1997–98 Washington Wizards season

1997–98 Washington Wizards season
Head coach	Bernie Bickerstaff
Arena	MCI Center
Results
Record	42–40 (.512)
Place	Division: 4th (Atlantic) Conference: 9th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Home Team Sports, UPN Washington
Radio	WTEM

The 1997-98 NBA season was the Wizards' 37th season in the NBA.^[1] There was a new beginning for basketball in Washington D.C. as the team changed its name to the "Wizards", fearing "Bullets" endorsed gun violence. The Wizards played at U.S. Airways Arena in November, where they went 0-5 at home. They moved into their new arena the MCI Center in December. The Wizards finished fourth in the Atlantic Division with a 42-40 record, falling one game short of making the playoffs. Rod Strickland led the league with 10.5 assists per game, and made the All-NBA Second Team. Following the season, Chris Webber was traded to the Sacramento Kings for Mitch Richmond.

Offseason

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	45	God Shammgod	PG	United States	Providence College
2	48	Predrag Drobnjak	C	Montenegro

The Wizards forfeited their 1997 first round pick in connection with the signing of Juwan Howard in 1996. Washington would have had the 17th pick.

Roster

Washington Wizards roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From SG 40 Cheaney, Calbert 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Indiana C 52 Davis, Terry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Virginia Union SG 21 Eackles, Ledell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) New Orleans PF 44 Grant, Harvey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Oklahoma SF 31 Ham, Darvin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Texas Tech SF 5 Howard, Juwan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Michigan SG 23 Legler, Tim 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) La Salle SG 3 Moten, Lawrence 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Syracuse C 77 Mureșan, Gheorghe  7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) 303 lb (137 kg) Romania SF 35 Murray, Tracy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA PG 2 Shammgod, God 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 169 lb (77 kg) Providence PG 1 Strickland, Rod  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) DePaul C 30 Wallace, Ben 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Virginia Union PF 4 Webber, Chris 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Michigan PG 12 Whitney, Chris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Clemson C 43 Williams, Lorenzo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Stetson	Head coach Bernie Bickerstaff Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions

Roster Notes

• Center Gheorghe Muresan missed the entire season due to an injury.

Regular season

Season standings

Template:1997-98 NBA Atlantic standings

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Miami Heat	55	27	.671	7
3	x-Indiana Pacers	58	24	.707	4
4	x-Charlotte Hornets	51	31	.622	11
5	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	12
6	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	47	35	.573	15
7	x-New York Knicks	43	39	.524	19
8	x-New Jersey Nets	43	39	.524	19
9	Washington Wizards	42	40	.512	20
10	Orlando Magic	41	41	.500	21
11	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	25
12	Boston Celtics	36	46	.439	26
12	Milwaukee Bucks	36	46	.439	26
14	Philadelphia 76ers	31	51	.378	31
15	Toronto Raptors	16	66	.195	46

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Awards and records

• Rod Strickland, All-NBA Second Team

References

1. 1997-98 Washington Wizards

See also

• 1997-98 NBA season