Top10 Washington Wizards

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The Washington Wizards started their existence in Chicago, made a stop in Baltimore and finally ended up in Washington. Their one championship was in Washington in 1978. The majority of the players on this go back a few years. Regardless, here's the list.

10: Walt Bellamy Walt was the franchise's first draft pick and didn't disappoint. In his five seasons with the franchise, Walt averaged 27.6 ppg and 16.6 rebounds. His best year was his rookie season, 1961-62, when he scored 31.6 ppg to go with 19 rebounds. He also led the NBA in field goal percentage with 51.9%. Those were different times.

9: Gilbert Arenas In some respects, Gilbert was a wild a crazy guy, but the dude could ball. Gilbert averaged 25 ppg in eight seasons with the Wizards. When he wasn't shooting, Gilbert found time to dole out 5.7 assists per game and come up with 1.8 steals. He was in the top ten in steals three of those seasons. Arenas also helped out on the boards with 4.2 rebounds per game. In the 2006 playoffs, Arenas was at his best, averaging 34 points in six playoff games. The entertaining Arenas comes in at number nine.

8: Phil Chenier While Phil's scoring average was 17.9 ppg with the Wizards, it is lowered by some seasons where he was limited by a bad back. In his nine years with the Wizards, he made the all star team three times. Phil gets bonus points for being part of the Wizards championship team. Phil was an excellent player who may have been even better with better health.

7: Bernard King Even after blowing out his knee before he got to Washington, Bernard was able to put the ball in the hoop. In four seasons with the Wizards, he averaged 22.0 ppg. Add in 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists and you have a very effective player. Bernard's best season was 1991-92, his last year with the Wizards. He averaged 28.2 ppg, which gives an idea of what could have been.

6: Chris Webber Chris had a wonderful skill set for a big man, and they were on full display with the Wizards. His well rounded skill set is reflected in his stats. His slash line for his four seasons with the Wizards was 20.7/9.7/4.4. The 1.7 blocks and 1.6 steals per game were also nice. While he had a higher profile with the Sacramento Kings, he was pretty good in Washington, too.

5: John Wall John is one of my favorite NBA guys to watch. He's incredible to watch with the ball. He can really, really push it. John is in his eighth season with the Wizards and his going for 18.9 ppg as I write this. He also is averaging 9.2 assists. And those numbers are trending upward. His playoff numbers are pretty close to the same. While Wall isn't a great pure shooter, he can get to the hoop effectively and is an offensive threat. He 's also been in the top ten in steals four times. And he's getting better.

4: Earl Monroe Before being traded to the Knicks, The Pearl put on quite a show in Baltimore. There the Peal averaged 23.7 ppg and did it with flair. Earl's best season was 1968-69 when he averaged 25.8 ppg. He was named to the all NBA first team that season. Earl didn't shoot a great percentage, but did get to the free throw line 7-8 times per game during his prime. Earl comes in at number four.

3: Gus Johnson Before there was Charles Barkley there was Gus Johnson. Gus played nine seasons for the Bullets. He made the all star team five times. Gus averaged 17.1 ppg and 12.7 rebounds. Like Earl Monroe, Gus was a flashy player. He was a spectacular dunker. Gus started his NBA career 1963 and was one of the more spectacular athletes in the NBA in the 60s. The fact that he was in the top 10 in rebounds four times despite being 6'6” attests to that.

2: Elvin Hayes Elvin was a big, high scoring power forward who was strong on the boards. He spend nine seasons with the franchise, averaging 21.3 ppg and 12.7 rebounds. Elvin was also a member of the franchise's lone championship team. Elvin was extremely durable. In his 16 seasons in the NBA, he played 81 or 82 in each season. Elvin wasn't nearly as flashy as some of the other players on this list, but he was reliable and effective.

1: Wes Unseld Speaking of not being flashy, Wes Unseld may be the epitome of that term. Wes won both the league's Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in 1968-69 season. He did it while averaging only 13.8 ppg. He did however, average 18.2 rebounds per game. Wes was know for his outlet passing. In all, Wes played 13 seasons in the NBA, all of them with this multi-named franchise. Unseld finished his career with a scoring average of 10.8 ppg along with14 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He was noted for his defense, finishing in the top 10 in defensive wins shares eight times. Wes is one of the most unsung great players in NBA history.

There's my list. How does it compare to yours? 

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