2000–01 Washington Wizards season

2000–01 Washington Wizards season
Head coachLeonard Hamilton
PresidentMichael Jordan
General managerWes Unseld
OwnerAbe Pollin
ArenaMCI Center
Results
Record19–63 (.232)
PlaceDivision: 7th (Atlantic)
Conference: 14th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
TelevisionWBDC
Home Team Sports
RadioWTEM

The 2000–01 Washington Wizards season was the 40th season for the Washington Wizards in the National Basketball Association, and their 28th season in Washington, D.C.[1] The city of Washington, D.C. hosted the NBA All-Star weekend at the MCI Center this season, which featured the 2001 NBA All-Star Game. During the off-season, the Wizards acquired Felipe López and Cherokee Parks from the Vancouver Grizzlies,[2][3] acquired Popeye Jones from the Denver Nuggets,[4][5] and hired Leonard Hamilton as their new head coach;[6] Parks was later on traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Tyrone Nesby early into the regular season.[7][8]

Under Leonard Hamilton, the Wizards continued to struggle posting a nine-game losing streak between November and December. The team posted another nine-game losing streak in January leading to an awful 7–34 start to the regular season, and later holding a 12–37 record at the All-Star break,[9] as Mitch Richmond only played just 37 games due to knee injuries.[10][11] At mid-season, Juwan Howard, who grew disgruntled with all the team failures, was traded along with second-year center Calvin Booth to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Christian Laettner, Hubert Davis, Loy Vaught and rookies; shooting guard Courtney Alexander and power forward Etan Thomas, who was out for the entire regular season due to a toe injury he sustained with the Mavericks,[12][13] while Lopez was released to free agency, and later on signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.[14]

After the trade deadline, Rod Strickland, who was also disgruntled playing for the Wizards, was also released and later on re-signed with his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers.[15][16] The Wizards lost nine of their final ten games of the season, and finished in last place in the Atlantic Division with a dreadful 19–63 record;[17] it was their worst record to that point over a full 82-game season, until it was surpassed by the 2023–24 Wizards, who would finish with a franchise-worst 15–67 record.[1]

Second-year star Richard Hamilton showed improvement and led the team in scoring with 18.1 points per game, while Alexander averaged 17.0 points per game in 27 games after the trade, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Richmond contributed 16.2 points per game. In addition, Laettner averaged 13.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in 25 games, while Davis provided the team with 10.2 points per game in 15 games, Chris Whitney contributed 9.5 points and 4.2 assists per game, and Jahidi White provided with 8.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Meanwhile, Nesby averaged 8.4 points per game in 48 games, while undrafted rookie point guard David Vanterpool contributed 5.5 points and 3.0 assists per game, and Michael Smith provided with 3.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.[18]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., Richard Hamilton was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Sophomores team,[19][20] and also participated in the NBA 2Ball Competition, along with Nikki McCray of the WNBA's Washington Mystics.[21][22] The Wizards finished 18th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 638,653 at the MCI Center during the regular season.[18][23]

Following the season, Richmond signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers,[24][25][26] while Smith, Vaught and Vanterpool were all released to free agency, and Leonard Hamilton resigned as head coach after only one season with the Wizards.[27]

Offseason

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
235Mike SmithSF United StatesLouisiana-Monroe

Roster

2000–01 Washington Wizards roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
G 4 Courtney Alexander 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fresno State
G 24 Hubert Davis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) North Carolina
G/F 32 Richard Hamilton 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Connecticut
F 50 Popeye Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Murray State
F/C 44 Christian Laettner 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Duke
F 8 Tyrone Nesby 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UNLV
G 3 Laron Profit 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Maryland
G 2 Mitch Richmond Injured 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Kansas State
F 34 Michael Smith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Providence
F 40 Mike Smith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Louisiana–Monroe
F/C – Etan Thomas Injured (IN) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 256 lb (116 kg) Syracuse
G 22 David Vanterpool 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) St. Bonaventure
F 35 Loy Vaught 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Michigan
F/C 55 Jahidi White 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Georgetown
G 12 Chris Whitney Injured 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Clemson
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • (IN) Inactive
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Roster Notes

  • Rookie power forward Etan Thomas was acquired by the Wizards from the Dallas Mavericks in a mid-season trade, but was placed on the injured reserve list due to a toe injury he sustained with the Mavericks, and missed the entire regular season.

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers 5626.683–29–1227–1418–6
x-Miami Heat 5032.610629–1221–2015–10
x-New York Knicks 4834.585830–1118–2316–9
x-Orlando Magic 4339.5241326–1517–2414–10
e-Boston Celtics 3646.4392020–2116–2511–13
e-New Jersey Nets 2656.3173018–238–338–16
e-Washington Wizards 1963.2323712–297–343–21
Eastern Conference
# Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Philadelphia 76ers5626.683–
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks5230.6344
3 x-Miami Heat5032.6106
4 x-New York Knicks4834.5858
5 x-Toronto Raptors4735.5739
6 x-Charlotte Hornets4636.56110
7 x-Orlando Magic4339.52413
8 x-Indiana Pacers4141.50015
9 e-Boston Celtics3646.43920
10 e-Detroit Pistons3250.39024
11 e-Cleveland Cavaliers3052.36626
12 e-New Jersey Nets2656.31730
13 e-Atlanta Hawks2557.30531
14 e-Washington Wizards1963.23237
15 e-Chicago Bulls1567.18342
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

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

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Courtney Alexander† 271833.7.448.389.8573.01.51.1.117.0
Calvin Booth† 402216.0.440.7334.4.6.42.04.5
Hubert Davis† 151128.7.479.526.9052.03.3.4.010.2
Obinna Ekezie† 2909.4.416.6982.6.3.2.23.5
Richard Hamilton 784232.3.438.274.8683.12.91.0.118.1
Juwan Howard† 545436.7.474.7707.02.9.9.418.2
Popeye Jones 45114.2.392.167.7454.9.7.4.23.6
Gerard King 45315.7.511.8002.9.7.3.24.8
Christian Laettner† 251329.3.491.300.8446.12.31.2.813.2
Felipe López† 473823.6.436.207.7323.41.6.9.48.1
Tyrone Nesby† 482225.5.366.291.8072.71.4.9.38.4
Cherokee Parks† 13013.7.474.7063.1.5.5.83.7
Laron Profit 351217.3.394.269.7331.82.51.0.34.3
Mitch Richmond 373032.9.407.338.8942.93.01.2.216.2
Michael Smith 792920.4.486.000.5787.11.3.7.53.8
Mike Smith 17010.6.322.167.6251.3.6.3.23.0
Rod Strickland† 332830.9.426.250.7823.27.01.3.112.2
David Vanterpool 22018.7.418.000.6001.73.01.0.15.5
Loy Vaught† 14011.2.5211.0003.6.5.4.13.9
Jahidi White 685623.7.498.000.5677.7.3.51.68.6
Chris Whitney 593126.0.387.375.8941.84.2.9.19.5
  • † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Wizards only.

Player statistics citation:[18]

Awards and records

References

  1. 1 2 "Washington Wizards". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved August 10, 2026.
  2. ↑ Wyche, Steve (August 23, 2000). "In Trade, Wizards Get 4 for the Price of 1". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Rededicated, Eh? Ike Sent to Vancouver". Deseret News. Associated Press. August 23, 2000. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  4. ↑ Wyche, Steve (September 26, 2000). "Wizards Trade Murray to Nuggets". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  5. ↑ Wise, Mike (October 30, 2000). "PRO BASKETBALL; West Side Story, the Sequel". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  6. ↑ Wyche, Steve (June 15, 2000). "Hamilton Joins the Wizards". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ White, Lonnie (November 29, 2000). "Clippers Ease Jam by Trading Nesby". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
  8. ↑ Wyche, Steve (December 1, 2000). "Nesby Brings Depth, Attitude to Wizards". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  9. ↑ "NBA Games Played on February 8, 2001". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2025.
  10. ↑ Wyche, Steve (January 15, 2001). "Injured Strickland Back at Practice". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  11. ↑ Wyche, Steve (April 5, 2001). "Richmond, Wizards Likely Done". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Mutombo, Howard Are on the Move". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 23, 2001. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  13. ↑ Wyche, Steve (February 23, 2001). "Salary-Minded Wizards Put on Trading Cap". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Lopez Latches on with Minnesota". United Press International. February 28, 2001. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  15. ↑ Wise, Mike (March 4, 2001). "PRO BASKETBALL: NOTEBOOK; Talented Strickland Again Jumps the Line". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  16. ↑ Wyche, Steve (March 3, 2001). "Strickland to Sign with Trail Blazers". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
  17. ↑ "2000–01 Washington Wizards Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  18. 1 2 3 "2000–01 Washington Wizards Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  19. ↑ Liao, Henry (January 15, 2001). "Rookies Game Lineup Known". Philippine Daily Inquirer. p. A22. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  20. ↑ "2001 NBA Rising Stars: Sophomores 121, Rookies 113". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  21. ↑ "NBA All-Star Weekend". Telegraph Herald. February 11, 2001. p. 6C. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  22. ↑ Bender, Patricia. "2001 All-Star Weekend - at Washington: February 9–11". Eskimo.com. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
  23. ↑ "2000–01 NBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  24. ↑ "N.B.A.: ROUNDUP; Richmond Goes West to Lakers". The New York Times. July 21, 2001. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  25. ↑ Brown, Tim (July 7, 2001). "Walker, Richmond Top Laker List". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Former Wizards G Richmond Signs with Lakers". The Washington Post. July 21, 2001. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  27. ↑ Wyche, Steve (April 19, 2001). "Hamilton Resigns Wizards Post". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2022.

See also

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