Baltimore Bullets (1963–73)
| Washington Wizards | ||||
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| Conference | Eastern | |||
| Division | Southeast | |||
| Founded | 1961 | |||
| History |
Chicago Packers 1961–1962 Chicago Zephyrs 1962–1963 Baltimore Bullets 1963–1973 Capital Bullets 1973–1974 Washington Bullets 1974–1997 Washington Wizards 1997–present |
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| Arena | Verizon Center | |||
| Location | Washington, D.C. | |||
| Team colors | Red, navy blue, silver, white |
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| Team manager | Ernie Grunfeld | |||
| Head coach | Scott Brooks | |||
| Ownership | Ted Leonsis | |||
| Affiliation(s) | None | |||
| Championships | 1 (1978) | |||
| Conference titles | 4 (1971, 1975, 1978, 1979) | |||
| Division titles | 6 (1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979) | |||
| Retired numbers | 4 (10, 11, 25, 41) | |||
| Website | www |
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| Uniforms | ||||
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The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at the Verizon Center, in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
The team now known as the Wizards began playing as the Chicago Packers in 1961, as the first modern expansion team in NBA history, an expansion prompted by Abe Saperstein's American Basketball League. Rookie Walt Bellamy was the team's star, averaging 31.6 points per game, 19.0 rebounds per game, and leading the NBA in field goal percentage. During the All-Star game, Bellamy represented the team while scoring 23 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Bellamy was named the league Rookie of the Year, but was the team finished with the NBA's worst record at 18-62.
The team's original nickname was a nod to Chicago's meatpacking industry; their home arena, the International Amphitheater, was next door to the . However, it was extremely unpopular since it was the same nickname used by the NFL's Green Bay Packers, bitter rivals of the Chicago Bears. After only one year, the organization changed its name to the Chicago Zephyrs and played its home games at the Chicago Coliseum (Saperstein's ABL Majors prevented the team from playing in the larger Chicago Stadium). Their only season as the Zephyrs boasted former Purdue star Terry Dischinger, who went on to win Rookie of the Year honors. In 1963 the franchise moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and became the Baltimore Bullets, taking their name from a 1940s–'50s Baltimore Bullets BAA/NBA franchise and playing home games at the Baltimore Civic Center. In their first year in Baltimore, the Bullets finished fourth in a five–team Western Division.
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