Best Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee from each NBA franchise

Best Washington Wizards Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee: Elvin Hayes

The Washington Wizards have been in existence for almost 60 seasons now, dating back to the 1961-62 campaign when they were the Chicago Packers. During their short existence, the franchise has won just a single championship, a feat that wouldn’t have been accomplished without such an influential trade a few years prior.

By the summer of 1972, Elvin Hayes was well regarded among NBA circles as one of the best at the center position as a member of the Houston Rockets. Despite standing only 6’9”, he imposed his will around the basket at both ends of the court with nightly double-doubles and All-Star appearances in each of his four seasons with the team.

Hayes then found himself traded to what was then the Baltimore Bullets, a change that brought some difficult adjustments along with it. Playing alongside Wes Unseld, Hayes would have to slide up a position and watch his gaudy statistics take a hit.

His numbers went from 27.4 points and 16.3 rebounds down to 21.3 points and 12.7 rebounds across nine seasons with the Wizards organization. After coming up short in the 1974-75 Finals, his sacrifices paid off three years later when he helped Washington to the NBA championship.

The series victory over the Seattle SuperSonics took seven games with Hayes emerging the Finals MVP. He had averaged 20.7 points, 11.9 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game against Seattle in what would be the only championship of his stellar 16-year career.

Hayes was an All-Star in all but one of his seasons with the Wizards. He led the league in rebounds one year and made an All-NBA Team six times. For a long-suffering fanbase that hasn’t even seen the conference finals since 1978-79, it’s the banner he helped raise that will forever cement him in franchise lore.