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Since joining the NBA all the way back in 1961, the Washington Wizards franchise has won 1,961 games in the regular season and made the postseason a total of 29 times.
The Wizards have captured one NBA title. That came in 1978 when the Washington Bullets defeated the Seattle SuperSonics in seven games. Since then, the Wizards franchise has gone to one NBA Finals.
The Wizards organization has been home to some of the greatest players in NBA history. However, the same can be said about the coaches who have strolled the sidelines.
For this piece, we ranked the four-best coaches in Wizards franchise history, leading off with the guy who is currently leading the charge.
4. Scott Brooks
Brooks has compiled a record of 148-162 with the Wizards. He's won a total of nine postseason games.
In his first year with the team, Brooks led Washington to 49 wins and a trip to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Wizards fought hard but wound up losing to the Boston Celtics in seven epic games.
Since that season, All-Star point guard John Wall hasn't been healthy for Washington and Brooks' record has taken a tumble. The Wizards, though, should be playoff contenders in 2020-21 once Wall and Bradley Beal are back in the backcourt together.
3. K.C. Jones
Jones has won the sixth-most games in franchise history. He went 155-91 in the regular season with the Bullets and 14-17 in the playoffs.
His 14 postseason wins are good for third in the franchise's coaching record books for playoff stats.
Jones has a regular-season winning percentage of .630, which is first in franchise history. He was fired in May of 1976 and wound up winning two titles as head coach of the Celtics.
2. Gene Shue
Gene won a grand total of 522 games with the Bullets. He has the most wins in franchise history by a wide margin.
Shue was also able to win 19 postseason games, putting him in second place for that category.
During the 1981-82 season, the Bullets won 43 games. Shue was named Coach of the Year for the second time in his coaching career. He first won the award in 1969 when the Baltimore Bullets won 57 games.
1. Dick Motta
Only one Bullets/Wizards team has ever won it all. Motta led the '78 Bullets to 44 wins in the regular season. The ’78 Finals featured the Bullets going up against the Sonics. Washington won in seven games to capture the franchise’s lone championship.
Wes Unseld won Finals MVP after averaging 9.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists while Elvin Hayes led the entire ’78 playoffs in points with 457.
Motta won 185 games with the franchise. He's fourth on the franchise's all-time wins list for regular-season wins and first for postseason victories with 27.
The current state of the Wizards will look a lot better once Wall is fully recovered from his Achilles tear. The Wizards star averaged 20.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 8.7 assists in 2018-19 before he had to shut it down and get his heel surgery. Wall then fell at his house and tore his Achilles.
Until a Wizards coach wins a championship, Motta will reign supreme in the coaching ranks. Brooks got to an NBA Finals with the Oklahoma City Thunder but he had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.
For Brooks' Wizards to get to the Finals, Washington will need a third superstar next to Wall and Beal. Only time will tell if GM Tommy Sheppard can make it happen.
