Short answers, pulled from the story.
The franchise became the Washington Wizards on the 15th of May 1997 after changing its name from the Bullets. The team originally began play as the Chicago Packers in 1961 before moving to Baltimore and then Washington, D.C. in 1973.
Wes Unseld won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1968 after being drafted second overall by the Baltimore Bullets. He also secured the league MVP title that same year while leading the team to a dramatic improvement from 36 wins to 57 victories.
Abe Pollin announced he was changing the team's nickname in November 1995 because the word Bullets had acquired violent overtones during the early 1990s. A contest narrowed choices to the Dragons, Express, Stallions, Sea Dogs, and the Wizards before the official change occurred on the 15th of May 1997.
On the 2nd of April 2014, the team defeated the Boston Celtics by a score of 118, 92 to clinch their first playoff berth since 2007, 08. Led by All-Star John Wall, they beat the Chicago Bulls in game five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals for their first series victory since the 2005 NBA playoffs.
The Wizards started a rebuild during the off-season of the 2023, 24 season by trading franchise player Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns. They acquired Chris Paul and traded him again to the Warriors for Patrick Baldwin Jr., Jordan Poole, draft picks, and cash considerations.