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

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. One interesting part of the Baltimore Arena was that it had a stage at one end of the court, giving it an amateur feel.

On May 15, 1997, the Bullets officially unveiled their new name and logo. They had changed it because the name Bullets was thought to carry violent overtones. The name Seadogs was 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.

Players of note

Basketball Hall of Famers

• Walt Bellamy
• Elvin Hayes
• Earl "The Pearl" Monroe
• Wes Unseld

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 Players

• Gilbert Arenas
• Steve Blake
• Kwame Brown
• Juan Dixon
• Jarvis Hayes
• Brendan Haywood
• Larry Hughes
• Antawn Jamison
• Jared Jeffries
• Anthony Peeler
• Laron Profit
• Peter Ramos
• Michael Ruffin
• Etan Thomas
• Samaki Walker

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
• Washington Wizards Official Summer Pro League web site
• AmIAnnoying.com - Washington Wizards