The Washington Wizards, founded in 1961 as the Chicago Packers, is one of the current teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Wizards have won its only NBA championship in 1978, had have made the NBA playoffs on twenty-three occasions. Currently led by interim head coach Randy Wittman, the Wizards has had twenty-three head coaches all throughout the franchise's history. While the interim coach tries to prove his worth as the Wizards head coach, the three greatest head coaches in Washington Wizards history are K.C. Jones, Gene Shue and Dick Motta.
No.3: K.C. Jones (1973 - 1976)
Former Boston Celtic great K.C. Jones took the reins of the team in 246 regular season games, while winning 155 of them, for a winning percentage of (.630). His win-loss ratio as the coach of the Washington Bullets is the highest amongst all franchise head coaches. In the playoffs, he coached the Bullets in 31 games, having won 14 for a winning percentage of (.452). His greatest achievement as a coach is leading the team to the 1975 NBA Finals, only to lose as a favorite to the underdog Golden State Warriors in four games.
No.2: Dick Motta (1976 - 1980)
Dick Motta is the only coach to lead the franchise to an NBA title, by defeating the Seattle Supersonics in the 1978 NBA Finals in seven games. The Bullets were huge underdogs when they entered the Finals, but Motta believed in his team's abilities, and successfully motivated them to success. Aside from winning the franchise's lone title, Motta also leads the franchise in playoff games coached with 51, and winning 27 of them for a playoff percentage of (.529). He also coached the team in 328 regular season games, and attaining a winning percentage of (.564) by winning 185 games. To date, his regular season percentage is the second highest in all Wizards head coaches.
No. 1: Gene Shue (1966 - 1973 & 1980 - 1986)
Gene Shue is the all-time leader in Wizards history in terms of regular season games coached with a total of 1,027. He is also the franchise's winningest head coach for the regular season with 522, for a winning percentage of (.507). Shue has coached the franchise formerly known as the Baltimore Bullets in 40 playoff games, second-most in franchise history, while winning 14 of them for a combined winning percentage of (.350). Shue is the only coach in franchise history to be named NBA's Coach of the Year, achieving the feat twice in 1969 and 1982.
All three coaches mentioned have led the Washington franchise to greater heights, and have spanned the most successful period of the Wizards' history, with a total of twenty seasons. During this period, the team has won an NBA title, plus a few other NBA Finals appearances. All three head coaches have made the most impact in its franchise's existence. But we give the nod to Gene Shue as the greatest coach in Washington Wizards history for his prolonged success with the team.
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