Washington

Wizards

In 2001, three years into his second retirement, Michael Jordan decided to make a second NBA comeback. This time around, however, he decided to suit up for the Washington Wizards.

MJ was already 38 when he returned for his first season with the Wizards, which ended up being an injury-plagued campaign for the GOAT. He tore a cartilage in his right knee, which put an end to his 2001-02 season. Jordan played just 60 games that year, which is the fewest games he's played in since suiting up for just 17 games in the 1994-95 season (the first time he returned from retirement).

Jordan was able to play 82 games in the 2002-03 season, but it was clear that he was now a shadow of his former self. MJ still averaged 20.0 points per game, but that was his lowest scoring average throughout his entire career. More importantly, not even the heroics of the great Michael Jordan were enough to save the Wizards from ending the campaign with a 37-45 record. MJ missed the playoffs in both of his two seasons in Washington.

The entire basketball world knew that Jordan's time had come. MJ called it a career (again, for one final time) after the 2002-03 season. He left the Wizards for good and this time around, there was not going to be any comeback.

In 1995, after 32 years of being named the "Bullets," this organization officially changed its name to the Washington Wizards. This sudden and rather surprising change was brought about by the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on November 4, 1995. Rabin was a close friend of team owner Abe Pollin, who himself declared the name change a few days after Rabin's murder. In his statement, Pollin said that the moniker of "'Bullets' is no longer appropriate for a sports team.”

It is also worth noting that at the time of the name change, the city of Washington, DC was in the middle of an all-out battle against gun violence. The crime rate in the capital had risen at an alarming rate, and the decision to change the team name to the Wizards was likely partly influenced by the tense socio-political climate in the city.

The Wizards turned a page in their franchise history this offseason when they decided to part ways with former cornerstone superstar John Wall. After an injury-plagued two seasons, Wall was traded to the Houston Rockets in exchange for another elite point guard in Russell Westbrook.

In 2021, however, Washington faces quite a dilemma with regards to Westbrook's massive contract. While the former league MVP's current deal does not expire until the end of the 2022-23 campaign, the fact that Westbrook has a player option for the final season of his contract certainly complicates things. This stipulation means that if he so chooses, Russ could walk away from the Wizards at the end of the 2021-22 season, leaving them with nothing to show for. As such, the team's front office needs to make a key decision on Westbrook's future with the franchise during the 2021 offseason. If the team is unable to come to terms on a new deal with the nine-time All-Star, trading him in the offseason is going to be a very distinct possibility.

The most significant aspect to note here is that Westbrook is set to earn a whopping $44.2 million next season, and then $47.0 million the following year. This takes up a huge chunk of Washington's salary cap, and they will need to determine if they're willing to pay a 33/34-year-old Westbrook that amount of money.

Based on what we've seen from Russ this season though, it looks like the Wizards might be willing to take that risk. Westbrook had another historic season in 2020-21, and his partnership with Bradley Beal has been quite a revelation. Washington turned their season around behind Westbrook and Beal's strong play, allowing them to reach the playoffs. Whether this will be enough to convince the Wizards brass to shell out an insane amount of money for Westbrook, however, remains to be seen.

The Washington Wizards franchise is worth $1.8 billion as of February 2021, per Forbes.

The team is currently owned by Ted Leonsis, who purchased the franchise in 2010 for $551 million.

The Wizards reported revenues of $231 million for the 2019-20 season, with an operating income of $39 million.

The Washington Wizards franchise is currently owned by American billionaire Ted Leonsis. He purchased the team in 2010 for $551 million.

Leonsis, 64, hails from Brooklyn, New York. He is a former high-ranking executive for online service provider AOL. Leonsis currently has a number of business ventures aside from being the owner of the Wizards franchise. He is the chairman and founder of SnagFilms, which is the production behind the 2009 Emmy Award-winning documentary, Nanking. Leonsis' Monumental Sports & Entertainment currently owns the Wizards, the Washington Capitals (NHL), the Capital City Go-Go (NBA G League), the Washington Mystics (WNBA), and the Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade (both of the AFL). This company also owns the Wizards' home court, the Capital One Arena.

Scott Brooks is currently the Washington Wizards' head coach. Brooks joined the Wizards at the start of the 2016-17 campaign, replacing Randy Wittman.

Brooks led Washington to 49 wins in his debut season. That is the most wins the Wizards have logged since they bagged 54 victories (and went all the way to the Finals) back in 1979. The Wizards made back-to-back trips to the playoffs in Brooks' first two years as the team's head coach. In his first five seasons in Washington, Brooks has a regular-season record of 183 wins against 207 losses.

Prior to joining the Wizards franchise in 2016, Brooks served as the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder for seven seasons. He won the Coach of the Year title in OKC after leading the trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden to 50 wins during the 2009-10 season.

Brooks also served as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets (2003 to 2006), the Sacramento Kings (2006-07), and the Seattle SuperSonics/Oklahoma City Thunder (2007 to 2009).

Scott Brooks, the current head coach of the Washington Wizards, has an array of hardworking personnel working under him.

Dean Oliver serves as the assistant coach in charge of analytics, while assistant coaches Alex McLean and Kamaran Sufi spearhead player development. Washington's other assistant coaches are Mike Longabardi, Robert Pack, David Adkins, Jarrell Christian, Corey Gaines, and Mike Terpstra.

The Wizards have a long list of head coaches who left lasting impacts on the franchise. One of which is K.C. Jones, who sat at the helm for the team between 1973 and 1976. In spite of a rather short-lived spell as the head coach of the Capital/Washington Bullets, Jones was able to make his mark on the history books. He logged 155 regular-season wins against 91 losses, bringing his winning percentage to an impressive .630. Jones memorably led the Bullets to the Eastern Conference title in 1975.

Gene Shue is another legendary head coach for the Wizards. He first served as the team's shot caller for seven seasons, from 1966 to 1973. In 1971, Shue led the Baltimore Bullets all the way to the NBA Finals, where they fell to the Milwaukee Bucks. Two years later, Shue left the team to sign for the Philadelphia 76ers. However, he reunited with the franchise in 1980 and spent another six seasons with the squad in his second stint as head coach. Shue currently holds the record for the most wins in franchise history with 522 victories.

The Wizards franchise has won just one championship throughout its history, and it was the great Dick Motta who coached the 1977-78 Washington Bullets to a historic title. Led by the likes of Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, the Bullets clinched the championship after an epic seven-game series against the Seattle SuperSonics. Aside from being the only coach in franchise history to ever win a ring, Motta's 27 postseason wins also stand as the most playoff wins for any Wizards coach.

Now in his ninth season with the Wizards, three-time All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal has earned a spot on the franchise's greatest players list. Beal is one of the most prolific scorers in today's NBA (he was barely edged out by Stephen Curry for the 2020-21 scoring title), and there's no doubt that Washington would not be where they are now had it not been for Beal. The 27-year-old is already second on the franchise's all-time scoring list, and he could very well end up with the top spot when it’s all said and done. As it is, he's already the franchise record holder for most three-pointers made.

Before parting ways with the Wizards in the 2020 offseason, John Wall served as Washington's cornerstone superstar for many, many years. Selected first overall by the Wizards in 2010, the former Kentucky standout had a memorable nine-season stint with the Wizards before being traded to the Houston Rockets. During his time in Washington, Wall earned All-Star honors five times. He was an All-NBA selection in 2016-17 and was named in the All-Defensive team in 2014-15. Wall currently leads the franchise record books in assists and steals, and he ranks fourth all-time in points scored.

After being selected by the team (then the Chicago Packers) as the first overall pick in the 1961 NBA Draft, Walt Bellamy made an instant impact as soon as he arrived. The 6-foot-11 big man had arguably the greatest rookie season of all time with averages of 31.6 points and 19.0 rebounds per game en route to bagging the Rookie of the Year award. Bellamy was named as an All-Star in his first four seasons in the league.

Elvin Hayes was a key piece for Washington in their quest for the 1978 NBA title -- their one and only championship in franchise history. Having played with the team for nine seasons, Hayes is currently the proud owner of many franchise records, including field goals made, free throws made, blocked shots, and points scored. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990.

There is perhaps no greater player in franchise history than Wes Unseld. Along with the great Wilt Chamberlain, Unseld is the only other player to win the MVP award and the Rookie of the Year title in the same season (1968-69). Unseld also lifted the Finals MVP trophy in 1978 as he led the Bullets to a historic title. Widely considered as one of the greatest rebounders ever, Unseld leads the Wizards history books for most boards of all time. His greatest feature, however, has to be his loyalty. He spent his entire 13-year career with the Washington franchise, making him arguably the most well-loved figure among Wizards fans.

There are a handful of players throughout history that have earned legendary status with the Wizards franchise. Despite playing just five seasons with the team, Earl Monroe is considered as one of the greatest combo guards not only for the Wizards, but in the history of the NBA as well. Monroe won the Rookie of the Year title in his debut season with the Baltimore Bullets, and he was also named as an All-Star twice while with the team.

Gus Johnson also made his mark with the franchise during his nine seasons with the team. He played a total of 560 games for the Baltimore Bullets between 1963 and 1972, which resulted in two All-Defensive team selections and five All-Star appearances.

The team's two best players during their historic 1978 title run were Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld. Hayes is the franchise's all-time leader in scoring, among other records. Unseld, who is widely considered to be the greatest player in franchise history, memorably won Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.