Abe Saperstein Ownership

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Lore & Background

The franchise was established in 1961 as the Chicago Packers in Chicago; they were renamed the Chicago Zephyrs in the following season. In 1963, they moved to Baltimore, and became the Baltimore Bullets, taking the name from a previous team of the same name. In 1973, the team moved to the Washington metropolitan area and changed its name first to the Capital Bullets, then the following season to Washington Bullets. In 1997, they rebranded themselves as the Wizards. The franchise has played in four NBA Finals, winning in 1978. They have appeared in 28 playoffs, won four conference titles (1971, 1975, 1978, 1979), and won eight division titles (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 2017). Their best season record, in 1974–75, was 60–22. Wes Unseld is the only player in franchise history to be named NBA MVP (1969) and Finals MVP (1978). Four players (Walt Bellamy, Terry Dischinger, Earl Monroe, and Unseld) have won the Rookie of the Year award. Unseld won both league MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season.

In Their Own Story

The transition from Chicago to Baltimore occurred in 1963 when the franchise became the Baltimore Bullets, adopting a name from a previous local team. The new owners, including Abe Pollin and Earl Foreman, purchased the team for $1.1 million in November 1964. They executed a blockbuster trade sending Terry Dischinger to Detroit, which helped the Bullets reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 1965. The team later moved to the Washington metropolitan area in February 1973, becoming the Capital Bullets before settling as the Washington Bullets. Saperstein's direct involvement ended well before the 1978 championship, which was won under Pollin's ownership.

Reader's Guide

The Wizards began playing as the Chicago Packers in 1961, as the NBA's first expansion team, an expansion prompted by Abe Saperstein's American Basketball League. Rookie Walt Bellamy was the team's star, averaging 31.6 points per game, 19.0 rebounds per game, and leading the NBA in field goal percentage. Bellamy was named the league Rookie of the Year, but the team finished with the NBA's worst record at 18–62. The team's original name was a reference to Chicago's meatpacking industry; their home arena, the International Amphitheater, was next door to the Union Stock Yards. After only one year, the organization changed its name to the Chicago Zephyrs and played its home games at the Chicago Coliseum. In their only season as the Zephyrs, Terry Dischinger won Rookie of the Year honors. In 1963 the franchise moved to Baltimore, and became the Baltimore Bullets, playing their home games at the Baltimore Civic Center. In their first year in Baltimore, the Bullets finished fourth in a five-team Western Division. Prior to the 1964–65 season the Bullets traded Dischinger, Rod Thorn and Don Kojis to the Detroit Pistons for Bailey Howell, Don Ohl, Bob Ferry and Wali Jones. Howell helped the Bullets reach the playoffs for the first time. In the 1965 NBA playoffs, the Bullets stunned the St. Louis Hawks 3–1, and advanced to the Western Conference finals, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 4–2. Within the first two months of that season, the Bullets were purchased from original franchise managing partner Dave Trager by Abe Pollin, Earl Foreman and Arnold Heft for $1.1 million, on November 23, 1964. In the late 1960s, the Bullets drafted Earl Monroe (1967, number two overall) and Wes Unseld (1968, number two overall). The team improved from 36 wins to 57 in the 1968–69 season, and Unseld received both the rookie of the year and MVP awards. The Bullets hosted the 1969 NBA All-Star Game. In the 1970–71 season, the 42–40 Bullets defeated the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals to advance to their first NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Milwaukee Bucks. After trades of Monroe and Gus Johnson, the Bullets acquired Elvin Hayes from the Houston Rockets and drafted Kevin Porter. In February 1973, the team announced its move to the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, and became the Capital Bullets. After the 1973–74 season, they changed their name to the Washin

Did You Know?

• The franchise began as the Chicago Packers in 1961, the NBA's first expansion team, prompted by Abe Saperstein's American Basketball League.
• Wes Unseld is the only player in franchise history to win both NBA MVP (1969) and Finals MVP (1978).
• The team's best regular-season record was 60–22 in 1974–75.
• The franchise was purchased by Abe Pollin, Earl Foreman, and Arnold Heft for $1.1 million on November 23, 1963.