2008 Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards 2nd place finish in the Southeast Division was enough to get them a playoff berth, but they were knocked out in the first round for the third year in a row by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Head coach Eddie Jordan is determined to improve the team’s performance for the 2008-09 season, but much will depend on key players like Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler staying injury-free. Though Arenas’ knee problems kept him out of all but 13 regular season games last season and many blame his absence on the Wizards’ loss to Cleveland, there was an upside. With Arenas out, other players like DeShawn Stevenson and Andray Blatche got more court time and the team learned to survive without him. Last season, the Wizards beat the 2008 NBA Champion Boston Celtics in 3 regular season games (a feat no other team accomplished) and 2 of those games were without Arenas. Mull that over and then consider what kind of performance they can churn out if Arenas stays healthy. Now that you’re chomping at the bit to see this exciting team play, go ahead and get your tickets to Verizon Center and see if the Washington Wizards can bring home a championship in the 2008-09 season!

The city of Washington D.C. and its surrounding areas has had a franchise in the National Basketball Association since 1974. The Washington Wizards began as the Chicago Packers in 1961, spent several seasons in Baltimore, and finally landed in Washington, as the Washington Bullets, in 1974.

After achieving only moderate success for a decade, the Bullets developed into a solid unit in the 1970s, built around rugged center Wes Unseld and talented scorer and rebounder from the University of Houston, Elvin Hayes. Washington made it to the NBA Finals four times during the 1970s and defeated the Seattle SuperSonics for the NBA championship in 1977-78. The Bullets were a model of consistency through the '80s, establishing an NBA record by winning at least 35 games in each of 22 consecutive years, from 1967-68 through 1988-89. The team, though, fell on hard times through the 1990s and the early 21st century. In 1997 the team changed its name from the Bullets to the Wizards as part of its anti-violence campaign. The team plays in the Eastern Conference's Southeast Division against the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat.

The team had been playing its games outside of D.C., in Landover Maryland, until 1997 when they moved into the MCI Center (now called the Verizon Center) located in downtown Washington D.C. This move coincided with the team's name change from the Bullets to the Wizards. Located at 7th and F Streets NW, the Verizon Center is the state-of-the-art home of the not just the Wizards, but also the NHL's Capitals, WNBA's Mystics, and the NCAA’s Georgetown Hoyas plus big-time concerts, family shows and sporting events. Along with the aforementioned teams, D.C. ticket holders also attend NFL football games. The Washington Redskins of the NFL play their home games at FedEx Field. The Redskins are probably the most storied franchise of the Washington teams. They won two world championships under former head coach Joe Gibbs. The Washington D.C. area also boasts a major league baseball team, the Washington Nationals, with their very own ballpark, Nationals Park.