List of Washington Wizards head coaches

Last updated

The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. They are a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team plays its home games at the Capital One Arena (formerly the MCI Center and the Verizon Center). The franchise was established in Chicago, Illinois as the Chicago Packers in 1961; after one season, its name was changed to the Chicago Zephyrs. In 1963, the franchise moved to Baltimore, Maryland and was renamed the Baltimore Bullets. It moved to Landover, Maryland in 1973 and changed its name to the Capital Bullets. After one season, the team became the Washington Bullets. In 1978, the Bullets won the 1978 NBA Finals in seven games for the franchise's only championship. In 1997, the team became the Washington Wizards, which is the team's current name. Since their formation, the Wizards have won six divisional championships, four conference championships, one league championship and have appeared in the playoffs twenty-three times. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

There have been 24  head coaches for the Wizards franchise. The franchise's first coach was Jim Pollard, who led the team for one season. [4] Dick Motta is the only Wizards coach to have led the team to a championship; the team won the 1978 NBA Finals as the Washington Bullets during his tenure. [5] Gene Shue is the only Wizards coach to have won the NBA Coach of the Year Award; he won it twice, in 1969 and 1982. [6] No Wizards coach has been elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach, but four have been elected into the Hall of Fame as a player: Jim Pollard, Buddy Jeannette, K. C. Jones and Wes Unseld. [4] [7] [8] [9] Shue is the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season games coached (1027) and wins (522); Jones is the franchise's all-time leader in regular-season winning percentage (.630). [8] Dick Motta is the franchise's all-time leader in playoff games coached (51) and wins (27), as well as playoff-game winning percentage (.529). [5] Five Wizards coaches have spent their entire NBA head coaching career with the team: Mike Farmer, Bob Staak, Jim Brovelli, Leonard Hamilton and Ed Tapscott. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] The team's current head coach is Brian Keefe.

Key

GCGames coached
WWins
LLosses
Win% Winning percentage
#Number of coaches [a]
*Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Packers/Zephyrs/Bullets/Wizards

Coaches

#NameTerm [b] GCWLWin%GCWLWin%AchievementsReference
Regular seasonPlayoffs
Jim Pollard 1961–1962 801862.359———— [4]
Jack McMahon 1962 381226.316———— [15]
Bobby Leonard 1962–1964 (as player-coach)1224478.361———— [16]
Buddy Jeannette 1964–1965 803743.4631055.500 [7]
Paul Seymour 1965–1966 803842.475303.000 [17]
Mike Farmer * 1966 (interim)918.111———— [10]
Buddy Jeannette 1966 (interim)16313.188———— [7]
Gene Shue 1966–1973 548291257.531401426.350 1968–69 NBA Coach of the Year [6] [18]
K. C. Jones 1973–1976 24615591.630311417.452 [8]
Dick Motta 1976–1980 328185143.564512724.529NBA Championship (1978) [19] [5]
Gene Shue 1980–1986 479231248.48215510.333 1981–82 NBA Coach of the Year [6] [18]
Kevin Loughery 1986–1988 1225765.467826.250 [20]
Wes Unseld 1988–1994 547202345.369523.400 [9]
Jim Lynam 1994–1997 21082128.390———— [21]
Bob Staak * 1997 (interim)101.000———— [11]
Bernie Bickerstaff 1997–1999 1497772.517303.000 [22]
Jim Brovelli * 1999 (interim)18513.278———— [12]
Gar Heard 1999–2000 441430.318———— [23]
Darrell Walker 2000 (interim)381523.395———— [24]
Leonard Hamilton * 2000–2001 821963.232———— [13]
Doug Collins 2001–2003 1647490.451———— [25]
Eddie Jordan 2003–2008 421197224.46826818.308 [26]
Ed Tapscott * 2008–2009 (interim)711853.254———— [14]
Flip Saunders 2009–2012 18151130.282———— [27]
Randy Wittman 2012–2016 377178199.47221129.571 [28]
Scott Brooks 2016–2021 390183207.469241014.417 [29]
Wes Unseld Jr. * 2021–2024 20777130.372———— [30]
Brian Keefe * 2024–present (interim)39831.205————

Notes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Wizards</span> National Basketball Association team in Washington, D.C.

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 of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games at Capital One Arena, in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. an arena they share with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Georgetown University men's basketball team. The team is owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wes Unseld</span> American basketball player and coach (1946–2020)

Westley Sissel Unseld Sr. was an American professional basketball player, coach and executive. He spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets. Unseld played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals and was selected with the second overall pick by the Bullets in the 1968 NBA draft. He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player and NBA Rookie of the Year during his rookie season and joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in NBA history to accomplish the feat. Unseld won an NBA championship with the Bullets in 1978, and the Finals MVP award to go with it. After retiring from playing in 1981, he worked with the Bullets/Wizards as a vice president, head coach, and general manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Shue</span> American basketball player and coach (1931–2022)

Eugene William Shue was an American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Shue was one of the top guards of the early days of the NBA and an influential figure in the development of basketball. He is credited with having invented the "spin move" while being an early harbinger of other plays and strategies.

Kevin Michael Loughery is an American former professional basketball player and coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvin Hayes</span> American basketball player (born 1945)

Elvin Ernest Hayes, nicknamed "the Big E", is an American former professional basketball player and radio analyst for his alma mater Houston Cougars. He is a member of the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams, and an inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Known for both his offensive and defensive prowess, Hayes is often regarded as one of the best power forwards in NBA history. Hayes is also known for his longevity, being third all-time in NBA minutes played, and missing only nine games during his 16-season career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Motta</span> American former basketball coach (born 1931)

John Richard Motta is an American former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) spanned 25 years. Motta coached the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship, and he won the 1971 NBA Coach of the Year Award with the Chicago Bulls. Motta is eighth all-time with 1,952 games as coach, while ranking 13th in wins and fourth in losses; he has the most wins of eligible coaches not currently inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 25 seasons as a coach, he reached the postseason fourteen times.

The 1968 NBA draft was the 22nd annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 3, 1968, and May 8 and 10, 1968 before the 1968–69 season. In this draft, 14 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility was eligible for selection. If a player left college early, he would not be eligible for selection until his college class graduated. The first two picks in the draft belonged to the teams that finished last in each division, with the order determined by a coin flip. The San Diego Rockets won the coin flip and were awarded the first overall pick, while the Baltimore Bullets were awarded the second pick. The remaining first-round picks and the subsequent rounds were assigned to teams in reverse order of their win–loss record in the previous season. Six teams that had the best records in previous season were not awarded second round draft picks. Two expansion franchises, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns, took part in the NBA Draft for the first time and were assigned the seventh and eighth pick in the first round, along with the last two picks of each subsequent round. The St. Louis Hawks relocated to Atlanta and became the Atlanta Hawks prior to the start of the season. The draft consisted of 21 rounds comprising 214 players selected.

Gregory Ballard was an American professional basketball player and NBA assistant coach. A collegiate All-American at Oregon, Ballard averaged 12.4 points and 6.1 rebounds over an eleven-season NBA career with the Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors and briefly, the Seattle SuperSonics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Lynam</span> American basketball coach

James Francis Lynam is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He coached at the college level for Fairfield University from 1968 to 1970, American University from 1973 to 1978, and St. Joseph's University from 1978 to 1981. In the National Basketball Association (NBA), Lynam coached the San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers from 1983 to 1985, the Philadelphia 76ers from 1987 to 1992, and the Washington Bullets from 1995 to 1997. Lynam compiled a 158–118 record at the college level, and 328–392 in the NBA. He was also Philadelphia's general manager from 1992 to 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Ferry</span> American basketball player and executive (1937–2021)

Robert Dean Ferry was an American professional basketball player, assistant coach, and general manager (GM) in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the St. Louis Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and Baltimore Bullets from 1959 to 1969. He then served as GM of the Bullets from 1973 to 1990, overseeing the franchise's only NBA championship in 1978. He played college basketball for Saint Louis.

The 1974–75 Buffalo Braves season was the fifth season of the club in the National Basketball Association. It was the team's third season under head coach Jack Ramsay. The team's home arena was the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, with six "home" games played at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

The 1980 NBA expansion draft was the seventh expansion draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1980, so that the newly founded Dallas Mavericks could acquire players for the upcoming 1980–81 season. Dallas had been awarded the expansion team on February 3, 1980. In an NBA expansion draft, new NBA teams are allowed to acquire players from the previously established teams in the league. Not all players on a given team are available during an expansion draft, since each team can protect a certain number of players from being selected. In this draft, each of the twenty-two other NBA teams had protected eight players from their roster and the Mavericks selected twenty-two unprotected players, one from each team.

The 1993–94 NBA season was the Bullets' 33rd season in the National Basketball Association. The Bullets received the sixth overall pick in the 1993 NBA draft, and selected Calbert Cheaney out of Indiana University, and also selected 7' 7" Romanian center Gheorghe Mureșan with the 30th overall pick. In the off-season, the team acquired former All-Star center Kevin Duckworth from the Portland Trail Blazers in a trade involving Harvey Grant, signed free agents Kenny Walker and undrafted rookie guard Mitchell Butler, and released LaBradford Smith to free agency after seven games, as he later on signed with the Sacramento Kings.

The 1996–97 NBA season was the Bullets' 36th season in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Bullets acquired Rod Strickland and former Bullets forward Harvey Grant from the Portland Trail Blazers, and signed free agents Tracy Murray, Jaren Jackson and Lorenzo Williams. Despite a stellar season last year, Juwan Howard signed a 7-year $100 million contract with the Miami Heat. However, the deal was voided claiming that Miami exceeded their salary cap; the Bullets quickly re-signed Howard, but would lose their first-round draft pick next year.

References

General
Specific
  1. ↑ "Washington Wizards History". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Washington Wizards History". CBS Sports. CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Washington Wizards (1963-Present)". SportsEncyclopedia.com. MMVIII Tank Productions. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 "Jim Pollard Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 "Dick Motta Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 "Coach of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 "Buddy Jeannette Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  8. 1 2 3 "K. C. Jones Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  9. 1 2 "Wes Unseld Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  10. 1 2 "Mike Farmer Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  11. 1 2 "Bob Staak Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  12. 1 2 "Jim Brovelli Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  13. 1 2 "Leonard Hamilton Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  14. 1 2 "Ed Tapscott Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Jack McMahon Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Slick Leonard Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Paul Seymour Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  18. 1 2 "Gene Shue Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  19. ↑ "NBA Finals: All-Time Champions". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  20. ↑ "Kevin Loughery Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Jim Lynam Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Bernie Bickerstaff Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  23. ↑ "Gar Heard Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  24. ↑ "Darrell Walker Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  25. ↑ "Doug Collins Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  26. ↑ "Eddie Jordan Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 26, 2008.
  27. ↑ "Flip Saunders Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Randy Wittman Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  29. ↑ "Scott Brooks Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Wes Unseld Jr. Coaching Record". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 25, 2024.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.