The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at the Capital One Arena, in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

The franchise was established in 1961 as the Chicago Packers in Chicago, Illinois; they were renamed the Chicago Zephyrs in the following season. In 1963, they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, and became the Baltimore Bullets, taking the name from a previous team of the same name. In 1973, the team moved to the Washington metropolitan area and changed its name first to the Capital Bullets, then the following season to Washington Bullets. In 1997, they rebranded themselves as the Wizards.

The Wizards have played in four NBA Finals; they won in 1978. They have appeared in 28 playoffs, won four conference titles (1971, 1975, 1978, 1979), and won eight division titles (1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1979, 2017). Their best season record, in 1975, was 60–22. Wes Unseld is the only player in franchise history to become the MVP (1969) and win the Finals MVP award (1978). Four players (Walt Bellamy, Terry Dischinger, Earl Monroe, and Unseld) have won the Rookie of the Year award.

The team now known as the Wizards began playing as the Chicago Packers in 1961, as the NBA's first expansion team, an expansion prompted by Abe Saperstein's American Basketball League. Rookie Walt Bellamy was the team's star, averaging 31.6 points per game, 19.0 rebounds per game, and leading the NBA in field goal percentage. During the All-Star game, Bellamy represented the team while scoring 23 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Bellamy was named the league Rookie of the Year, but the team finished with the NBA's worst record at 18–62.