With COVID-19 throwing a roadblock in the middle of the NBA season, there isn’t much to do other than to reminisce on the exciting times in the association. In 2000, I was born into a family where I would certainly be a Washington Wizards fan, and that has led to some amazing memories. With that being said, here are my 5 best Wizards’ players of the “Boo Era.”
1) Bradley Beal
Beal has absolutely blossomed in D.C. since arriving here as a 19-year-old back in 2012. When he was drafted with the 3rd pick, all anyone could talk about was his abilities as a shooter and his potential as an all-around scorer. He has been all that and more. As a 25-year-old, he broke the Wizards franchise record for career three-pointers, and he ranks second in the NBA this year in points per game (30.1ppg). Since Beal has been in the nation’s capital, the Wizards have made the postseason 4 times and were just 2-quarters away from making it to the Eastern Conference Finals back in 2017. The 2x All-Star – should be 3x- is the best Wizard that I’ve seen in my lifetime, and he is still only 26! Lots more to come from him.
2) John Wall
Wow, what a shot Wall hit to win Game 6 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Boston Celtics. I was in the building that night with my family, and it was an absolute electric factory. No other way to put it. Hugs, kisses, high-fives, chest bumps, and every other type of celebration you can think of were being thrown around.
Unfortunately, the Wizards ran out of steam in the 4th quarter of Game 7 a couple of nights later, and as of now that is the deepest into the playoffs that the Wizards have traveled since the tandem of Beal and Wall have arrived. However, there is no question that Wall has delivered for the District since being drafted #1 overall in 2010. Wall was a legitimate candidate in the MVP race on a couple of occasions and has arguably been the most important part of pulling the Wizards out of years of mediocrity. I know his contract is huge, and I know he has had injury problems as of late. However, judging a contract years after it has been signed is much easier than deciding what contracts to give out in the moment. Wall undoubtedly earned his contract, so it is no one’s fault that he has spent the first stages of his supermax dealing with injuries. Through 9 seasons, his career averages sit at 19ppg & 9.2apg, which has lead him to being a 5x all-star. Hopefully, we will see a healthy John Wall when he comes back because his blazing speed and playmaking ability have been so much fun to watch over the years.
3) Gilbert Arenas a.k.a. Hibachi a.k.a Agent Zero
Gilbert Arenas was the face of the franchise when I was a little kid (I had his fathead in my room). He could light it up from downtown, finish in traffic, and 100% had the “clutch gene”. He was a 3x NBA All-Star, a 1x All-NBA Second Team Selection, and a 2x All-NBA Third Team selection. Over the course of his career, he averaged 20.7ppg & 5.3apg. When I was little, the Wizards seemed to always match up against Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the playoffs. I – just like I still do now – went to every home game of those series. Gilbert was the type of player that could heat up in a hurry and carry the Wizards to wins on any given night, but a young Lebron James was too tough to defeat in a 7-game series both times they met in the playoffs. Whenever Lebron would touch the ball in D.C. during those series, the entire crowd would chant “overrated”, and boy were we wrong. The only time the Wizards made it past the first round in the Arenas era was in 2005 when they beat the Chicago Bulls in 6 games, but Arenas was an absolute baller and brought a lot of excitement to the nation’s capital.
4) Antwan Jamison
In my opinion, Antwan Jamison is one of the most underappreciated NBA players of the 2000s. He was in the league for a long, long time playing from 1998-2014. The 2x NBA All-Star notched career averages of 18.5ppg and 7.5rpg over his impressive career. Both of his All-Star appearances came in D.C, and he really was the team’s unsung hero. My all-time favorite performance from Jamison came back in 2008 against the Los Angeles Clippers. At the time, the head coach, Eddie Jordan, had a son on my brother’s basketball team. Coach Jordan was kind enough to allow players from that team and their families to sit in his box on the night of March 15, 2008. On that particular evening, Antwan Jamison hit numerous clutch threes on his way to scoring 36 points in an overtime win against the Los Angeles Clippers. It is possibly the most exciting regular-season game I have ever seen. Jamison was a vital part of the Wizards’ core while he was here, and I will never forget how sad I was when my dad came into my room and told me that he had been traded.
5) Caron Butler
If you have been a Wizards fan for as long as I have, then you definitely remember Caron Butler and his habit of chewing straws during games. Just like Jamison, Caron had a very successful, underappreciated career in the NBA. He was in the league from 2002 all the way until 2016. He was a 2x NBA All-Star in 2007 & 2008 (both with the Wizards), an NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, & he had one of the most improbable journeys on his way to the NBA. If you want to read about his amazing story from troubled youth to NBA champion, check out this article written in 2017 by fade away world: https://fadeawayworld.com/2017/05/06/from-child-drug-dealer-to-nba-champion-the-story-of-caron-butler/
Butler really did it all when he was with Washington. He averaged over 20 points per game in two separate seasons, was one of the better on-ball defenders, and was a very good athlete. Four days before Antwan Jamison was shipped off to Cleveland, my dad came into my room and told me that Caron Butler had been sent to Dallas. As I’m sure you can guess, this was a tough week for young Ben.
Honorable Mention: Paul Pierce a.k.a. The Truth
Everyone knows how good Paul Pierce was with the Celtics, but it is worth mentioning how good he was in D.C. as well. During his only season in Washington, he put up 11.9ppg and 4rpg. Most importantly, the Wizards swept the Toronto Raptors in the first round with the help of some clutch shooting from Pierce. In the next round vs. the Hawks, Pierce nailed an absolutely wild game-winner in the middle stages of the series. My dad and I were in attendance when he “called game” with that banked-in fadeaway as time expired to give the Wizards a 2-1 series lead over Atlanta. That shot was so insane that it took us a second or two to grasp what had just happened and to start celebrating. He was only in D.C. for one short year but what a ride it was.
So there you have it…My top 5 Wizards players…SO FAR!
Boo On The Bullets 