[1] There was a new beginning for basketball in Washington, D.C. as the team changed its name to the "Wizards", fearing "Bullets" endorsed gun violence.
[2][3][4][5][6] The team revealed a new primary logo of a wizard conjuring a basketball in front of a quarter moon,[7] and added new uniforms with blue, black and bronze colors.
[13][14][15] The team also re-signed former Bullets guard Ledell Eackles for the third time after a one-year absence from the NBA.
[17][18] The Wizards got off to a slow 5–11 start to the season, losing their first five home games at US Airways Arena, only winning games on the road such as defeating the Utah Jazz, 90–86 at the Delta Center on November 3,[19][20] and the 2-time defending champion Chicago Bulls, 90–83 at the United Center on November 12.
The Wizards held a 25–24 record at the All-Star break,[32] and won their final four games of the season to finish in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 42–40 record, but failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing just one game behind the 8th-seeded New Jersey Nets.