 As the Washington Bullets, the team reached the NBA Finals four times in the 1970s. In 1978 they won the NBA title with a team that featured center Wes Unseld and forward Elvin Hayes. The team entered the NBA in the 1961-62 season as the Chicago Packers, winning only 18 games in its first season. Despite the poor start, the team boasted talented rookie center Walt Bellamy, who averaged 31.6 points and 19 rebounds per game and won the league's rookie of the year award. Forward Terry Dischinger won the award a year later. The franchise briefly changed its name to the Zephyrs for the 1962-63 season, but in March of that year the team moved to Baltimore and became the Bullets in honor of the area's ammunition factories, which had produced bullets during World War II (1939-1945). The Bullets then drafted Gus Johnson, who defined the modern power-forward position with tough rebounding and overwhelming slam dunks. In Baltimore the team improved, qualifying for the playoffs in 1965 and 1966. Two last-place finishes followed, but those years also featured the selections of guard Earl 'The Pearl' Monroe and Wes Unseld in the NBA draft. With new talent, the Bullets improved dramatically, registering the NBA's best win-loss record for the 1968-69 season, at 57-25. The team qualified for the playoffs, and Bullets coach Gene Shue was named NBA coach of the year. That season Unseld won both the NBA most valuable player (MVP) and rookie of the year awards. In 1970-71 the Bullets recorded a 42-40 win-loss record in the regular season to win its division. The team then defeated the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks to advance to the NBA Finals. There they were defeated by the Milwaukee Bucks in four straight games. The Bullets' success continued throughout the early 1970s, although they traded Monroe to the New York Knicks before the 1971-72 season. In the 1974-75 season the team began playing as the Washington Bullets, in Washington, D.C. That year, Unseld and Elvin Hayes, who was acquired from the San Diego Rockets, led the team to the division title as the Bullets put together a 60-22 record. They advanced to the NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Golden State Warriors.
|
