Washington Wizards Events Near Ashburn

Based first in Chicago, then Baltimore, and eventually Washington, D.C, the Washington Wizards have a rich history dating back to 1961. Before taking the name that they have today, the team saw their greatest success in the 1970s, nabbing 6 division titles, 4 conference championships, and the NBA Championship in 1978. The team has attracted many talented players, including Michael Jordan after his post-retirement return to the NBA. Today, led by All-Star John Wall, the team has made a return to prominence and is finally becoming a perennial championship contender in the East. Fans flock to home games at D.C.’s Capital One Arena, so don’t miss your chance to find affordable tickets today.

History of the Washington Wizards

Beginning as the Chicago Packers in 1961, the Wizards underwent many changes in their first few decades—changing names to the Chicago Zephyrs, relocating to Baltimore as the Bullets, becoming both the Capital and Washington Bullets after moving to D.C., and finally landing on the Washington Wizards in 1997. Despite all these changes, the team reached their peak period between 1971 and 1979, when MVP Wes Unseld and All-Star Elvin Hayes led the team to 6 division titles—5 of them in a row—and 4 conference championships. After a somewhat disappointing 1977–78 season, the team entered the NBA playoffs as a serious underdog, but still went on to win the title over the Seattle Sonics. They returned to the Finals the following year, again against the Sonics, but lost in a series of 5 games.

Unfortunately, the next 25 years weren’t as good to the Wizards. Between 1980 and 2004, they returned to the playoffs only 8 times, losing in the first round 7 of those years. Even the return of Michael Jordan, who played his final 2 years with the team, couldn’t propel the Wizards into the playoffs. But all that began to change in 2004 when the team signed superstar Gilbert Arenas. Together with the likes of Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, Arenas would lead the team back to 4 playoffs in the next 5 years.

The Wizards Today

Eleven of Washington’s first 17 games of the season will be played at home in Capital One Arena. The stint also holds the Wizards’ longest stretch of home games during the season, a six-game homestand from Nov.10-20. The overall home slate also features visits from the Los Angeles Lakers (Dec. 4), Los Angeles Clippers (Dec. 10) and defending champion Golden State Warriors for a 3:00 p.m. Martin Luther King Jr. Day game on Jan. 16, with matchups against the Miami Heat (Nov. 18 and Apr. 7), New York Knicks (Jan. 13 and Feb. 24), Philadelphia 76ers (Oct. 31 and Dec. 27), Milwaukee Bucks (March 6 and April 4) and Boston Celtics (March 28). Washington closes its schedule with 14 of the final 20 games played at Capital One Arena, wrapping up the regular season with an Easter Sunday 1:00 p.m. matinee against the Houston Rockets on April 9. The 2022–23 Washington Wizards season will be the 62nd season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association. Grab Wizard tickets to catch all the rim-rattling action against rivals like the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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