It was a season of drama for the Wizards as they rode a roller coaster of varying expectations, depending on who was on the injury list. In the end, the Wizards performed well when little was expected, but not so well when the expectations were high.
With the theme of drama in mind, here are the first annual Wizzy Awards, minus the red carpet.
Performance by an Actor in a Lead Role — Antawn Jamison. Salary drive or not, Jamison’s 21.4 points per game, career-high 10.2 rebounds, and unswerving professionalism kept the Wizards afloat in a season that was anything but a smooth ride.
Runner-up » Caron Butler. The Wizards were at their best when he was in high gear and he was their undisputed leader. But Butler’s best season as a pro was undone by a spate of injuries, big and small.
Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role — Gilbert Arenas. In true Diva fashion, the All-Star guard made an over-the-top return from knee surgery, surprising even his coaches, by emerging from a tunnel in uniform during a timeout in the first period of a game against
Milwaukee at
Verizon Center.
BEST Supporting Actor — Roger Mason. He gambled and won, turning down a three-year offer from San Antonio to sign for one year with the Wizards. Now after his best season (by miles) in the NBA, he’s due a hefty pay raise, probably somewhere else.
Runner-up » Antonio Daniels. Career backups are often exposed when they have to play great roles, but Daniels thrived as a leader, defender, and reliable runner of the Princeton offense.
Director — Head coach Eddie Jordan. Despite injuries to All-Stars Arenas (out 69 games) and Butler (24 games), Jordan got the most out of his roster, becoming the first Wizards coach since Dick Motta (1976-80) to pilot Washington to four straight playoff appearances.
Special Achievement in Directing I — Assistant Randy Ayers. For getting the Wizards to, at long last, play defense. Opponents scored 99.1 points per game, the fewest allowed by the Wizards in five years.
Special Achievement in Directing II — Assistant Dave Hopla. For showing the Wizards how to shoot. Hopla’s magic was most evident in DeShawn Stevenson, who hit more 3-pointers (158) than in his first seven seasons combined and Brendan Haywood, who hit 73.5 percent from the free-throw line after entering the season with a career mark below 60 percent.
Original Score — DeShawn Stevenson. Racing down floor, pulling up, and drilling a fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer, Stevenson applied the most spectacular dagger this season as the Wizards beat the Hornets in New Orleans. It capped a spectacular 33-point effort by Stevenson, his career high.
Non-Artistic Original Score — Darius Songaila. His spastic attempt at a long-range tip-in against the Clippers was high comedy, but it kept the ball alive and allowed Antawn Jamison to artfully lay the ball in for a buzzer-beating game-winner, ending the Wizards’ eight-game losing streak as they entered the All-Star break.
Achievement in Comedy — Soulja Boy. Before the fourth period of Game 3 of the Wizards-Cavaliers series, the teen rapper danced to his hit “Crank That,” punctuating his performance with Stevenson’s signature face wave.
Sound — Boston game. The usually-tepid Verizon Center crowd brought the noise for a Saturday night date against Boston in January, urging the Wizards to a physical 85-78 victory, punctuated by Stevenson’s breakaway slam.
Runner-up » The Wizards victory over Cleveland on the night Butler returned from a torn labrum and celebrated his 28th birthday.
Special Effects — Thanks to “Your Chicago Bulls,” overdone pre-game introductions have become a blight on the NBA landscape. But the Wizards’ pyrotechnic display before Game 3 of the Cavaliers series was thrilling for even the most tradition-tied curmudgeon.
Technical Achievement — Darius Songaila. In a play that should have drawn at worst a technical foul, Songaila managed to get suspended for Game 6 of the Cavaliers series for accidentally striking Cleveland star LeBron James in the face with his hand.
Inspiration — Etan Thomas. On the day the center returned from heart surgery to the Wizards bench, the team had perhaps its most complete game of the season, thumping Dallas, 102-84, in a Martin Luther King Jr. Monday matinee.
Best Picture — Nick Young. The rookie’s startling fastbreak dunk over LeBron was a jump-out-of-your-chair moment.
Runner-up » Caron Butler. His dunk over Kevin Martin in Sacramento was also an out-of-your-chair moment, but only if you were still awake.
