NBA History: The best era for each of the 30 franchises

Washington Wizards: 1974-79

The Washington Wizards — then the Bullets — were in the midst of another location change in the summer of 1974. They had previously moved from Baltimore to Landover in 1973 and were quick to relocate to Washington the following offseason.

Despite their constant moves, this was no team in an on-court flux. The Bullets hadn’t missed the playoffs since the 1967-68 campaign and had made the Finals as recently as 1971, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in a sweep.

Washington possessed one of the league’s best frontcourts, an imposing duo of Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes that controlled everything around the rim. They would lead the Bullets back to the Finals in 1975, but Rick Barry’s Golden State Warriors proved too overpowering to steal even a single game.

Back-to-back semifinal losses put the Bullets on edge. They wanted to capitalize on the talent at their disposal but continued to come up short.

Then, the 1977-78 season happened. Washington returned to the Finals for the second time in four seasons and did more than just claim a single game. The Bullets took home the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time in franchise history after defeating the Seattle SuperSonics in an unmerciful seven-game series with Hayes emerging as the Finals MVP.

Washington returned to the Finals the following year, only to watch Seattle enact revenge in a five-game series victory.

With just one Finals victory in three attempts during this stretch, the Bullets certainly left a good amount of glory on the table. Considering they haven’t been back to the Finals since that time much less won an NBA championship, those present for that shining 1977-78 season aren’t likely to even care.