3/9-14 Bullets/Wizards Bdays

Happy birthday Wes Unseld. Wes played 13 seasons for the Bullets from 1968-1981. Wes is in the HOF and was both ROY and MVP during his rookie season of 68’. #41 was a 5 time all-star who averaged 10.8 PPG and 14.0 RPG during his career. Besides being a tenacious rebounded who dominated players much taller than him, Wes was also an excellent passer and is the Bullets/Wizards all-time leader with 3,822 assists (double Gilbert.) In retirement Wes filled many roles for the Bullets/Wizards including coach and GM and spent 30+ years with the organization. Happy 64th Mr. Unseld.

Happy birthday Darrell Walker. Darrell played 4 seasons for the Bullets from 1987-90. Darrell was a point guard who wore #5. Darrell came to the Bullets (along with Mark Alarie,) from Denver in a trade for Michael Adams and Jay Vincent. Darrell appeared in 283 games as a Bullet, averaging 8.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 6.0 APG. His best season came in 89-90, when he nearly averaged a triple double 9.5 PPG, 8.8 RPG & 8.0 APG. In retirement Darrel worked in the Bullets front office and was briefly the head coach in 2000, going 15-23 during his brief tenure. Darrell is currently an assistant coach for the Pistons. Happy 49th Mr. Walker.

Happy birthday Kwame Brown. Kwame played 4 seasons as forward and center for the Wizards from 2001-2005. Kwame was the first high school player selected #1 overall, evidently because he played well in 1 on 1 games vs. Michael Jordan. Kwame proved to be a bust, as he averaged only 7.7 PPG and 5.5 RPG in his 253 games as a Wizard. His best season was 2003 when he averaged 10.9 & 7.4. The Wizards were able to salvage something from the KB experiment; they traded him in 2005 for Caron Butler. Kwame is still hanging on in the NBA, currently averaging 3.2 PPG for the Pistons. Happy 28th (yes he’s only 28) Mr. Brown.

Happy birthday Caron Butler. Caron was recently traded to the Mavericks, interrupting his 5th season with the Wizards. Caron had a great career with the Wizards, making 2 all-star teams while averaging 19.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG & 3.5 APG. The NBA recently banned Caron from chewing on his straws during games, something he’s done for years. It’s yet to affect his game, he’s averaging 17 pts and the Mavericks have won all 12 games he’s appeared in. Happy 30th Mr. Butler.

Cheers and Hail