And Detroit is about to catch them it seems. As of now only 1 game back, Pistons are 8-44 and the Wizards are 9-43. Unreal how truly awful the Wizards are
As a Washington DC area native, my mind was blown when you stated the fact that the Wizards haven’t won more than 50 games since 1979. And now that I think about it, I can’t think of the Wizards ever once cracking 50 wins since I started following the NBA in the mid 2000’s. For reference, I was born in 1989 so at the time I was born it had already been a decade… Jesus Christ that hurts to hear 😅
in terms of remembering the Wizards for one player, I can list either John Wall or Arenas. They were spectacular players and gave everything they had to D.C. People forget how good John Wall was.
Yah John wall was a stud for sure. At one point it was between Wall, Kyrie, Russ, or Steph for the best point guard and allot of people chose Wall and rightfully so
The fastest guard on the break I've ever seen. I truly thought Arenas would have been special if not for the injuries cuz he was so dominant just for such a short period of time.
Yea I remember his passing highlights, it was like watching Magic Johnson on fast forward minus a few inches in height. How he got that team up to 45 wins, and into the second round of playoffs consistently was a miracle.
Two of the most forgotten teams in NBA history have to be the Wizards and Hawks, both ironically in majority black cities that historically produced NBA talent throughout the decades.
I love the long-form video, Andy. It would be just as interesting to see you cover the history of other 'forgotten' teams like Charlotte or even the Hawks up until now
@razkable I don't if u mean 04-05 or 05-06 so I checked both rosters. Larry Hughes and Caron Butler were never on the Wizard's together. Hughes was there 04-05 then left to Cleveland next season. Then Caron came to Wizards for the 05-06 season
They refuse to acknowledge Wes Unseld the way they should as well as elvin Hayes. Wes won an mvp as a rookie, led them to 4 finals and won a chip and not a peep is mentioned on him when talking about all time great center, all because he wasn’t a big time scorer.
I think real fans (at least us old heads lol) give respect to Unseld and Hayes... I never hear anybody talk about Phil Chenier and Greg Ballard though. The wings on that 70s team weren't as good as the guys in the paint, but they were still great players. Kevin Porter was a solid playmaker too.
That mid 90s team was all the right players at the wrong time. Webber was battling his shoulder injury, and both Rasheed and Ben Wallace where just too young. Howard actually peaked early. Also, having 4 power forwards and no real outside threat doesn't help.
I remember Bullets team in 1997. They had a really good roster back then and advanced to the playoffs (lost to CHI in 3 games). Strickland, Cheaney, Howard, Webber, Muresan, T. Murray. They were fun to watch and impressive.
It's sad that Jordan and everyone else either forgets or simply pretends that his time with the Wizards happened because up until his miniscus injury, Jordan was getting slowly back to his Bulls numbers. He didn't have the insane athleticism we were accustomed to seeing from him, but also remember, he was playing at 38-40. In professional basketball, that's about 70 years old, especially for the era he played in. But despite all of that, his time in Washington was remarkable as hell! He was keeping up with the 20-somethings and he still had all-time performances. I wonder what would've happened had his injury not happened.
A franchise thats got John Wall, Agent Zero, and for a flash of time C Webb and MJ. I don't recall anything about their teams in the 2 plus decades I watched the NBA outside of knowing about those aforementioned players being once part of the Wiz/Bullets teams. And yet when you think about it, their history from the past was honestly as solid and even great at times as the Raiders in the NFL and like the Raiders they were relatively irrelevant after the 1980s outside of flirting with potential, but unlike the Raiders this Wiz franchise is largely forgotten. Really sad.
I’d almost compare Gilbert to Brandon Roy. Only difference is nobody really watched the wizards. Gil was a machine before the whole gun thing and subsequent injury.
A prime example of their struggles; they had chris Webber coming off of his ROY season who they picked up in a trade involving PF Tom Gugliotta. They already drafted Juwan Howard, and had Jim Mcllvaine and Gheorghe Muresan, then added Rasheed Wallace the next year
Bernard King was actually very memorable for his Bullets tenure. He made that amazing comeback from serious career threating injuries, and each year he was a Bullet, he improved. Finally, he made it back into the All-NBA discussion and was threatening to win a scoring title deep into the season. Unfortunately, that's when another serious injury struck. It's a story of redemption, then another final fall, but definitely a memorable one. He was the only really memorable part of the post-Unseld playing career, though Webber, Arenas, and Wall did make some impact as well. And of course, there was Jordan.
Yeah but he was never the same player in Washington that he was in New York. Of course it was because of injuries and age, and he did a hell of a job to battle back, but his days averaging 30 were over.
@@VinceWhitacre nah. His 50 point game in March of his last season with the Bullets put his scoring average at 29.7 points per game. He was right in the mix behind Jordan at the top of the league's scoring leaders. His scoring dipped a little over the next 5 games, and then another serious injury, basically ending his career. His game had changed some, but he brought himself pretty much all the way back by '90-91
@@timl9724 fair, and I think people forget (I say that because *I* forgot) that he only averaged 30 once in his career, in NY in '85. It's probably just that 1) everything is overhyped in NY, and 2) by 1990-91 it was truly MJ's show now, that most people picture King in a Knicks jersey - even though he played more games and minutes with the Bullets.
I've been casually following the Wizards on and off for close to 20 years. Like Andy said, I've always been waiting for them to make SOME kind of splash to get attention from the NBA, either with a big star player, or a deep playoff run, or something. They're a blank slate, but they always seem to be rebuilding, and it makes me wonder if management and ownership cares about this team at all.
I chose Nuggets as my fave team back in 2016 when I got into basketball watched them grit and grind and slowly and slowly grow their team to be better and better. I would always tell my friends “next year they got it” it was so rewarding to watch them win it all last year. I hope Wizards fans one day get to experience that feeling too.
Washington is the only team I can think of that never had a good stretch of basketball in my lifetime. Magic had the Dwight Howard era, Pistons had the Rip, Sheed era, Hornets had the Cp3 era, but of all the worst teams the Wizards have always stood out
John Wall/Bradley Beal era for a couple in the mid 2010s & maybe the Gilbert Arenas era in the mid 2000s but those teams never made it past the 2nd round
Jordan's years in Washington were underrated, as a 39 year old with bad knees still averaged 20 ppg 6 boards and played in all 82 games in his final year.
I feel for the Wizards fans. 35-44 or so wins is definitely a rough spot to be in. Sacramento Kings languished for the ENTIRE mid 2ks and 2010s in that zone. Not good enough for the West playoffs, but were better than several 6-8 seeds in the East. Being mid definitely sucks 😢
When the Kings had their 17 year playoff drought, they had a 6 year stretch in between of not winning 30 games so they weren’t even a very competitive team for the first third of their drought. For the instance with the Kings, outside of that 2018-19 season where they were in the running for the playoffs most of that year with Dave Joerger as their head coach they just couldn’t put together very competitive teams.
@@lakerskid2013 they've had some truly awful seasons (sub 20 wins), but there were several seasons during that stretch where they had better records than playoffs teams in the East; like 2019 Pistons finished with the same record yet secured a playoff spot. They've basically been mired in 9-12 spot. If only the play-in tournament existed back then 😕
@@elizabethgeorge168 I think if the play-in tournament existed throughout their playoff drought, that 2019 Kings team would’ve gotten in as the 8th seed over the Clippers in my opinion and while I don’t think they would’ve taken the Warriors to 6 games like that Clippers team did (that was the same year they had that 31 point comeback against them at Oracle) I think they would’ve won a game against them and then Dave Joerger would’ve kept his job there. At least they have Mike Brown now who is a great fit for the team but I still believe Joerger deserves another head coaching job elsewhere.
A freshly crowned NBA Champion led by Wes Unseld once visited our country and had an exhibition game with our local players. I was 4 years old then and my mom brought me to Araneta Colesium to watch. I became an NBA fan but later I became a Celtics fan because of Rookie Larry Bird.
In the Philippines, basketball culture runs deep in their veins, although I figured most Pinoys are more Lakers and Warriors fans than anything (Toronto if they have family in Canada)
Very accurate. Home crowds can hesitant to get into games a lot of the time too. I always thought it was fear of commitment from being punched in the gut so many times. Wizards fans are afraid to hope because they’ve always been disappointed. Even in their best moments, the Wizards are overshadowed. Hopefully this will all change someday. Having that moment of finally being recognized as the best team in the NBA is what I lean on as a fan
Talking about DC being transient I feel like if Vegas gets a team same thing will happen, that’s already happening with the Raiders sometimes there’s more fans from the opposing team …
@@KaelynWillinghamthe golden knights embraced the city after a shooting plus were contenders surprisingly out of the gate, and even to this day have never had a losing season the raiders have only made the playoffs once in their entire lifetime in vegas if the raiders were winning then of course more fans would show up since vegas is yes filled with transplants and locals who already have established nfl teams they like
Facts in those type of cities with high transplant populations you better win a lot and you better win early otherwise the local fanbasE isn't gonna care
The Wizards need to build a sustainable culture like Unseld did. This takes a good coach and organization. Up to the owner ultimately but that never ends well.
I agree. It seems to me that modern nba players are less likely possessing both leadership skills and superstar level talent. You can't have one without the other and unfortunately even getting one who's mostly the former will still be cast aside if they're not deemed superstar level enough.
I started watching the NBA when I was young. Stayed in tune from 05 to 07 (aka the Gilbert Arenas show) and then stopped carring about it. When I came back I was like "who tf are these Kings and Warriors?" Didn't remember them by any means. One is now quite historic for obvious reason, the other... Still the Kings. They're the most forgettable to me
@@charles-cjbox4661 Bullets/Knicks from 69-74, playing each other 4/5 years and just beating the hell out of each other every time. I'd buy a DVD set of those matchups.
He would have been really good if he were playing today, a small ball point center with insane strength, can switch on the perimeter on defense, set brick wall picks, run the floor and start fast breaks with hail mary outlet passes, finish at the rim and play with physicality, hit mid range shots but can also face up if needed, rebound like prime Drummond, find the open man, clutch in the playoffs and unparalled leadership and work ethic. Basically the ultimate glue guy.
As a Knick fan growing up in the 70s, my second favorite team was the Bullets. Just loved Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Kevin Porter, and Phil Chenier. I feel the name change hurt them as ridiculous as it may sound and getting Jordan at the end of his career didn't help also.
The only reason I remember Bernard king playing on the bullets was because he “came back” from his career being over for em. But I had no idea Moses played for em
I love this video. I live in the DC area and this is spot on. You missed Mark Price another good player past his peak and the 2004 Detroit pistons had at least 3 former Bullets/ Wizards players on it. I followed them from Webber/Howard days to about the John Wall time. I don't really know the current team
i love the Wizards. whenever i get depressed with my team's performance, i just watch Wizard games and leave with a little smile on my face, realizing that things are bad but at least not as bad as the Wizards 🙂
I grew up in West Baltimore. A few City blocks from were Wes Unseld would open up a school. The structure still stands and the now faded Orange and Black sign, still reads “The Unseld School “ I was alive during a few seasons in Baltimore, but I knew them as the Washington Bullets. I do remember the Bullets would play a half dozen of so games a year at the old Baltimore arena. I remember all those old Bullets teams, when they played the Sonics in back to back Finals. Baltimore still had a rich basketball tradition. Many great players still come from here. Although a much smaller population. Great video!
I’m a lifelong fan of this team going back to them being the Baltimore Bullets. It hasn’t been easy, trust me. The ‘78 championship team was incredible. I have fond memories of those days. Like Andy Hoops said; the Jordan years were a blur. It’s like he was never here. They’re so bad now that I don’t watch the games anymore, no matter who they’re playing. I don’t even remember the last time I went to a game. I can’t see them being relevant anytime soon.
Some non basketball factors as a DC born native who’s been going to wizards/nats/caps games since being a kid. 1. DC/the greater DMV area is very expensive, especially in the years since the 1990s. Contributing to the lower attendance and therefore less invested fan culture due to how difficult it is for lower income permanent residents (especially El Salvadorans/Hondurans/African Americans living in SE DC) to A. thrive in the area and B. have expendable income to be able to partake in the pricey fan culture of DC teams 2. The joint ownership of the Wizards/Caps has allowed a monopoly on pro sports in DC which has incentivized the owners to not make any drastic moves to make the wizards/caps championship contenders and instead yearly mediocre/2nd round exit teams. The owners can rely on the constant stream of profit from both teams and the ease of using the Capital One arena for both teams games and not really worry abt their overall success as much. Just some thoughts, really loved the video even though I’m a Bay Area sports fan (from my dad)!
If I had to name all 30 teams, I think I would probably forget the hornets. Like the wizards at least won some playoff rounds since I started watching the nba, MJ played there, Gilbert Arenas was really fun to watch and Wall and Beal were a pretty iconic duo for the 2010s. Hornets only had one decent year in the Kemba era.
The Hornets were very popular in the 90s, though. They sold a lot of jerseys and merchandise and were must-see tv during the early and mid 90s, plus their superstars were popular at the time. The Wizards never really had that even when they were good. Plus, the Hornets have the lowest winning percentage in NBA history in a season and Jordan's failure as owner at least gets them some attention.
@@leoprince691 I get what you are saying, but being born in the 2000s I never witnessed those days in Charlotte. I'm aware they had some success in the 90s with some iconic players as well like Alonzo or Muggsy. I'm just talking about my experience. I admit that I was also a lil kid in the Gilbert Arenas day, but at least I found myself going back to watch some Arenas highlights more often than I ever watched any highlight from any hornets player, probably because of the style of playing too.
Yeah, about Lamelo, I really hope he becomes a superstar so the franchise can get finally out of mediocrity. And those throwback Hornets jerseys are just lit as fuck. I was talking about my experience watching the nba. Thinking about it, what I said about the hornets could be said about some other teams like the Hawks, but at least they had some interesting moments like that 2015 squad and that 2021 run. I just can't think about an iconic moment for the hornets since I started watching the nba.
@leoprince691 I remember Hornets cause live in Charlotte and like u said Hornets for a while was popular in 90s and Jersey, and starter Coats was high sales
As a person who has followed this franchise for the last 2 decades - not a single lie was told. Andy Hoops is spitting straight facts. I enjoyed this video but it also made me sad 😔 😂
To see you go from like 80,000 subscribers to half a million is crazy. Mad props dude. I know I didn't jump on in the very beginning but still love what you're doing!
Two of the most forgotten teams in NBA history have to be the Wizards and Hawks and both franchises that haven't seen a lot of success in a very long time but man i feel so bad for those Washington Wizards fans, haven't even made a conference final since the late 70s, the John Wall and Bradley Beal era, and the post era with both of them , man what could've been
@@melloooo9331 I'm hawks fan (because I happeneed to started watching NBA in January 2015) and honestly speaking I did not see it to be close. I think we were overwhelmed by most Jimmy and Jayson (even Derrick White) in the past two years, and now the trade of Dejounte is ongoing, I do not want Pascal, maybe a less redundant forward with defence would be the case. Dejounte's defence is simply reduced to Trae niveau after joining despite being steal champion the previous season
@@zhihuangxu6551 I was speaking about the wizards specifically but I also believe the hawks had a chance too and I believe personally trae and Murray are a good fit together just gotta have the right pieces around them
“DC is a transient city.” Yup! Been working here in DC for… Well I just hit 7 years in 2024 and everybody I meet in DC are not actually from DC… Shit, I’m actually from Boston (yes I’m a Celtics fan) but when I say… DC has the worst fans in the league… There’s a reason why… Like even when we’re competitive… There’s always more fans of the opposing team then for the Wizards… Yes the Lakers’ and Celtics’ fans show up to games of course and it feels like a home game for the opposition despite playing in DC but even random teams from across the league like the Cavs or Sixers (last two Wizards’ games I went too by the way) there’s a fucking sea of the opposing teams’ jerseys in the crowd. Thanks Andy for making this video! Love that you educated people on this franchise cause now I can just share this video with people versus explaining why our fanbase is the worst in the league. 😂
What hurts even more for this team is that they’re not even the best supported team in their own building. The local hockey team, the Washington Capitals, had a lengthy sellout streak going. They have a legitimate fanbase that brings the noise every night. They have a generational talent in Alexander Ovechkin. They have a recent-ish Stanley Cup to look back on with pride. But the Wizards… they have nothing. And that’s truly unfortunate.
Oh btw still waiting for you to make a video about NBA players that once dated a celebrity (ex. Andre Drummond and Jennette McCurdy). Oh I also recognize Jeff Malone for that game winner against Detroit when I first watch the video from the NBA about all-time buzzer beaters and then NBA Furious Finishes.
I live in Washington DC and I’ve always felt this city and the wizards deserve better. Caps, nats, and commanders fans, even DC United fans, are very passionate about their teams. Fans here really care and all I think the wizards need is a big star to become a big franchise
As a DMV native my whole life I've definitely been more of a NBA fan than a Wizards fan. The same can't be said about the Redskins compared to the NFL.
The Milwaukee Bucks ran the exact same way as Wizards from 2002-2014. They would never Tank. Ownership aka Herb Kohl (RIP) never let his team tank. He was afraid if they tanked they would lose the fans for good and wanted to do his best to put out a competitive team every season. Hate to say it but Herb Kohl was right. If Bucks attempted to tank during this time period the Bucks would have been moved to Seattle most likely. Herb Kohl did everything he had to in order to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee. We need a Herb Kohl statue in front of Fiserv Forum.
I’m from Minnesota and have a lot of friends and family from Wisconsin mainly the Milwaukee area and I noticed that the Bucks are kinda an after thought to a lot of people there. I see a whole lot more people wearing Timberwolves gear in Minnesota than Bucks gear being worn in Wisconsin.
Arenas recently called Manu Ginobili out saying he was better than him. Scoring ain't everything in basketball, the guy mouths a lot for that short living prime he had like 2 1/2 yrs
The Wizards peaked in the '70s as the Bullets. That's why they aren't iconic. The Bucks won in 2021, the Knicks were successful in the 1990s and 2000s and are on their way back, the Celtics and Lakers have always been major powers, the Warriors dominated the 2010s, the Sonics went to another Finals in 1996 before becoming the Thunder and going to yet another Finals in 2012 and the Blazers went to a Finals in 1992 and almost went to another in 2000. The Bullets/Wizards haven't made it out of the second round since the 1970s. That's why they're forgettable.
I mean DC is a transient city (somehow I have remained here for 20 years 😂), but the Capitals and Nationals have rabid fanbases. Winning fixes everything…
Arenas was SO good when he was healthy. Dude played lights out. With Jamison & Butler, both excellent players, its amazing they werent able to breakthrough
Good video but two corrections: 1. Late former owner of the Bullets/Wizards Abe Pollin changed the name from Bullets to Wizards after the assassination of his close friend, the late former Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin; not because of crime 2. Of course The Last Dance wouldn’t mention Jordan’s Wizards years. It focused on the Bulls dynasty, specifically the 1997-1998 season.
Crazy to think that as of January 7th, the Wizards are 6-29 but are being overshadowed by the Pistons being 3-32.
And Detroit is about to catch them it seems. As of now only 1 game back, Pistons are 8-44 and the Wizards are 9-43. Unreal how truly awful the Wizards are
@@jayjayson9613let us cook
@@jayjayson9613they’re purposely losing
@@BenDover-vg9ep why ? This draft class sucks
@@jayjayson9613 ikr, we shouldve started rebuilding before
As a wizards fan of 23 years, I can tell you my basketball fan life has been atrocious 💔
It could be worse, you can be a Filipino basketball fan.
Atleadt you got mj
-- like a wizard, it takes magic to believe in.
Try being a SuperSonics fan….
same buddy, wizards fans are strong of spirit. but never give up hope! We in the lottery now baby!
As a Washington DC area native, my mind was blown when you stated the fact that the Wizards haven’t won more than 50 games since 1979. And now that I think about it, I can’t think of the Wizards ever once cracking 50 wins since I started following the NBA in the mid 2000’s. For reference, I was born in 1989 so at the time I was born it had already been a decade… Jesus Christ that hurts to hear 😅
That's a sobering statistic right there.
Gil claim he was him next best thing since shoe strings 😂
Yup I remember when we won 49 games in 2017, lost the last game of the season with the curse on the line.
Now they got kuzma and Poole 😂2 clowns with 57mil per season
❤Q@@ice8erg
in terms of remembering the Wizards for one player, I can list either John Wall or Arenas. They were spectacular players and gave everything they had to D.C. People forget how good John Wall was.
Yah John wall was a stud for sure. At one point it was between Wall, Kyrie, Russ, or Steph for the best point guard and allot of people chose Wall and rightfully so
The fastest guard on the break I've ever seen. I truly thought Arenas would have been special if not for the injuries cuz he was so dominant just for such a short period of time.
Yea I remember his passing highlights, it was like watching Magic Johnson on fast forward minus a few inches in height. How he got that team up to 45 wins, and into the second round of playoffs consistently was a miracle.
Never noted but wall made the all defensive teams🤷🏾♂️
@@Skinslyfe and completely owned Kyle Lowry in the 2015 playoffs
The reason unseld and the wizards are forgotten is because their best years were during the 70s which is the most forgotten era
Two of the most forgotten teams in NBA history have to be the Wizards and Hawks, both ironically in majority black cities that historically produced NBA talent throughout the decades.
As a Hawks fan, I agree.
Yep because most of the people that live in atl and dc were not born and raised there
If it wasn’t for Trae young I’d agree with you 100% but I’m 50/50 on this
Chocolate city and the Black mecca
I'd say the Wizards and the Hornets
I love the long-form video, Andy. It would be just as interesting to see you cover the history of other 'forgotten' teams like Charlotte or even the Hawks up until now
Even Hornets had somewhat good run in 90s thru 2000s but as a Hornets fan u right.
No 50 win season in over 40+ years is actually insane.
Right!? I'm actually surprised the Gilbert Arenas, Antwan Jamison, Caron Butler, Larry Hughes teams never won 50
They had those 4 guys together for literally 1 season in 05-06...
@@razkable actually i don't think those 4 were ever on the Wizards together. I'm just talking about the years that those 4 played there, not together
@@billblaski9523 they had them all in 05
@razkable I don't if u mean 04-05 or 05-06 so I checked both rosters. Larry Hughes and Caron Butler were never on the Wizard's together. Hughes was there 04-05 then left to Cleveland next season. Then Caron came to Wizards for the 05-06 season
They refuse to acknowledge Wes Unseld the way they should as well as elvin Hayes. Wes won an mvp as a rookie, led them to 4 finals and won a chip and not a peep is mentioned on him when talking about all time great center, all because he wasn’t a big time scorer.
Right? Wilt is the only other player to win MVP as a rookie. Wilt and Wes. Thats major.
I think real fans (at least us old heads lol) give respect to Unseld and Hayes... I never hear anybody talk about Phil Chenier and Greg Ballard though. The wings on that 70s team weren't as good as the guys in the paint, but they were still great players. Kevin Porter was a solid playmaker too.
He was also the reason they sucked. He was a horrible GM, constantly gunning for the 7 seed
@@DanielMcCall3 irrelevant to the conversation
70s is the forgotten decade in NBA for real! People should look outside Kareem dominating and they'd notice a lot of talent there
That mid 90s team was all the right players at the wrong time. Webber was battling his shoulder injury, and both Rasheed and Ben Wallace where just too young. Howard actually peaked early. Also, having 4 power forwards and no real outside threat doesn't help.
Rod Strickland was another nice player too.
They had Tracy Murray and Tim Legler at one point
Mark Price was over there before he retired too.
I remember Bullets team in 1997. They had a really good roster back then and advanced to the playoffs (lost to CHI in 3 games). Strickland, Cheaney, Howard, Webber, Muresan, T. Murray. They were fun to watch and impressive.
Don't forget about Robert Pack and Tim Legler
“You da man You da man, That’s the reason I’m a Bullets Fan!”
This is really the longest video I've seen from Andy. Very well done.
Facts
It must be suck really for the Wizards to be forgotten.
I truly appreciate it even if this is the longest video you had so far. I really enjoyed it.
Ted Leonsis is the second worst owner in the league after James Dolan. He basically is Dolan with a set of manners.
It's sad that Jordan and everyone else either forgets or simply pretends that his time with the Wizards happened because up until his miniscus injury, Jordan was getting slowly back to his Bulls numbers. He didn't have the insane athleticism we were accustomed to seeing from him, but also remember, he was playing at 38-40. In professional basketball, that's about 70 years old, especially for the era he played in. But despite all of that, his time in Washington was remarkable as hell! He was keeping up with the 20-somethings and he still had all-time performances. I wonder what would've happened had his injury not happened.
"you may recognize the name but not the game" that line was hard😭
A franchise thats got John Wall, Agent Zero, and for a flash of time C Webb and MJ. I don't recall anything about their teams in the 2 plus decades I watched the NBA outside of knowing about those aforementioned players being once part of the Wiz/Bullets teams. And yet when you think about it, their history from the past was honestly as solid and even great at times as the Raiders in the NFL and like the Raiders they were relatively irrelevant after the 1980s outside of flirting with potential, but unlike the Raiders this Wiz franchise is largely forgotten. Really sad.
Mitch Richmond!
I’d almost compare Gilbert to Brandon Roy. Only difference is nobody really watched the wizards. Gil was a machine before the whole gun thing and subsequent injury.
Juwan howard
The whole 04 piston was almost suppose to be the wizards Ben Rasheed rip shit crazy it's always like that leave wizards get a ring
Kwame Brown
A prime example of their struggles; they had chris Webber coming off of his ROY season who they picked up in a trade involving PF Tom Gugliotta. They already drafted Juwan Howard, and had Jim Mcllvaine and Gheorghe Muresan, then added Rasheed Wallace the next year
Bernard King was actually very memorable for his Bullets tenure. He made that amazing comeback from serious career threating injuries, and each year he was a Bullet, he improved. Finally, he made it back into the All-NBA discussion and was threatening to win a scoring title deep into the season. Unfortunately, that's when another serious injury struck. It's a story of redemption, then another final fall, but definitely a memorable one. He was the only really memorable part of the post-Unseld playing career, though Webber, Arenas, and Wall did make some impact as well. And of course, there was Jordan.
Yeah but he was never the same player in Washington that he was in New York. Of course it was because of injuries and age, and he did a hell of a job to battle back, but his days averaging 30 were over.
@@VinceWhitacre nah. His 50 point game in March of his last season with the Bullets put his scoring average at 29.7 points per game. He was right in the mix behind Jordan at the top of the league's scoring leaders. His scoring dipped a little over the next 5 games, and then another serious injury, basically ending his career. His game had changed some, but he brought himself pretty much all the way back by '90-91
@@timl9724 fair, and I think people forget (I say that because *I* forgot) that he only averaged 30 once in his career, in NY in '85.
It's probably just that 1) everything is overhyped in NY, and 2) by 1990-91 it was truly MJ's show now, that most people picture King in a Knicks jersey - even though he played more games and minutes with the Bullets.
I've been casually following the Wizards on and off for close to 20 years. Like Andy said, I've always been waiting for them to make SOME kind of splash to get attention from the NBA, either with a big star player, or a deep playoff run, or something. They're a blank slate, but they always seem to be rebuilding, and it makes me wonder if management and ownership cares about this team at all.
I feel like the Wizards would still find a way to mess things up even with making a big splash move or several of them.
At least, they made a splash with a Poole party?
@@jlui21😂
I chose Nuggets as my fave team back in 2016 when I got into basketball watched them grit and grind and slowly and slowly grow their team to be better and better. I would always tell my friends “next year they got it” it was so rewarding to watch them win it all last year. I hope Wizards fans one day get to experience that feeling too.
Washington is the only team I can think of that never had a good stretch of basketball in my lifetime. Magic had the Dwight Howard era, Pistons had the Rip, Sheed era, Hornets had the Cp3 era, but of all the worst teams the Wizards have always stood out
John Wall/Bradley Beal era for a couple in the mid 2010s & maybe the Gilbert Arenas era in the mid 2000s but those teams never made it past the 2nd round
They had a good stretch in the 70s
Them bullets 70s eras were good
@@andy7376stg ppl just be talking it’s so annoying
They had a few good seasons with Gilbert , Caron Butler and Jamison
This a cool video Andy, would love to see more videos in this style.
Jordan's years in Washington were underrated, as a 39 year old with bad knees still averaged 20 ppg 6 boards and played in all 82 games in his final year.
I feel for the Wizards fans. 35-44 or so wins is definitely a rough spot to be in. Sacramento Kings languished for the ENTIRE mid 2ks and 2010s in that zone. Not good enough for the West playoffs, but were better than several 6-8 seeds in the East. Being mid definitely sucks 😢
Pray for us 😢
When the Kings had their 17 year playoff drought, they had a 6 year stretch in between of not winning 30 games so they weren’t even a very competitive team for the first third of their drought. For the instance with the Kings, outside of that 2018-19 season where they were in the running for the playoffs most of that year with Dave Joerger as their head coach they just couldn’t put together very competitive teams.
@@lakerskid2013 they've had some truly awful seasons (sub 20 wins), but there were several seasons during that stretch where they had better records than playoffs teams in the East; like 2019 Pistons finished with the same record yet secured a playoff spot. They've basically been mired in 9-12 spot. If only the play-in tournament existed back then 😕
@@elizabethgeorge168 I think if the play-in tournament existed throughout their playoff drought, that 2019 Kings team would’ve gotten in as the 8th seed over the Clippers in my opinion and while I don’t think they would’ve taken the Warriors to 6 games like that Clippers team did (that was the same year they had that 31 point comeback against them at Oracle) I think they would’ve won a game against them and then Dave Joerger would’ve kept his job there. At least they have Mike Brown now who is a great fit for the team but I still believe Joerger deserves another head coaching job elsewhere.
Being in that range is the worst, that's basically the Hawks now
A freshly crowned NBA Champion led by Wes Unseld once visited our country and had an exhibition game with our local players. I was 4 years old then and my mom brought me to Araneta Colesium to watch. I became an NBA fan but later I became a Celtics fan because of Rookie Larry Bird.
In the Philippines, basketball culture runs deep in their veins, although I figured most Pinoys are more Lakers and Warriors fans than anything (Toronto if they have family in Canada)
Very accurate. Home crowds can hesitant to get into games a lot of the time too. I always thought it was fear of commitment from being punched in the gut so many times. Wizards fans are afraid to hope because they’ve always been disappointed. Even in their best moments, the Wizards are overshadowed. Hopefully this will all change someday. Having that moment of finally being recognized as the best team in the NBA is what I lean on as a fan
Talking about DC being transient I feel like if Vegas gets a team same thing will happen, that’s already happening with the Raiders sometimes there’s more fans from the opposing team …
The Golden Knights seem like the one exception to that rule. They have a lot of rabid fans locally.
@@KaelynWillinghamthe golden knights embraced the city after a shooting plus were contenders surprisingly out of the gate, and even to this day have never had a losing season
the raiders have only made the playoffs once in their entire lifetime in vegas
if the raiders were winning then of course more fans would show up since vegas is yes filled with transplants and locals who already have established nfl teams they like
Yea dont see why NBA want more teams and already got enough mediocre to bad teams
Facts in those type of cities with high transplant populations you better win a lot and you better win early otherwise the local fanbasE isn't gonna care
@@Bigedub101I honestly thing a few more teams wouldn't hurt their is enough legit NBA talent out their to fill out 2 more NBA squads frfr
The Wizards need to build a sustainable culture like Unseld did. This takes a good coach and organization. Up to the owner ultimately but that never ends well.
I agree. It seems to me that modern nba players are less likely possessing both leadership skills and superstar level talent. You can't have one without the other and unfortunately even getting one who's mostly the former will still be cast aside if they're not deemed superstar level enough.
I started watching the NBA when I was young. Stayed in tune from 05 to 07 (aka the Gilbert Arenas show) and then stopped carring about it.
When I came back I was like "who tf are these Kings and Warriors?"
Didn't remember them by any means. One is now quite historic for obvious reason, the other... Still the Kings.
They're the most forgettable to me
As ten year old chicagoan, I had never even heard of the wizards until MJ came back for them
Seeing someone gush over Wes Unseld gives me such glee. He's so underrated because he wasn't a big scorer.
His rebounding is what puts him top 5-7 rebounder ever, him and Willis Reed’s rivalry is arguably the most underrated one in NBA History
@@charles-cjbox4661 Bullets/Knicks from 69-74, playing each other 4/5 years and just beating the hell out of each other every time. I'd buy a DVD set of those matchups.
@@GohLow I hope they battling against each other in the post in the afterlife
He would have been really good if he were playing today, a small ball point center with insane strength, can switch on the perimeter on defense, set brick wall picks, run the floor and start fast breaks with hail mary outlet passes, finish at the rim and play with physicality, hit mid range shots but can also face up if needed, rebound like prime Drummond, find the open man, clutch in the playoffs and unparalled leadership and work ethic. Basically the ultimate glue guy.
As a Knick fan growing up in the 70s, my second favorite team was the Bullets. Just loved Elvin Hayes, Wes Unseld, Kevin Porter, and Phil Chenier. I feel the name change hurt them as ridiculous as it may sound and getting Jordan at the end of his career didn't help also.
The only reason I remember Bernard king playing on the bullets was because he “came back” from his career being over for em. But I had no idea Moses played for em
Tbf Moses played for whole lot of team in the East after he left Sixers, I mean did you remember he also played for the Bucks 😂
I love this video. I live in the DC area and this is spot on. You missed Mark Price another good player past his peak and the 2004 Detroit pistons had at least 3 former Bullets/ Wizards players on it. I followed them from Webber/Howard days to about the John Wall time. I don't really know the current team
Jeff Malone was a PG who was honestly no better than a 87 Overall. In 2K he kills me in 2K Eras 💀
I was randomly thinking about prime John Wall yesterday and now you post this
Really like the longer video format!
As a t-wolves fan, this video makes me feel better
Even the now non-existent Seattle SuperSonics have an NBA Championship. I remember watching them win while I was on vacation.
Wes Unseld was the best NBA player in Wizards history.
The duo of Unseld and Elvin Hayes is underrated.
Wait, better than Jordan?
i love the Wizards. whenever i get depressed with my team's performance, i just watch Wizard games and leave with a little smile on my face, realizing that things are bad but at least not as bad as the Wizards 🙂
I grew up in West Baltimore. A few City blocks from were Wes Unseld would open up a school. The structure still stands and the now faded Orange and Black sign, still reads “The Unseld School “
I was alive during a few seasons in Baltimore, but I knew them as the Washington Bullets.
I do remember the Bullets would play a half dozen of so games a year at the old Baltimore arena. I remember all those old Bullets teams, when they played the Sonics in back to back Finals.
Baltimore still had a rich basketball tradition. Many great players still come from here.
Although a much smaller population.
Great video!
Wow Andy really upped the quality on this for his first video of the year. New year of higher quality videos? 👀 I see you Andy Hoops.
Jordan Poole played so bad against the Cavs that Andy made a video of the Wizard's entire history 🤣
Draymond punched the talent out of him 😂
@@_Paul_N what talent bruh? 🤣 he's just a steph curry copycat with an even worst field goal percentage
I’m a lifelong fan of this team going back to them being the Baltimore Bullets. It hasn’t been easy, trust me. The ‘78 championship team was incredible. I have fond memories of those days. Like Andy Hoops said; the Jordan years were a blur. It’s like he was never here. They’re so bad now that I don’t watch the games anymore, no matter who they’re playing. I don’t even remember the last time I went to a game. I can’t see them being relevant anytime soon.
Please do more videos in this format man it was great!
Some non basketball factors as a DC born native who’s been going to wizards/nats/caps games since being a kid.
1. DC/the greater DMV area is very expensive, especially in the years since the 1990s. Contributing to the lower attendance and therefore less invested fan culture due to how difficult it is for lower income permanent residents (especially El Salvadorans/Hondurans/African Americans living in SE DC) to A. thrive in the area and B. have expendable income to be able to partake in the pricey fan culture of DC teams
2. The joint ownership of the Wizards/Caps has allowed a monopoly on pro sports in DC which has incentivized the owners to not make any drastic moves to make the wizards/caps championship contenders and instead yearly mediocre/2nd round exit teams. The owners can rely on the constant stream of profit from both teams and the ease of using the Capital One arena for both teams games and not really worry abt their overall success as much.
Just some thoughts, really loved the video even though I’m a Bay Area sports fan (from my dad)!
If I had to name all 30 teams, I think I would probably forget the hornets. Like the wizards at least won some playoff rounds since I started watching the nba, MJ played there, Gilbert Arenas was really fun to watch and Wall and Beal were a pretty iconic duo for the 2010s. Hornets only had one decent year in the Kemba era.
The Hornets were very popular in the 90s, though. They sold a lot of jerseys and merchandise and were must-see tv during the early and mid 90s, plus their superstars were popular at the time. The Wizards never really had that even when they were good. Plus, the Hornets have the lowest winning percentage in NBA history in a season and Jordan's failure as owner at least gets them some attention.
Hornets are semi popular in pop culture cuz of Larry Johnson and Lamelo Ball. Nobody’s buying Wizards jerseys
@@leoprince691 I get what you are saying, but being born in the 2000s I never witnessed those days in Charlotte. I'm aware they had some success in the 90s with some iconic players as well like Alonzo or Muggsy. I'm just talking about my experience. I admit that I was also a lil kid in the Gilbert Arenas day, but at least I found myself going back to watch some Arenas highlights more often than I ever watched any highlight from any hornets player, probably because of the style of playing too.
Yeah, about Lamelo, I really hope he becomes a superstar so the franchise can get finally out of mediocrity. And those throwback Hornets jerseys are just lit as fuck. I was talking about my experience watching the nba. Thinking about it, what I said about the hornets could be said about some other teams like the Hawks, but at least they had some interesting moments like that 2015 squad and that 2021 run. I just can't think about an iconic moment for the hornets since I started watching the nba.
@leoprince691 I remember Hornets cause live in Charlotte and like u said Hornets for a while was popular in 90s and Jersey, and starter Coats was high sales
As a person who has followed this franchise for the last 2 decades - not a single lie was told. Andy Hoops is spitting straight facts. I enjoyed this video but it also made me sad 😔 😂
Now they got kuzma and Poole 😂2 clowns with 57mil per season
@@lucky889s9 there is a minimum salary cap now so you gotta pay someone to put up bricks everynight
Ted Leonsis is the second worst owner in the series.
Great video! One of your best! Congrats👍👍👍
To see you go from like 80,000 subscribers to half a million is crazy. Mad props dude. I know I didn't jump on in the very beginning but still love what you're doing!
Two of the most forgotten teams in NBA history have to be the Wizards and Hawks and both franchises that haven't seen a lot of success in a very long time
but man i feel so bad for those Washington Wizards fans, haven't even made a conference final since the late 70s, the John Wall and Bradley Beal era, and the post era with both of them , man what could've been
They got Trae young and then Dominique Wilkins in the past
They're just the most average franchise in the nba
They came so close when they played the Celtics, I really believed they had a chance that year
@@melloooo9331 I'm hawks fan (because I happeneed to started watching NBA in January 2015) and honestly speaking I did not see it to be close. I think we were overwhelmed by most Jimmy and Jayson (even Derrick White) in the past two years, and now the trade of Dejounte is ongoing, I do not want Pascal, maybe a less redundant forward with defence would be the case. Dejounte's defence is simply reduced to Trae niveau after joining despite being steal champion the previous season
@@zhihuangxu6551 I was speaking about the wizards specifically but I also believe the hawks had a chance too and I believe personally trae and Murray are a good fit together just gotta have the right pieces around them
It doesn't helped that the most point scored in their home arena isn't by any of their players.
It's Alexander Ovechkin of Washington Capitals
Jeff Malone was my JV basketball coach. Fun guy and criminally underrated former NBA basketball player
"You might recognize his name, but maybe not his game" is such a bar
20 min video by Andy Hoops, niiiiice for a Saturday night.
I’ll never forget Gilbert’s 3 year run in DC. That was special
“DC is a transient city.” Yup! Been working here in DC for… Well I just hit 7 years in 2024 and everybody I meet in DC are not actually from DC… Shit, I’m actually from Boston (yes I’m a Celtics fan) but when I say… DC has the worst fans in the league… There’s a reason why… Like even when we’re competitive… There’s always more fans of the opposing team then for the Wizards… Yes the Lakers’ and Celtics’ fans show up to games of course and it feels like a home game for the opposition despite playing in DC but even random teams from across the league like the Cavs or Sixers (last two Wizards’ games I went too by the way) there’s a fucking sea of the opposing teams’ jerseys in the crowd.
Thanks Andy for making this video! Love that you educated people on this franchise cause now I can just share this video with people versus explaining why our fanbase is the worst in the league. 😂
Damn, a 20 minute video to find out their real name is the midzards
Wishy-wishy midzards
It’s beyond depressing being a wizard fan 🥹
What hurts even more for this team is that they’re not even the best supported team in their own building. The local hockey team, the Washington Capitals, had a lengthy sellout streak going. They have a legitimate fanbase that brings the noise every night. They have a generational talent in Alexander Ovechkin. They have a recent-ish Stanley Cup to look back on with pride. But the Wizards… they have nothing. And that’s truly unfortunate.
I almost feel like a casual for thinking of Micheal Jordan first when trying to think of the most popular Wizards player…😭
having not a single 50-win season in half a century's wild holy
45 years to be exact
There's one simple fix. Bring back the "Bullets" name. The "Wizards" always sounded like a D-League team from Latvia to me.
Wizards had Mugsy Bogues and Manute Bol. The greatest NBA duo till Kobe Shaq came along
Wes Unseld… man won rookie of the year and MVP in the same year!… can’t be a die hard fan and not know that
I legit thought the Knicks were playing the Magic tonight until I heard them mention Poole
One of Your best videos I really enjoyed this one bro keep it up
This was my favorite content you’ve ever uploaded ❤
Andy Hoops videos really calm my OCD since they are edited and sound identical the only thing that changes is the topic
Can you imagine being forgotten while you still exist?! That’s DC sports for you
Oh btw still waiting for you to make a video about NBA players that once dated a celebrity (ex. Andre Drummond and Jennette McCurdy).
Oh I also recognize Jeff Malone for that game winner against Detroit when I first watch the video from the NBA about all-time buzzer beaters and then NBA Furious Finishes.
Before Ben Wallace, there was Wes Unseld.
As a Nuggets fan way before Jokic came. I used to think we had it bad, but damn. It must suck being a Wizards fan
Looks like you got a new editor or something, I see you Andy. Congratulations on 500k, we miss the trumpet intro already.
This the longest Andy Hoop video I've ever seen so you know its about to go down.
11:32 Barkley face after Malone hits that shot 😂. Great video
They should go back to being the Bullets.
A discussion needs to be made at some point on how the john wall wizards were 1 or two big moves away from being contenders
The wizards do consistently have good jerseys. Certified hood classic
Great video!
Peak Andy strikes again
I live in Washington DC and I’ve always felt this city and the wizards deserve better. Caps, nats, and commanders fans, even DC United fans, are very passionate about their teams. Fans here really care and all I think the wizards need is a big star to become a big franchise
As a DMV native my whole life I've definitely been more of a NBA fan than a Wizards fan. The same can't be said about the Redskins compared to the NFL.
I thought the Arenas/Antawn Jamison/Caron Butler team got at least _close_ but dang they were barely above 500.
Great video!!!
Andy snapped with this video , missing the jazzy background music tho
The Milwaukee Bucks ran the exact same way as Wizards from 2002-2014. They would never Tank. Ownership aka Herb Kohl (RIP) never let his team tank. He was afraid if they tanked they would lose the fans for good and wanted to do his best to put out a competitive team every season. Hate to say it but Herb Kohl was right. If Bucks attempted to tank during this time period the Bucks would have been moved to Seattle most likely. Herb Kohl did everything he had to in order to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee. We need a Herb Kohl statue in front of Fiserv Forum.
I’m from Minnesota and have a lot of friends and family from Wisconsin mainly the Milwaukee area and I noticed that the Bucks are kinda an after thought to a lot of people there. I see a whole lot more people wearing Timberwolves gear in Minnesota than Bucks gear being worn in Wisconsin.
Agent Zero is the only guy I’d consider represents the Wizards and he didn’t even really accomplish anything unless it’s for his guns
Love the content
Great analysis
Arenas recently called Manu Ginobili out saying he was better than him. Scoring ain't everything in basketball, the guy mouths a lot for that short living prime he had like 2 1/2 yrs
Why would they mention the Wizards in a documentary about the Bulls? They hold no relevance to the Bulls history.
How is it that through my 14 years of watching NBA Ball, the player that I associate the most with Washington is Marcin Gortat
The Wizards peaked in the '70s as the Bullets. That's why they aren't iconic. The Bucks won in 2021, the Knicks were successful in the 1990s and 2000s and are on their way back, the Celtics and Lakers have always been major powers, the Warriors dominated the 2010s, the Sonics went to another Finals in 1996 before becoming the Thunder and going to yet another Finals in 2012 and the Blazers went to a Finals in 1992 and almost went to another in 2000. The Bullets/Wizards haven't made it out of the second round since the 1970s. That's why they're forgettable.
I mean DC is a transient city (somehow I have remained here for 20 years 😂), but the Capitals and Nationals have rabid fanbases. Winning fixes everything…
Arenas was SO good when he was healthy. Dude played lights out. With Jamison & Butler, both excellent players, its amazing they werent able to breakthrough
Lebron is Gil’s daddy
As a wizards fan this was a tough watch but glad we’re finally doing a full rebuild
Good video but two corrections:
1. Late former owner of the Bullets/Wizards Abe Pollin changed the name from Bullets to Wizards after the assassination of his close friend, the late former Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin; not because of crime
2. Of course The Last Dance wouldn’t mention Jordan’s Wizards years. It focused on the Bulls dynasty, specifically the 1997-1998 season.
Changing the name was stupid. Washington has a bad habit of changing good team names to hilarious ones.