchise began in 1961 as the Chicago Zephyrs before relocating to Baltimore as the Bullets in 1963. Early on they struggled landing a coach having 8 coaches in the first 6 seasons. By the late 60s they had a great young duo in Earl Monroe and Wes Unseld.

70s - The Golden Age

Washington’s best years came in the 70s as they had two legends under roster in Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes. They made the finals four times in the decade with their only ring in franchise history coming in 1978. Bob Dandridge played a key role in this win averaging over 21 points per game in the playoffs.

80s - Going Nowhere

The Bullets were stuck in mediocrity throughout the 80s. They won one playoff series and never had a year with more than 43 wins. This resulted in average draft picks which never turned into great players. They also had stars past their prime on the team in Bernard King and Moses Malone which didn’t lead to anything.

90s - Failed Rebuild

The team began to lose more which led to good young talent in Chris Webber and Juwan Howard who played together in college. These two big men along with the great playmaker in Rod Strickland resulted in a promising future. Unfortunately, only one playoff appearance came out of this before Webber went to Sacramento.

00s - Young Run

After some forgettable years with Michael Jordan, the Wizards got one of the best young offensive guards in Gilbert Arenas. After acquiring good pieces around him, they looked to make some noise in the East, but only one playoff series win came out of it.

10s - Promising Duo

The Wizards nailed their picks in drafting John Wall and Bradley Beal in the early 2010s. The two guards would develop great chemistry and become one of the best front courts, but would never get sufficient talent around them. They made it to the second round of the playoffs multiple times but were never true contenders.