Washington Capitols

Washington Capitols
Division Eastern Division
Founded 1946
History Washington Capitols
1946–1951
Arena Uline Arena
Location Washington, D.C.
Team colors Green, white
         
Division titles 1: (1949) – or 2 double-dagger

The Washington Capitols were a charter Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C. The team was coached from 1946 to 1949 by NBA Hall of Famer Red Auerbach.

The team was founded in 1946 as a charter BAA team; it became a charter NBA team in 1949. It folded on January 9, 1951 (with a 10–25 record). The team would try to make a comeback in the 1951–52 season in the American Basketball League, but the team folded again in January 1952. The home arena was Uline Arena in Washington, capacity 7,500. The teams wore green and white. The NBA returned to the Washington, D.C. area in 1973, when the Baltimore Bullets became the Capital Bullets, now known as the Washington Wizards.

Franchise history

The Capitols' 81.7 win percentage in the BAA's inaugural season was the highest in the NBA until surpassed by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1966–67.

The Washington Capitols are also noteworthy for two long win streaks during their short history. In 1946, the Capitols won 17 straight games — a single season streak that remained the NBA's longest until 1969. The 15–0 start of the 1948–49 team was the best in NBA history until the Golden State Warriors broke it in 2015–16 by starting 24-0, though the Houston Rockets had previously tied the Capitols' record in 1993–94.

Basketball Hall of Famers:

Leading scorers by season

  • 1947 – Bob Feerick – 16.8 ppg
  • 1948 – Bob Feerick – 16.1 ppg
  • 1949 – Bob Feerick – 13.0 ppg
  • 1950 – Don Otten – 14.9 ppg (in 18 games. Jack Nichols scored 13.1 over 49 games, but Fred Scolari scored the most points, with 860 in 66 games.)
  • 1951 – Bill Sharman – 12.2 ppg

Coaches and others

  • 1947–1949 – Red Auerbach
  • 1950 – Bob Feerick – player-coach
  • 1951 – Bones McKinney – player-coach
  • 1950 – Earl Lloyd – first African American to play in the NBA

Season-by-season records

League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Playoff Berth
Season League Conference Finish Division Finish Wins Losses Win% GB Playoffs Awards
1946–47BAA––Eastern1st dagger4911.817–Lost BAA Semifinals (Stags) 2–4
1947–48BAA––Western2nd2820.5831Lost Division Tiebreaker (Stags)
1948–49BAA––Eastern1st3822.633–Won Division Semifinals (Warriors) 2–0
Won Division Finals (Knicks) 2–1
Lost BAA Finals (Lakers) 2–4
1949–50NBA––Eastern3rd3236.47121Lost Division Semifinals (Knicks) 0–2
1950–51 double-daggerNBA––Eastern6th1025.28630
Regular Season record157114.5791946–1951
Playoff record812.400Postseason Series Record: 2–4

dagger The inaugural 1947 BAA Playoffs did not establish Eastern and Western champions and generated one finalist from the East, one from the West, only by coincidence. Washington and Chicago won the Eastern and Western Divisions and met in a best-of-seven series to determine one league championship finalist. (Washington lost the first two games, both at home, by 16 points each and lost the series four games to two; every game but the last was decided by at least 10 points.) Meanwhile, four runners-up played best-of-three matches to determine the other finalist. Philadelphia, second in the East, won that runners-up bracket and defeated Chicago in a best-of-seven series to win the BAA championship.[1]

double-dagger The Capitols folded midway during the season on January 9, 1951.

References

  1. ↑ "1946–47 BAA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
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