Washington Wizards History Online Information and NBA Betting Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Washington Wizards History betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Washington Wizards History Recent Resurgence and "The Big Three" 2004-05 The 2004-05 NBA season saw the team (now in the new Southeast Division) post its finest regular season record in 26 years (45-37) and marked the first time the franchise had ever made the playoffs as the Wizards. During the regular season, the scoring trio of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Larry Hughes was the highest in the NBA and earned the nickname of "The Big Three." Hughes also lead the NBA in steals with 2.89 steals per game. Arenas and Jamison were both named to the 2005 Eastern Conference All-Star team, marking the first time Washington had two players in the All-Star game since Jeff Malone and Moses Malone represented the Bullets in the 1987 All-Star Game.

With a 93-82 win over the Chicago Bulls on April 13, 2005, the Wizards clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 1996-97. Long suffering fans celebrated by buying over 16,000 playoff tickets in two and a half hours the day tickets went on sale. In Game 3 of the first round against the Chicago Bulls, the Wizards won their first playoff game since 1988. Adding to the "long-overdue" feeling was the fact that Game 3 was also the first NBA playoff game to be held within Washington, DC city limits. In the Wizards Game 5 victory in Chicago, Arenas hit a buzzer-beater to win the game and the Wizards took their first lead in a playoff series since 1986. In Game 6 at the MCI Center, Jared Jeffries picked up a loose ball and went in for an uncontested tiebreaking dunk with 32 seconds left, thus giving the Washington Wizards a 94-91 win and the team's their first playoff series win in 23 years. They were only the 12th team in NBA history to win a playoff series after being down 0-2.

In the second round, the Wizards were swept by the Miami Heat, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference in the 2005 NBA Playoffs.

2005-06

The 2005-06 NBA season was one filled with ups and downs. The beginning of the season was marred with talk that the loss of Hughes to the Cleveland Cavaliers would greatly impact the team. During the offseason, Washington acquired Caron Butler and Antonio Daniels. During the regular season, the Wizards again had the best scoring trio in the NBA, this time consisting of Arenas, Jamison and Butler as the "Big Three." The Wizards started the 2005-06 season at 5-1, but went on an 8-17 funk to go to 13-18 through 31 games. Then, they went 13-5 in the next 18 games. On April 5, 2006, the team was 39-35 and looking to close in on the 45 win mark achieved the previous year, until Caron suffered a thumb sprain and the Wizards lost all five games without him. Butler returned and the team pulled out their final three games, against the Pistons, Cavs and Bucks, all playoff bound teams, to finish the year at 42-40 and clinch the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. They averaged 101.7 points a game, 3rd in the NBA and tops in the East and clinched a playoff berth for the second year in a row for the first time since 1987.

Their first round match up with Cleveland was widely seen as the most evenly matched series in the 2006 NBA Playoffs. The teams exchanged wins during the first two games in Cleveland, with Game 2 highlighted by the Wizards holding LeBron James to 7-25 shooting from the floor while Brendan Haywood gave James a hard foul in the first quarter that many cited as the key to shaking up the rest of LeBron's game. In Game 3 at the Verizon Center, James hit a 4-footer on the way down with 5.7 seconds left to take the game and the series lead for the Cavs with a 97-96 win. Coach Jordan, Wizard players and fans believed that James was traveling when he hit this shot. Arenas missed a potential game winning 3-pointer on the other end to seal the win for the Cavs. Game 4 saw the Wizards heat up again, as Gilbert scored 20 in the fourth quarter after claiming he changed his jersey, shorts, shoes and tights in the locker room and the Wizards won 106-96. Yet in Games 5 and 6, the Cavs would take control of the series, both games decided by one point in overtime.

In Game 5, despite the Wizards being down 107-100 with 1:18 to play, the team drove back and eventually tied the game on Caron Butler's layup with 7.5 seconds remaining to send the game to OT, where James would score with 0.9 seconds left in overtime to send the Cavs to a 121-120 win. The series came back to the Verizon Center for Game 6, where the game went back and forth all night. The Wizards blew a 14-point first-quarter lead, then for 24 minutes, from early in the second quarter to early in the fourth, neither team led by more than five points at any time. The Wizards blew a seven point lead with just under 5 to play and needed Arenas to hit a 31-footer at the end of regulation to take the game to overtime. In OT, Gilbert missed two key free throws after James taunted Arenas at the line. Cleveland rebounded the ball, went downcourt and Damon Jones hit a 17-foot baseline jumper with 4.8 seconds remaining to give the Cavs the lead for good. Butler would miss a 3-pointer on the other end to seal the game, and the series, for the Cavaliers.

2006-07

The 2006-2007 season started out very promising for the Wizards. In the offseason they signed free agents DeShawn Stevenson and Darius Songaila. Etan Thomas beat out Haywood for the starting center job. After starting the season 0-8 on the road, Washington rebounded to win 6 of 7 away from Verizon Center. After a 4-9 November, Washington went 22-9 through December and January. Arenas scored a franchise-record 60 points against the Lakers on December 17. Both he and Eddie Jordan were named player of the month and coach of the month for December, respectively. On January 3 and again on January 15, Gilbert hit buzzer-beating three-pointers to beat Milwaukee and Utah.

On January 30, Antawn Jamison went down with a sprained left knee in a win against Detroit. Washington went 4-8 in the 12 games without him. On February 3, Songaila made his Wizards debut against the Lakers. On February 18th, Eddie Jordan became the first Wizards/Bullets coach to coach the NBA All-Star Game since Dick Motta in 1978-1979. Arenas played in his 3rd straight All-Star game and Caron Butler made his All-Star Game debut.

On March 14, Butler went out with a knee injury that kept him out of the lineup for six games. He returned for only three games until he fractured his right hand on April 1 against Milwaukee. On April 4, Gilbert suffered a season-ending knee injury, of the meniscus. An April 15th article in The Washington Post pointed out that with Arenas and Caron gone, the team had lost 42.3% of their offensive production, quite possibly "the most costly" loss for any team in the midst of a playoff hunt in NBA history.

Despite their late season struggles without Arenas and Butler, the Wizards still managed to make the Eastern Conference playoffs, taking the 7th seed at 41-41. They were swept 4 games to none in a rematch of last year's first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite a depleted roster, the Wizards still managed to keep things close in every game in the series and only lost the final three games by a combined 20 points. Business-wise, the team enjoyed their best attendance figures in the post-Michael Jordan era with a season attendance of 753,283 (18,372 per game).

Season-by-season records

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
1990–91	30	52	.366
1991–92	25	57	.305
1992–93	22	60	.268
1993–94	24	58	.293
1994–95	21	61	.256
1995–96	39	43	.476
1996–97	44	38	.537	Lost First Round	Chicago 3, Washington 0
Washington Wizards
1997–98	42	40	.512
1998–99	18	32	.360
1999–00	29	53	.354
2000–01	19	63	.233
2001–02	37	45	.451
2002–03	37	45	.451
2003–04	25	57	.305
2004–05	45	37	.549	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Washington 4, Chicago 2 Miami 4, Washington 0
2005–06	42	40	.512	Lost First Round	Cleveland 4, Washington 2
2006-07	41	41	.500	Lost First Round	Cleveland 4, Washington 0
Totals	1713	2016	.459
Playoffs	75	111	.403	1 Championship

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