Washington Wizards 2021-22 NBA Schedule Info
Want to watch the Washington Wizards' magical powers this upcoming season? We'll take a deep dive into all of the exciting storylines and marquee games on the Wizards' 2021-22 complete regular-season schedule.
Who Are the Washington Wizards?
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The franchise joined the NBA in 1961 as the Chicago Packers before changing their name to the Chicago Zephyrs after one season. The team was only in Chicago for two seasons before moving to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Bullets in 1963. The franchise remained in Baltimore for 10 seasons before moving again. The team relocated to the Washington, D.C., suburb of Landover, Maryland, and became the Capital Bullets in 1973. The franchise altered the team name the following season to become the Washington Bullets. The team rebranded themselves as the Washington Wizards in 1997 due to the negative connotation associated with bullets at a time of elevated crime in Washington, D.C. The franchise stumbled through the 1960s by missing the playoffs in five of its first seven seasons before finding its footing in the 1970s. The Bullets won six division titles and reached four NBA Finals during the decade. Future Hall of Famers Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes were the foundation during these prosperous times. The Bullets won four conference championships in the ‘70s with three different head coaches. Gene Schue's team advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history in 1971 but were swept by the powerhouse Milwaukee Bucks led by future Hall of Famers Lew Alcindor (who later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Oscar Robertson. K.C. Jones took over for Schue and led the Bullets to their first 60-win season in 1975, but his team didn't capture the brass ring. The heavily favored Bullets were swept by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Bullets finally broke through under head coach Dick Motta in 1978. Unseld and Hayes outlasted the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games to win their first and only NBA title. Unseld won NBA Finals MVP honors to highlight his illustrious career. The SuperSonics avenged that loss by toppling the Bullets in an NBA Finals rematch in 1979. The Bullets came crashing down after the ‘70s. The franchise spiraled into irrelevance by winning just one playoff series (1982) over the next 25 years. The Bullets endured an eight-year playoff drought from 1989-1996 and a seven-year playoff drought from 1998-2004. Washington had first-round playoff exits for five consecutive seasons (1984-88) despite having All-Stars Jeff Malone and Moses Malone on the roster. The Bullets cycled through 12 head coaches during the forgettable 25-year run. They didn't win a playoff series throughout the 1990s even though they weren't bereft of talent. Pervis Ellison, Rex Chapman, Tom Gugliotta, and Calbert Cheaney were skilled players who never put it all together. The Bullets assembled a nucleus of Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, and Rod Strickland in the late ‘90s, which gave the team its best chance to come back from the NBA margins, but the trio failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs in 1997. Michael Jordan couldn't even save the franchise. The Chicago Bulls legend came out of retirement in 2001 at the age of 38 to play for the Wizards, but didn't make a real difference. Washington finished with losing records and missed the playoffs in Jordan's two seasons with the team. Gilbert Arenas provided the next flicker of hope a few years later when he led the Wizards to their first playoff series win in 23 years in 2005. But the team couldn't build on that success, either. The Wizards didn't win a playoff series for the next eight seasons. They missed the playoffs for five years in a row before former No. 1 overall pick John Wall helped the Wizards advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in back-to-back seasons (2014 and 2015). However, Wall never got the franchise over the hump. The Wizards traded Wall to the Houston Rockets for superstar Russell Westbrook in 2020, but the results remained the same. Westbrook was dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers after one season with Washington.
Washington Wizards Schedule for 2021/2022
Wes Unseld Jr. returns to his roots after honing his coaching skills as a respected assistant for four teams over the past 16 years. Unseld Jr., the son of late Washington legend Wes Unseld, will be tasked to set a new course for a middling franchise that hasn't made waves for the better part of four decades. The Wizards pulled the plug on the Russell Westbrook Experiment after one year, trading the future Hall of Famer to the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason. Washington re-made its roster to bolster its depth and defense to help star Bradley Beal. There's no question that the Wizards' brain trust has surrounded the 28-year-old Beal, who hasn't advanced past the second round of the playoffs in his career, with better depth. It'll be up to Unseld to harness the talent to turn things around and keep his best player from bolting for greener pastures after the season. Unseld will make his regular-season head coaching debut north of the border when his team visits the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 20. The Wizards, who have 13 back-to-backs, will square off against the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 22 for their home opener. The re-tooled Wizards are gearing up to surprise people this upcoming season. Check out TickPick for the best deals to watch the Wizards live in their pursuit to make some noise in the Eastern Conference. With easy accessibility and cheaper prices than the competition, TickPick offers endless options to watch live sporting events.
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