Top 10 Wizards

The 2016-2017 NBA season is the 20th that the Washington Wizards have played under their current nickname. By and large, it has NOT been a wonderful ride. But with the team seemingly surging towards more wins than they have had in over 35 years and with point guard John Wall in the All-Star Game this past weekend for the fourth consecutive year, I thought it might be a good time to create a top 10 list of the greatest players ever to suit up for the Wizards. Sort of a mini-20th anniversary celebration.

Now admittedly, I haven't been around for all 20 years of Wizards ball. I mean, I've been alive and watching NBA basketball for all that time but not necessarily paying close attention to the Wizards. I started watching the Wizards as my primary team during their third season under the new name, bought season tickets one year later and am now in my 17th year as a season ticket holder. I figure that's close enough, especially given the team's performance (9th and 13th in the Eastern Conference) in those two years I missed. No matter what list I create, there are always going to be folks who disagree with me.

This list considers a player's accomplishments as a Wizard, not a Bullet or on any other franchise's team. I'm deliberately considering the accomplishments of players who played for the team under both nicknames as Wizards. That both emphasizes performance since 1997 and makes my job a little easier. It also is not a list of the 10 greatest players to don a Wizards blue, black and bronze (later gold) or red, white and blue jersey. Michael Jordan may be among the greatest, if not the greatest, to play in the NBA but he ain't the number one Wizard with just two years under his 38-40 year old belt.

So having said that, let's get right to my list. There are some honors listed under some players' names; these are their achievements while playing for the Wizards (everything before or after is missing) There are also some top five franchise rankings in the list below. These are the spots these players occupy on the Packers / Zephyrs / Bullets / Wizards leaderboard. I know I'm switching standards there. Just deal with it. And finally a quick spoiler alert: none of the players in the cover picture of this post made the list.

10. Marcin Gortat (2013-Present)
Two Postseason Appearances.

I really wrestled with this 10 spot. I was tempted to sneak in someone like Paul Pierce or Emeka Okafor; someone who impacted the Wizards in a teammate development way (Pierce with the whole team; Okafor with John Wall and leadership) but ultimately I decided Marcin's three plus years of steady play meant that I had to put him at number 10. 

I think Marcin's under appreciated as a Wizard. So many fans focus on the games with little offense or quick fouls and ignore the larger body of work. Sure there are bad games out there and Marcin's not the number one locker room leader some fans want him to be but look at the numbers: three plus years averaging double figure points with close to double figure rebounds (for sure double figures this year). Moreover, he's extremely durable; he's played at least 75 games each of his first three years with our team and is poised to do the same this year.

9. Bradley Beal (2012- Present)

Two Postseason Appearances. NBA All-Rookie First Team (2013); Franchise Leader 3rd in 3 Point FG Made.

Before too many people get upset with Brad at this spot, let me say I don't expect that if I made this same list two or three years from now that he'd be at number nine. At least he better not be. Not with his contract.

I believe Bradley Beal is having a fantastic year. All the promise of his first four years are coming to bear in a single season. He's also healthier than he's ever been which I am sure is a huge relief to Wizards fans beyond me. I also believe Brad should have been an All-Star this year. If not on the coaches' ballots then as a replacement for Kevin Love. He and John Wall should provide many many moments for Wizards fans to savor this season and the next few years. He's clearly the second best player on our current squad. And (again) he should be with his contract.

But one year doesn't rocket you to the top of a list like this created by me. I need to see some more consistency first, which I believe I will see for hopefully the rest of this season and the next four beyond this. Beal has turned the corner in major way. And I love it. I just want to see more of it.

8. Nenê (2012-2016)
Two Postseason Appearances.

There may be some emotion behind my number eight selection on this list and I think that's OK. I'm a fan, after all, and this is a blog about being a fan.

If this current Wizards squad ever amounts to something serious, I'll always remember Nenê as the first one in the door. Once the Wizards traded away Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and every other player that resembled a leader in the locker room in the spring of 2010, things devolved into chaos pretty quickly. One year later it was no better; the team had failed to instill any sort of professionalism in the 12 months since the team had been dismantled. The stakes were pretty high: John Wall was supposed to be the face of the franchise and he had nobody to show him how to be a professional ballplayer.

Enter Nenê, on the trading block in Denver because that team was convinced Kenneth Faried was going to be just as good in a couple of years if not in the moment the Nuggets pulled the trigger to swap Nenê for JaVale McGee. Thank God for this trade. Nenê was never a vocal leader in Washington, but he brought a credible presence to the Wizards team. He also showed everyone in Washington what it meant to be a team player after a period of misdirection. Nenê produced in his time in D.C., averaging double digits as a starter. Yes, there was always the next injury looming but I give Nenê a ton of credit for holding this franchise together until John Wall could assume the clear role of team leader.

7. Michael Jordan (2001-2003)

2x All-Star (2002-2003).

I hate putting Micheal Jordan on this list. I thought Jordan's two years in Washington put the franchise on hold just so Jordan and Doug Collins could try to make one more run at playing and coaching in the league. I thought his leadership in the locker room (which spilled out in public all too often) was poor and every move he engineered emphasized getting into the playoffs now at the expense of player development of anyone not worthy to play with MJ. It was completely selfish.

However, he was good, even at 38, 39 and 40. He was clearly the best player on the team those two years he was in D.C. (I know the bar was set pretty low) and he had some spectacular nights. Sometimes he just seemed to will himself to beat the other team. He scored 40 points or more six times in two seasons, including an MCI / Verizon Center record 51 on December 29, 2001, a mark that stood (Gilbert Arenas tied it years later) until John Wall scored 52 earlier this season. Those two years were exciting until they ended and you realized it was all for the glory of MJ. 

Jordan is one of only five Wizards players to make it to two All-Star Games, although the first was a fan vote and the second was likely a coaches' sympathy vote. 

6. Larry Hughes (2002-2005)

NBA All-Defensive 1st Team (2005); One Postseason Appearance.

Larry Hughes is the one guy in my 17 years as a season ticket holder that I wished had not walked away from the team. I don't feel the same way about Trevor Ariza or Paul Pierce or Jared Jeffries or any other player. I understand why Larry did it; it's hard to turn down that kind of money. But he and Gilbert Arenas were a backcourt to behold. Yep, it was fun seeing Gilbert team up with DeShawn Stevenson and for sure D-Steve was a cheaper option but I always thought Larry and Gil could have taken that team to a really good place.

Larry spent just three years in Washington, and he never played a full season (he never played more than 67 games). But the two last years he played at 601 F Street were among the best of his career and his last (the 2004-2005 season) was without a doubt the best. That year he averaged an astonishing 2.9 steals per game (albeit with a lot of gambling that paid off) and led the league in that category. Larry should have been in the All-Star Game that year; his injury right before the voting ended game coaches an excuse to not put him in the game along with Gil and Antawn Jamison. I saw Larry at the Oklahoma City game this year and told him as much. He agreed.

5. Brendan Haywood (2001-2010)

Franchise Leader 4th in Blocks; Four Postseason Appearances.

Brendan Haywood is at the five spot on this list for four simple reasons: (1) he made it to four consecutive playoff appearances with the team; (2) he was the most important defensive player in his years as an established starter; (3) he has played more games as a Wizard than any other player ever; and (4) he was my first favorite Wizards player. I warned you it was a fan's list.

I loved Brendan Haywood playing for the Wizards. Yes, he was selfish; he fought with Etan Thomas (I mean like actually fought with fists) and was reluctant to or just plain refused to mentor JaVale McGee. Yes, he was terrible from the free throw line except for that one season that Dave Hopla got him to shoot 73.5 percent.  But he was the primary starter at center in his second year in the league and held that spot (except for the 2008-2009 season when he was hurt) until the Wizards traded him to Dallas and he was the difference maker at the defensive end. He called the defensive sets for a team which sometimes had few defenders and made up for the mistakes of his teammates. The Wizards would have been a lot worse off if it wasn't for B Wood back there.

I'm putting Brendan unapologetically at the five spot while also conceding there might be a lot of emotion behind this decision.

4. Caron Butler (2005-2010)

2x All-Star (2007-2008); Three Postseason Appearances.

Caron Butler has spent time with nine NBA franchises in his 14 year career but he spent more than twice as long in Washington than he did in any other spot. He also had his greatest success in a Wizards uniform, being named to two All-Star Games. He also acquired his nickname, Tough Juice, while playing too hard in practice at Verizon Center. Nicknames don't really make much difference to me but Tough Juice is such a great nickname that it counts with Caron.

Caron's greatest seasons statistically during the 2006-2007 season and the 2007-2008 season, the two years he represented the East as an All-Star. The work he did along with Antawn Jamison in keeping the franchise afloat was phenomenal. If there's a season this franchise could have collapsed but didn't it was that one. I'll always remember Caron for the buzzer beater at Cleveland in the 2007 playoffs to stave off elimination (at least for one game) and for the monster slam dunk he had in Sacramentto. It's number two in this video.

Good times...

3. Antawn Jamison (2004-2010)

2x All-Star (2005 & 2008); Franchise Leader 2nd in 3 Point FG Made; Four Postseason Appearances.

Antawn Jamison was the guy that first put the Wizards into the playoffs. The franchise had struck out on the postseason in its first seven years under its new name. Jamison got them there in his very first year and he kept them there for the next four years. Before Nenê joined the Wizards in 2011, AJ was the only guy who showed any sort of leadership in the locker room. He was rewarded with the captaincy and with Abe Pollin's undying affection.

Antawn earned his only two All-Star nods while in a Wizards uniform and was the model of consistency on the offensive end, averaging more than 19 but less than 23 points every year he suited up in D.C. Antawn is likely to be one of two players (along with Tom Chambers) who scored more than 20,000 career points who will not be in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (hoping I'm wrong here; maybe in a down year?) and he scored more than 8,500 of them in Washington. He still has one of the quickest shots I've ever seen. I'll forget all about the baseline he let LeBron James have to beat us in the playoffs. There were few better than Antawn in the last 20 years for the Wizards.

2. Gilbert Arenas  (2003-2010) 

All-NBA Second Team (2007); 2x All-NBA Third Team (2005-2006); 3x All-Star (2005-2007); Franchise Leader 1st in 3 Point FG Made / 5th in Steals; Four Postseason Appearances.

And then there's Gilbert Arenas. I clearly love Gil. I mean I named this blog after him for crying out loud. There's only one player in Wizards history who has captured national attention with his play and his antics off the court. Where do I begin? Agent Zero. Hibachi. Oxygen tents. Walk off three pointers. Highest single game point total in franchise history. Throwing jerseys into the stands. Staying at season ticket holder events to sign every autograph even when the rest of the players have gone. Early morning shooting sessions at Verizon Center after sleeping on the couch in the players' lounge. Guns in the locker room. Trampoline dunks at the All-Star Game. His swag was phenomenal. 

Unfortunate about that whole guns in the locker room thing. More unfortunate about Gerald Wallace landing on his knee.

Gilbert is the only player who as a Wizard has been arguably the best player in the NBA. I'll admit it didn't last long but there was a time when he was dropping 60 and 56 points on a west coast road trip during the 2006-2007 season where he was legitimately in the discussion. There were rumors about the Lakers and Wizards discussing a Kobe for Gil deal and the Wiz legitimately saying no. And that was before Kobe's fourth and fifth championships. Gilbert was amazing that season and for the three that preceded it. He was instantly my favorite player (sorry B Wood) and I still love the signed gold jersey I have hanging in my closet with the "Agent Zero" personalization. Gil's the only Wizard other than John Wall and Michael Jordan to be voted as a starter in the All-Star Game and he's the only one to be named to an All-NBA team three times, or at all really. That knee injury...

1. John Wall (2010-Present)

NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2015); 4x All-Star (2014-2017); NBA Slam Dunk Contest Winner (2014); NBA All-Rookie First Team (2011); Franchise Leader 1st in Assists / 1st in Steals; Two Postseason Appearances.

As good as Gilbert Arenas was in a Wizards uniform and as many All-NBA teams as he made, he's still not John Wall. John has more All-Star appearances than Gil, he's a more complete player than Gil, he's a better leader than Gil and I can't tell you how many passes that he's thrown down at the east end of Verizon Center that have taken my breath away from my seats in Section 109. And this season has been the best of all; the leap he's made this year whether it's due to his health or Scott Brooks or just natural maturity is astounding. He's a better player than I could have hoped for this year. He's definitely for me in the top 10 discussion of players in the NBA.

On top of all that, John openly wants to be here in D.C. There is no question that this team is his and he wants as many fans in the building cheering for the entire team (not just him) as he can possibly get. He's already the franchise leader in assists and steals and he's likely to be second in scoring if he plays out his current contract with the team and remains healthy. All this from a guy who rival team executives say can't pass and who most everyone in the media says can't shoot. I don't see any competition for John Wall as the greatest Wizard. Just don't.

So that's my list. Call me crazy for some of these picks but that's what I believe. I took a hard look at (in no particular order) Otto Porter, Paul Pierce, Rod Strickland, Chris Whitney and DeShawn Stevenson but ultimately I went with the ten above. I expect some guys to move up the board quickly if I ever do this again. Wizards back in action on Friday in Philly. Let's go Wizards!

The 2016-17 NBA Schedule

Early to mid-August. This is the time of year when I'm crawling up the walls of my condo trying to fight off the shakes of NBA withdrawal. It's almost mid-way between the end of Summer League and the beginning of training camp. I'm sure the NBA would love it if everyone out there got the cravings like I do. They'd mint money during the season. Oh, wait a minute, they already do that. 

So what am I to do to solve my need for hoops? I get this way every year and I really don't know the answer. Fortunately for me, the 2016-2017 NBA Season schedule dropped today and that will at least scratch my itch for a bit.

This is the best day of August every year NBA-wise. I love this day. Finally a chance to see what lies ahead and start thinking about a time when the Wizards are tied for first in the division, conference and league with, well, every other team at 0-0. Time to mark the calendar with opening day. Time to see who's playing on Christmas Day. Time to take it all in and digest the whole thing for like two hours before the nothingness that comes after for the next month plus.

I've now done all the taking in. Here is my annual lucky seven things I get out of today. Yes, there's a ton that's similar to the last three posts that I've written. What can I say, I look for the same sorts of things every year.

1. The First Dozen

Assuming everyone remains healthy through the summer, training camp and preseason and assuming John Wall heals sufficiently from offseason knee surgery to start opening day, the Wizards return all five starters from last year for the start of the season. That's great news. I'm not sure how many teams can say that this year in the NBA.

The flip side to that is pretty much everyone else on the team is brand new. Just Kelly Oubre, Jr. and Marcus Thornton remain on the bench from last season which means I expect a lot of growing pains at the beginning of the season. Growing pains here translate for me to turnovers, defensive lapses and losses. So it would really help if the league gave the Wizards a friendly opening, right? Maybe three or four games against Brooklyn and Philly in the first dozen or so?

Well not so much. But it's not brutal either. Yes, there are games against Toronto, Memphis, Boston and Cleveland but we also get Atlanta (twice), Orlando, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. Now I might be kidding myself about the Wizards being better than Atlanta but I have to think that team is going to be going through some growing pains just like the Wiz with a new starting point guard and arguably their best player in Al Horford bailing for Boston. I'm optimistic we can survive with a 6-6 record although there's a distinct possibility the Wizards will start out 0-3 with roadies against Atlanta and Memphis and the home opener against Toronto. I'm prepared for a rough first week and hoping it looks up from there.

2. Prepare To Booooooo!!!!!!

For the last decade or so, I've been booing LeBron James every time he touches the rock during a game at Verizon Center. It's a dying tradition that really needs reviving by much of the VC crowd. There have been a couple of others over the years: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Andray Blatche and Kwame Brown come to mind for completely different reasons, although last year I had a hard time making myself heard over all the Kobe "fans".

Last year, at his own urging, we added Kevin Durant to the list and KD's staying on my list this year, not for leading Wizards fans on (he didn't), but for telling the world that the crowd at Wizards home games sucks. I'm also adding Al Horford, who before this year was pretty much the most innocuous All-Star player in the league. This year, for choosing the Celtics over the Wizards and throwing some indirect shade at me and my few fellow die-hard fans, Al's on my list. I have November 9, January 24 and February 28 circled on my calendar for Durant and Horford. I'm going to have a lot more to say about this subject later this year in this blog. We have GOT to get Verizon Center louder, Wizards fans!

3. Cheering The Opponent

On the flip side of booing Kevin Durant, Al Horford and a number of other folks this year, I will actually be applauding some of our opponents for their past service to the Wizards organization. This year, Jared Dudley will likely get some polite very muted applause from me; I thought Duds was great in the first half of last season and I respect the smarts he brought to the court but he was here just one year and he seemed lost in the second half coming off the bench.

Getting slightly more love from me will be Garrett Temple, a guy the Wizards plucked from the D-League during the 2012-2013 season and who ended up staying for three more seasons. If there's a poster child for professionalism, hard work and smart play paying off, for me it's Garrett Temple. He managed to get a four year, $32 million dollar deal from the Sacramento Kings this offseason and I couldn't be happier for him.  Well, except the fact that he's playing for the Kings.

But the guy I'm handing out a standing O to when he returns to Washington this year is Nenê. If this Washington Wizards team as it's composed right now ever becomes anything significant (like more than back to back second round playoff appearances), Nenê was the guy who started it all for me. He was the first real professional basketball player in the locker room to teach our young guys about what it means to play and compete respectably in this league. Nenê was acquired at the trade deadline in 2012 and instantly the culture of the team started to turn. Know who was in our starting lineup the game before the trade deadline? John Wall, Jordan Crawford (no longer in the NBA), Chris Singleton (no longer in the NBA), Trevor Booker and JaVale McGee (barely still in the NBA). On the bench? Nick Young, Andray Blatche and Jan Vesely. Nenê gave this franchise credibility. My applause might last a bit longer than the typical returning Wizard. November 7 by the way.

Each of these three guys get one appearance in D.C. this year so I'll make sure I'm there for each one. There are a couple of other first time ex-Wizards out there. I would have considered adding Marcus Thornton to this list but in the most puzzling off-season move, the Wizards re-signed him. Interested to see how that's going to work out. I'm thinking mid-season release if his shot's not falling because he's for sure not playing any D.

4. Surprise MLK Day Game

I expected no home game for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday this season. After all, it's presidential inauguration year in D.C. in 2017 and that seems to always mean that the Wizards are visitors in some other city for this Monday matinee game. But not this year. I guess someone finally figured out it's logistically possible to host a basketball game at Verizon Center and swear in a new president on the same week. I mean, why not, right? It's not like they are going to inaugurate Hillary at Verizon Center. 

This game is special to me. It gets me out of work for a half day for a grilled cheese, some hoops and some pool before a little nosh at Rock Bottom Brewery and an early bed. It also makes me think about the fact that racial inequality still exists in this country in astonishing ways. Yes, I think of that and not that things are better than they were in the mid-twentieth century. We still have a ways to go here, people.

This year the Wizards are hosting the Portland Trail Blazer on January 16, the same team they got trounced by in the MLK Day game last year. I do not have a good feeling about this one, although the effort has to be better than it was earlier this year. The biggest decision for me will likely be what to do for dinner. There's no Rock Bottom this year since they are renovating the Ballston Mall and the whole place is shut down. And I didn't think that mall could get any more depressing. Shows you what I know...

5. Late Winter / Spring West Coast Swings

Every year it seems the Wizards end up starting on the road for a couple of games (that's true this year, it will again be game three before the Wiz play at Verizon Center) then build up a surplus of home slates before heading out on the road for a couple of brutal west coast swings. And frequently these road trips kill any sort of grand designs on playoff positioning (or even qualifying at all).

This season is no exception. There's a difficult four game, six night road trip in late March and early April to Los Angeles, Utah and Golden State. The only relief the Wizards get here is that they get to play the two L.A. teams back to back which is a change from prior years that had them heading to Los Angeles on two separate occasions.

But the road trip to watch starts March 7 in Phoenix. Four nights and three games later the Wizards will have stopped in Denver, Sacramento and Portland. And if all that wasn't enough, the NBA is making them spend an evening in Minnesota on the way back to D.C. for a fifth game. Seven days, five road games. Sure, four of these games are not against the best of the best in the NBA and I'm glad Portland is on the back end, but if there's a critical stretch in the season, this might be it.

6. Three, Not Four

Four games against each of the other teams in the Southeast Division? Check. Every year. Two games agains each team in the Western Conference? Check. Every year. That leaves 10 remaining teams and just 36 games, meaning four games against six of those teams and just three against the other four. And those extra games can make or break a season. Land a fourth game against the Knicks, 76ers, Nets and Bucks as opposed to the Cavaliers, Celtics, Raptors and Hawks and you could be looking at a two, three or four game swing in your win-loss record at the end of the season.

So what's in store this year? Well we got Cleveland (twice at home) and Toronto just three times but we also got Philly three times. Not too bad. We only have to play the far and away best two teams last year in the conference just three times. The fourth? Detroit, who showed they are up and coming. Look I'd rather have Boston three times but I'm OK with this draw. I feel there could be a game or two swing out of this. Thanks, NBA, for the schedule. 

7. Road Trip! Or Trips!!

The thing I love the most about the NBA Schedule release date is checking out which cities I can visit for road games to continue my quest to see the Wizards play in all the current NBA arenas. Last year it was Los Angeles and New Orleans; the year before it was Miami and Toronto. On the top of my wish list this year? Sacramento, followed by Memphis, Denver and Houston and probably Charlotte. I need some diversity out west and if I make it to a Hornets-Wizards roadie, I'll have seen the Wiz play in all five Southeast Division arenas.

So what does this year's schedule hold? Well maybe not everything I want, certainly not Houston on a Monday. Saturday is the ideal day to travel to road games because it's actually possible to make the trip without taking time off of work. The only Saturday games in cities I haven't watched the Wizards play during the coming season are in Detroit (OK, so not really; it's really Auburn Hills), Portland, Charlotte and Cleveland. Other intriguing possibilities are Friday night games in San Antonio, Sacramento and Utah. Maybe I'll wait until the D-League schedule gets released before settling on a game or two. Who's coming with? 

Now, all we have to do is wait. Like 11 weeks. Sounds reasonable, right? I mean that's only like 20% of a year. At least now I know. I've made my first pass through all this stuff tonight. now it's time for some real  studying. Can't wait for October 27! Let's go Wizards!!!

Paper Tickets Are Back!

Two years ago, I wrote a post in this blog lamenting the death of actual paper season tickets in favor of a swipe/scan card system adopted by the Wizards for home games at Verizon Center. I was upset at the time on a number of levels but first and foremost among those was the loss of a critical game day souvenir for those of us who tend to save such things. And I really really used to save basketball tickets.  Until the Wizards stop sending them to me that is.

I wrote that post in the fall of 2013 after the second consecutive year of receiving nothing in my Wizards season ticket package except an electronic card, a couple of advertisements from Verizon Center sponsors and some lanyards which used to be for holding tickets but now somehow were for the one electronic card delivered to me. Why I needed four lanyards for one card I still to this day don't understand. It's not like these things wear out quickly. At the time I thought it was the end of an era and that I'd never again hold a paper season ticket in my hand.

I remember the day I got my first delivery of printed, full-color, high quality graphic Wizards season tickets. After my first season using monochromatic Ticketmaster tickets (no real idea why it happened that way), I finally felt I'd arrived. At last, I'd be able to enjoy the cache that came with presenting a genuine season ticket to the folks guarding the doors at Verizon Center. No more would I be some scrub buying individual game tickets. The ticket taking staff would recognize my commitment to our local five instantly, even if it did take five seasons before we even made the playoffs.

One of the thrills of receiving my season ticket package used to be discovering which players made it onto the season tickets. Look, after two months being starved for basketball happenings, this is big news. The guys on the tickets were the guys that the franchise intended to build around, or at least we thought so. Jared Jeffries? Al Thornton? Andray Blatche? JaVale McGee? Steve Blake? Jarvis Hayes? Yep, all those guys made it onto season tickets in the past. OK, so maybe getting your mug put on the tickets was the Wizards' equivalent of the Madden NFL curse.

But two days ago, my world changed. My 2015-2016 season tickets arrived and THERE ARE PAPER TICKETS INSIDE!!! Yep, for some reason (and I assume it's not my blog post from 2013), the Wizards decided last spring during season ticket renewals to offer the option to fans of receiving actual tickets that you can hold for their loyal fans. And of course, I jumped at the opportunity. Yes, that likely means I'm killing trees by requesting these things and I really truly feel bad about that. I promise I'll re-think this every year. Promise.

Over my 15 prior years of Wizards season ticket holder membership, the Wizards have delivered some pretty OK packaging ideas. I don't think anything has topped the paint can delivered prior to the 2002-2003 season and sure some have been total duds (much like the on-court performance some years) but I look forward each early fall to what's going to show up at the concierge desk of my condo building from Monumental Sports and Entertainment. 

This year's package is a telescoping box featuring a panoramic photograph of Verizon Center during a Wizards game with the tickets, lanyards, a note from the Wizards and a couple of advertisements inside. The note promised at least one lapel pin which appeared to be missing from my box. I'm sure the Wizards can fix that omission pretty easily for me. The team's new primary logo (which I love and have already bought two shirts which feature it prominently) is front and center of the box when in the closed position and I guess the packaging is a pretty decent idea this year. It's not 2002-2003 but it's better than some other years.

But the big excitement of course is who's on the tickets???

Well, this year the Wizards opted to go with four players: Marcin Gortat, John Wall, Otto Porter and Bradley Beal. I think this is a pretty smart choice. The four players divide perfectly into the 41 regular season plus three pre-season game schedule although honestly I think Nenê is getting slighted here. I get that Wall and Beal are the stars of our team, Otto's poised for a breakout year and Marcin is here for another four years (in theory). But Nenê was the first man in to making this team credible and he's still a super important part of this squad. I would have put him on the tickets.

Actually, if it were up to me, I'd just have everyone on the team have their own individual ticket. I suppose that may present issues if someone got cut from the team but heck, we already put Chris Whitney on the 2002-2003 tickets and then let him go before the season started so it's not like we've had issues with that in the past. It's not up to me and so given that, I'm fairly pleased with these season tickets. I know they are not the best I've ever had but I can touch them and hold them and they will be so much faster than the card I've used the past three years. Thanks, Wizards! Can't wait for preseason game number one in five days. FIVE DAYS!!!! Are you kidding me? It's that time of year…

What I've waited for the last four years...

Time Off

During the 2008-2009 NBA season, the Washington Wizards managed a mere 19 wins against 63 losses. It was the second such season turned in by the Wizards since I became a season ticket holder in the fall of 2000. That 2008-2009 season was one of failed expectations after four straight playoff appearances and the misery was capped off by a somewhat famous locker room gun incident resulting in the suspension of Gilbert Arenas. Despite all the dysfunction that season, I managed to show up for every home game that year.

My goal at the beginning of each new Wizards season is to be in my seat for all 41 regular season home contests. I am not a fair weather fan who shows up when the team is performing well and bails or sells his tickets during tough times. My obligation as a fan is to be there to show support every game and I take that obligation seriously.

Despite my best intentions, I have never had a perfect attendance record any season other than 2008-2009. Something always seems to get in the way, whether it's being away for the Christmas holidays, or a work trip or just being sick. Sick meaning in poor health by the way, not sick of the Wizards' poor play. This year, I'm failing again, having missed a game just before Christmas and I'm going to miss the last home game of the year against Atlanta because I'm taking some time off.

Taking time off during the season is extremely unusual for me. I can't remember intentionally traveling when there was a Wizards home game since maybe 2001. And that's a big maybe. I've traveled frequently during the season in the last five years but I always time my vacation with a Wizards road trip, typically a west coast, week long road trip. But this year, I'm skipping the last home game and I won't be back doing my job at Verizon Center until the playoffs. I think some of the Wizards should do the same thing I'm doing. Maybe not travel, but just skip work for a few days.

With the end of the season just six games away, the Wizards are sitting firmly in fifth place. The only team behind us who can catch up is Milwaukee and they would have to win every game and we would need to lose every game for that to happen. The Bucks have improved a lot this year, but I don't see a team that has won three of their last ten winning out.

Looking up in the standings, realistically the team can only really finish as high as fourth. The Cleveland Cavaliers (currently second) can be caught if we win every game and they lose every game and that's just not happening. There's a slim chance of catching the Toronto Raptors but we'd have to best them in win totals, since they hold the first tiebreaker as a division winner. The Chicago Bulls are sitting in third right now if they falter and the Wizards play really well, there's a slim chance we could tie them and win the tiebreaker by virtue of better conference record. But realistically, we are stuck in fifth. If nothing else, the game tonight in Memphis is almost surely a loss.

In my mind, the Wizards can do one of two things the rest of the way: (1) push hard to catch Chicago and hope things go the right way and get home court advantage for round one or (2) get ready for the playoffs by resting some folks. I'm not talking a total shutdown but maybe playing John Wall, Paul Pierce and Nenê every other game or so and giving Bradley Beal maybe two of the last six off. At this point it seems like we should be focused on trying to duplicate last year's playoff success rather than worrying about the regular season. Plus maybe it gives a guy like Otto Porter a chance to get some playing time, something our coach seems a little reluctant to do consistently.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have the team get to a 47 win mark, something I lamented a couple of years ago in this blog but if this team doesn't make the second round of the playoffs and win a couple of games, this season will be labeled a failure. Sounds strange to Wizards fans, doesn't it? In a couple of weeks, there are going to be 14 NBA teams with nothing to do; the Wizards won't be one of them. Let's do the right thing and make sure we maximize our chances the rest of the way this year. Please.

Last overpriced Verizon Center Budweiser of the regular season.

Playoffs Redux

During the 2012-2013 NBA season, I started exploring the hobby of collecting basketball cards. I used this blog as both an excuse and a justification to shell out some dough for a few rectangles of cardboard which I thought would occupy my attention for a few minutes.  I didn't think this was anything new for me. When I was a kid in England, I used to collect football (soccer, that is) cards and then when I moved to this country in the late '70s I got hooked on football (NFL, that is), baseball and hockey cards and kept that going in part as late as sophomore year of college. Since the mid 1980s though, the landscape of sports card collecting has changed drastically and I learned that pretty quickly. This hobby is now big business. During the 2012-2013 season, Panini America, who owns the NBA trading card rights, produced 26 different lines of basketball cards including some series that retailed for over $1,000 for a pack of 10. Insane, right?

I declined to pick up the box of 10 cards for over $1,000 ($1,250 to be precise) that year but ended up spending a significant amount of money anyway and accumulating a pretty good collection of Wizards cards. Some of these things are absolutely gorgeous and perfect for collecting signatures but I knew I couldn't continue at the pace I went at in my first year; it was just too much. So last year I cut back a lot and spent less than half of what I spent the first season, choosing to concentrate on specific series of cards. This year, I vowed to cut back even more. My intent was to ignore the first few issues of cards entirely and just make sure I collected what I really thought was worth collecting.

Unfortunately, Panini America made a series of insert cards in their Hoops cards that were just too good to resist; I fell for it and I'm glad I did. This year's Hoops collection includes a "Road to the Finals" set of cards which features a card for each playoff game in the 2014 NBA playoffs. The front of the card features the star of the winning team for each particular game; the back of the card shows the final score and a quick narrative about the game. As a point of clarification, most sets of sports cards these days feature a base set of cards which is pretty easy to collect and then a series of insert cards that are aligned against a number of themes which are rarer and take a little more hunting to gather a full set.

Last year's Wizards team made the franchise's deepest playoff run in 35 years, moving out of the first round of the playoffs for the third time since 1979 and then securing two wins in the second round before ultimately collapsing in the second half of game four against the Indiana Pacers and succumbing for good two games later. These cards are the perfect way to remember each game in that couple of weeks' period so I decided to get a hold of the cards for all eleven playoff games to add to my collection. I know these will stir memories every time I pull them out and look at them.

Our first round playoff series last year was against the Chicago Bulls. It lasted just five games with the good guys winning four games to one so Panini's set features four Wizards cards and one Bulls card, each one numbered to an edition of 2014. The notable thing about this five card set for me is that the Wizards cards feature four different players in Nenê, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza and John Wall. That series was truly a team effort with no one player from our side dominating for more than a game. That balanced attack allowed us to completely overwhelm the Bulls and make them look like an offensively challenged, overworked-in-the-regular-season squad, starting with the 2-0 lead we took in Chicago.

Coming home for one game at least wasn't so sweet; we lost game three behind 35 points from Mike Dunleavy, who is featured on the one Bulls card in this series. That was the same game that Nenê was ejected (and subsequently suspended) for holding his head against Jimmy Butler's (there's really no other way to put what he did) for a few seconds. Game four featured a 17-2 game opening run, a dominant performance from Trevor Ariza and some late game "Free Nenê!" chants from the sellout crowd at Verizon Center. We never saw the Bulls that year again in Washington, finishing them off in game five in the windy city. John Wall was the star that night.

Unfortunately, game four in the first round was the only win the Washington home crowd would see in those playoffs. The second round against the Pacers was a six game affair with each team winning more than losing on each others' floor but the Pacers managed a win at home in game two (when Roy Hibbert who had been invisible for the entire playoffs decided to acknowledge he actually knew how to play basketball) for the edge in the series. Because the Pacers won, the second round series of cards feature four Pacers cards and just two Wizards cards, this time numbers to an edition of 999.

This series is not so much fun to remember. Trevor Ariza was perfect from three point range in game one and the win in Indiana that night seemed like it foreshadowed a repeat of the Chicago series. Some folks around Washington even started punching the Wizards' tickets for the Eastern Conference Finals. Not so fast. There was a reason the Pacers were the best team in the east in the regular season and Roy Hibbert, David West and Paul George proved it in the next three games. George killed us in game four when it looked like we were on our way to an easy victory, up 17 with less than nine minutes to go in the third quarter.

Marcin Gortat stemmed the tide a bit in game five with a career game (and thus he's on the game five card) in Indiana, scoring 31 and grabbing 16 boards before David West and the rest of the Pacers put us away for good in the next game. That series featured only two games where the winning team scored over 100 points and it was the two games the Wizards won. But ultimately, it seemed that our team wasn't ready for that sort of stage quite yet. Hopefully it's something we can build on this year. We started to exorcise some of those demons last night when we defeated the Pacers in an ugly all too close overtime affair at Verizon Center.

If I had my druthers, I'd love for Panini to produce a set like this every year. I think it's a great way to celebrate teams' playoff runs. I know these things will serve as a memory jogger every time I want to take a trip to past Wizards success. Thanks, Panini. I've got a ways to go to get through the rest of your card issues this year. Looking forward to each one.

Where's Bradley Beal?

Earlier today, the Wizards finished their first of three straight pre-season games at Verizon Center. This season features the greatest number of preseason games at VC since I've been a season ticket holder. The other two are later this same week, which means I'll be making two more trips down to F Street before the end of the day Friday.

I generally spend very little time around Verizon Center in the summer months since I stopped working downtown seven years or so ago, so the first Wizards game of the season, be it preseason or regular season, brings an opportunity to see how the neighborhood has changed since the previous Wizards season was over. The most dramatic change was some years ago when they finally took the construction scaffolding off the front or south face of the Smithsonian American Art Museum which allowed an uninterrupted view down F Street all the way to Union Station; after years of seeing the American Art Museum under renovation, the change was striking. This year, the only changes I noticed were that the FroZen Yo store on F Street has moved to Chinatown and Souvenir World at the corner of 10th and F has closed. It seems like that place has been there forever.

In addition to changes outside the arena, it's exciting to see what's happened to the inside of Verizon Center over the summer. The most obvious changes this year were the repainted main entrance to the building and a brand new basketball court (shown above) with the Unity Hand logo replacing the Wizards wordmark at center court and solid red lanes beneath the basket. In past seasons, the lanes have generally been striped for the professional game (at 16 feet wide) and the college game (at 12 feet wide); this year, it's just one lane for the NBA game. I love the lane change but I'm a big fan of the Wizards wordmark so I'd rather they just stick with that. I realize I'll be in the minority on that one.

But there's still work to do inside Verizon Center to get ready for opening night on November 1. Let me explain.

A couple of years ago, the team installed a series of photograph panels or billboards, if you will, on the lower concourse of the building. These billboards feature Wizards, Mystics, Capitals and Georgetown University basketball players, in addition to some other acts who play Verizon Center frequently. A little over a year ago, I had a picture of myself taken in front of the picture of Martell Webster for my "About This Blog" page. I was curious to see who would be up on these panels this year, so before the game, I took a quick stroll around the 100 Level of Verizon Center. Here's what I found, starting at the north entrance to the building and walking counterclockwise.

Marcin Gortat

Marcin's our starting center and just signed a new five year, $60 million deal. During the 2013-2014 season he played in all but one of our regular season games and averaged 13.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. He poured in 31 points and snagged 16 rebounds in game five of our playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers, the last playoff game we would win before being eliminated by the Pacers. It makes a ton of sense to have Marcin up on the wall. I believe he was placed there after we traded Jan Vesely to the Denver Nuggets for Andre Miller at the trading deadline last season. It would be nice for Marcin if the Wizards ticket sales table were not blocking most of his picture but whatever.

Nenê

Nenê was the first real building block in the Wizards' culture change that started at the trading deadline of the 2011-2012 season with the team trading goofball center JaVale McGee for a legitimate professional NBA player, in this case Nenê. Critics decried the trade when we made it; most felt the Wizards had traded a player with tremendous upside for a broken down, overpaid, undersized center. A year and a half later, it looks like the Wizards fleeced the Nuggets. Nenê not only brought a sense of professionalism and seriousness to the Wizards, he's actually played in way more games than McGee has since the trade (124 regular season games plus 10 playoff games to McGee's 104 and 13). How could a big picture of Nenê not be on display at VC?

Josh Groban

OK, so Josh Groban doesn't play for the Wizards and never has. Verizon Center has two musicians on display in its lower concourse. One is Bruce Springsteen. I find it curious that Groban is the other.

John Wall

I'll be brief here talking about Wall. Franchise player. Number one overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. 2014 NBA All-Star. 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest winner. Led the NBA in total assists during the 2013-2014 NBA season. John is the only player on the team with a maximum contract and the unquestioned leader of the team. As he goes, quite often, the team goes. The best player deserves his picture up in the building.

Martell Webster

Martell's first season with the Wizards two years ago was his best as a pro as he averaged 11.4 points per game with a 42.2% success rate from beyond the three point arc in 76 games. He parlayed that season into a four year deal for the full mid-level exception or between $5 million and $6 million per year. Coincidentally, the Wizards put his picture up near Section 102 just before he re-signed. Martell's production dropped off last year as a sixth man. I'd love to see him back in the starting lineup with John Wall this year. I feel he really prospers with Wall on the court. You can debate the merits of Martell getting a billboard but the fact that he's my favorite player is good enough for me to keep him there.

Chris Singleton

I like Chris Singleton a lot. I love the interview he gave to ESPN during the lockout before the 2011-2012 season, we've hung out in Vegas together (OK, maybe not so much) and I've always found him one of the most approachable Wizards players in his three years in Washington. But…he doesn't play for the Wizards anymore (he's currently playing as a training camp invitee on a non-guaranteed contract with the Indiana Pacers). 

Now I'm not sure what the Wizards' attitude toward retaining Chris in the off season was but I'm pretty confident considering they didn't pick up his contract option and really made no significant strides to retain him that they probably knew by the end of last season that they had no plans to retain him. So why is his picture in our gorgeous white home uni still up in the building?

I can't imagine how much money it costs to replace the graphics on one of these panels but Chris can't stay here more than like another week, right? And if the Wizards can't think of someone to replace him, I'd suggest they try Bradley Beal because this is the last Wizards related graphic on the lower level of Verizon Center starting at the north entrance and walking counterclockwise. I think Bradley's earned it. The real deadline to get this fixed is November 1 when we open our home slate against the Milwaukee Bucks. Verizon Center spent a bunch of money this summer installing a Capitals hat trick display which is just awesome. They need to fix this next. It's on the east end of the building in case this is just an oversight.