Gilbert Arenas pulled a trick out of Kobe Bryant's PR playbook over the weekend, trying to worm his way back into the NBA spotlight (during the Finals no less) by informing everyone that he intends to exercise his player option after next season and look to sign a new, more lucrative contract extension. But don't worry folks, it's just business. "To me, it's just a smarter business decision to play next season, opt out... more ›

After getting handled by the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday afternoon, the Wizards did their best to step up their game. It would be hard to argue that last night's showing was not a step up from Sunday's dreary performance. The Wizards increased their point total by 20, but the end result was the same: another L in the books as Cleveland rode a strong performance by Drew Gooden (of all people!) for a 109-102 victory. Gooden... more ›

After a three game losing streak, who would have thought a match up with the Cleveland Cavaliers, owners of the second best record in the NBA going into Saturday night, would be just what the doctor ordered for the Washington Wizards? Both teams were coming off games on Friday; the Wiz lost at Detroit and the Cavs pounded the hapless Timberwolves at home. In this topsy turvy start to the NBA season, the Cavs... more ›

Leading into last night's Wizards game, we'd all heard so much about Gilbert Arenas dropping 41 (then a career high) on Larry Hughes the last time they faced each other on opposing teams, that you just felt the Wiz were due for a letdown on the road in Cleveland. Sure enough, Arenas, fresh off being named Eastern Conference Player of the Week following his 43 point outburst against San Antonio, shot 4-for-17 and dropped a... more ›

The Washington Wizards, fresh off of their first playoff trip in many moons, return to action tonight when the team travels to Toronto and tips off against the Raptors at 7:00 p.m. The Wiz had quite the offseason. They lost Larry Hughes, Juan Dixon and DCist fave Steve Blake in free agency and traded star-crossed former No. 1 pick Kwame Brown to the LA Lakers for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. Free agents Antonio... more ›

It's been a good summer. For DCist it has, anyway, filled with cheetah cubs and buttersticks, Nats games and Borf sightings, and lots of sweaty, booze-soaked cookouts. But fall is coming, people, and it's time to put the flip-flops aside, say goodbye to the interns, and fill out your autumn dance card. DCist humbly offers the following suggestions. Oh, they grow up so fast. One day they're lil, playing hoops and making MTV videos, the... more ›

The Wizards just took another step in recovering from the departure of Larry Hughes by agreeing in principle to a deal with Antonio Daniels reportedly worth $30 million dollars over five years. The addition of Daniels, who played the last two years in Seattle for the Supersonics and was highly sought after by the LA Lakers, figures to give coach Eddie Jordan some flexibility with his line ups, particularly in the backcourt. Daniels can... more ›

The first rule of the NBA offseason? Resign your own free agents. Dealing a major blow to the team's playoff aspirations for 2006, today Jeff Wechsler, agent for Wizards guard Larry Hughes, told ESPN.com that Hughes will not return to Washington next season, opting to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers instead. Hughes, a free agent, was expected to return to Washington to build upon the team's first appearance in the 2nd round of the playoffs... more ›

Shaq or no Shaq, the Wizards fell once again to the Miami Heat on Saturday and with it brought the end of their season. We could pull a Tony Kornheiser and run around screaming "Remember the Caps?" or listen to Mike Wise when he says that a "bright future" doesn't always turn out the way you envisioned it. We could do that, but we're not going to. Instead let's focus on what the Wiz... more ›

We all know what happened in the last round of the playoffs when the Washington Wizards recovered from a distastrous pair of opening games before righting the ship and vanquishing the Chicago Bulls, but DCist is going to go out on a limb and say the outlook isn't quite so rosey this time around. After all, we don't expect Dwayne Wade to pull a Ben Gordon and disappear for games at a time. In fact,... more ›

General thinking in the NBA Playoffs is that a series really doesn't start until a team wins on the road. Well, after losing their second game in a row in Chicago to the Bulls (and continuing their recent less than stellar playoff history), the Wizards better hope this series "doesn't start" until they return to Chicago next week. Home games on Saturday and Monday might be the last hurrah for this team if they... more ›

>> The Washington Wizards played strong for three quarters yesterday but were outscored 26-12 in the fourth quarter as the Chicago Bulls pulled away late for a 103-94 victory. The Bulls were led by rookie Ben Gordon's 30 points (12 in the fourth quarter) and fellow rook Andres Nocioni (25 points and 18 boards), coupled with their trademark tough team defense and opportunistic offensive rebounding. The Wizards "Big Three" didn't fare as well. Gilbert... more ›

Simply put, today is a good day to be a sports fan in Washington. Not only do we have the Nats home opener (more on that later) but last night the Wizards clinched their first playoff appearance since 1997 with a 93-82 win over the visiting Chicago Bulls. At long last the franchise has erased the failures of players like Mitch Richmond, Jerry Stackhouse and Michael Jordan, each of whom failed to lead the... more ›

The Washington Wizards ended their longest losing streak of the season last night beating the Milwauke Bucks 119-112 at the MCI Center. The Wiz were powered by Antawn Jamison's 32 points and a season high 13 assists from Gilbert Arenas, who scored only 8 points on 2 of 9 shooting. Perhaps this was a wake up call for Arenas. Washington is just 1-4 in games when he scores over 40 points. Last night he focused... more ›

>> Despite their propensity to fight through injuries this year, the absence of All Star Antawn Jamison was evident last night as the Washington Wizards fell in Denver to the red hot Nuggets 127-98. Gilbert Arenas led the Wiz with 25, but the team shot just 39% from the field. Coach Eddie Jordan might want to look at the team's defense too. The Nuggets shot over 55% and it's never a good thing when... more ›

Yesterday the NBA announced the reserve rosters for the 2005 NBA All Star Game in Denver, Co. and to no one's surprise, a pair of Wizards heard there names called out. Take a bow Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas, you deserve it. more ›

DCist took in the Wizards impressive victory over the league leading Phoenix Suns on Saturday night at the MCI Center and left the arena feeling good about the immediate future of our new basketball powerhouse. That, however, came to an abrupt end on Sunday morning when we read the news that possible All Star Larry Hughes would miss four to six weeks with a fractured thumb on his shooting hand. The immediate returns from the Wiz were less than impressive after their 28 point loss yesterday in San Antonio. Hopefully the Wiz can bounce back tonight in Dallas against the Mavericks. more ›

Even if the Redskins are stuck here at home, DCist is assuming that many of you spent the weekend watching some NFL playoff football. If so, you might have missed out on a big weekend for the local hoops teams. Luckily for you we are here with a quick roundup: more ›

The new look New Jersey Nets traveled to the nation's capitol last night and came away with their collective tail tucked between their legs as the home team dropped a team record 14 three pointers and rode the hot hand of Larry Hughes to a 112-88. The win, the Wiz's third over the Nets this year, moves their record to 17-13, good enough for second in the Southeast Division. Despite Hughes gaudy numbers, 33 points... more ›

Lost amid the Redskins “playoff push” and the whole DC Baseball brouhaha has been a quiet but impressive start to the season by that other pro sports franchise in town, the Washington Wizards. The Wiz were shot down by the Miami Heat last night 98-93, making them 0-4 against the Heat this season, but take away those 4 losses and the team is a very impressive 12-4. Even with them, their record is good enough... more ›

As if things weren’t bad enough for the Redskins this season, rookie standout Sean Taylor was pulled over and charged with DUI early Wednesday morning. Virginia State Police Lt. Harry Newlin pulled Taylor over at 2:45 a.m., on the Beltway. Taylor was taken into custody after he failed a sobriety test at the scene and then refused a breathlizer. He was later released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond and is due in a... more ›