The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association , and play their home games at the Verizon Center in the Chinatown section of Washington, D.C.. The club now known as the Wizards began play as the Chicago Packers in 1961, as the first modern expansion team in NBA history. After only one year, they changed their name to the Zephyrs. In 1963 the franchise moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and became the Baltimore Bullets . In their first year in Baltimore, the Bullets... finished 4th in a 5–team Western Division. Prior to the 1964–65 NBA season the Bullets pulled off a blockbuster trade, sending Terry Dischinger, Rod Thorn and Don Kojis to the Detroit Pistons for Bailey Howell, Don Ohl, Bob Ferry and Wali Jones. The trade worked out well; Howell proved to be a hustling, fundamentally sound player who helped the Bullets get into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In the 1965 NBA Playoffs, the Bullets stunned the St. Louis Hawks 3–1, and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
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