They’re still called the Wizards. But after Tuesday’s fancy unveiling of new red, white and blue uniforms, Washington’s professional basketball team looks a lot like the Bullets again.
“It was intentional,” Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said. “People really like the Bullets and the red, white and blue because they won championships, and I understand that. I think what we’ve done is make something that’s true to what we want to accomplish but gives great comfort and harkens back to a good part of our past.”
Fresh off completing their rookie seasons, John Wall and Jordan Crawford took to a stage on the practice court at Verizon Center in front of media, season ticket holders and more than two dozen former Washington players to model the white home and red away uniform. The No. 11 jerseys worn by Wall and Crawford were symbolic of the year and perhaps of the retired number of former legend Elvin Hayes — who wore a similar jersey when he and the Bullets won an NBA title in 1978.
In 1997, owner Abe Pollin renamed his team the Wizards and switched to a blue, black and gold scheme to coincide with a move downtown from the Capital Centre.
But when Leonsis took over after Pollin’s death in November 2009, it wasn’t long before he began an effort to return to a color that has become synonymous with his Washington Capitals. It was easier than changing the name of the team itself, which takes two to three years.
“This is what we’ve done,” Leonsis said. “It took a year to do. We can’t change the name. Changing the name changes the IP [intellectual property], and that’s a really big process. I think this was a very dramatic pivot for the franchise, and we were able to do it in the timeframe that we promised everybody.”
Inside Verizon Center, there was universal approval and a dramatic absence of the former Wizard logo.
“They have really gotten back to an era where now I can identify with the team,” Hayes said. “The teal, it wasn’t a Bullet color, and now with the Wizards having the old throwback colors. I just think it’s terrific.”
