Who Are the Washington Wizards' All-Time Iron Men?

Who Are the Washington Wizards’ All-Time Iron Men?

Faiyaad KamalApril 27, 20263 Mins read5

Wes Unseld

The franchise’s most decorated player was exhibiting greatness in more ways than outlet passes and relentless rebounding. Wes Unseld‘s reliability anchored the Bullets’ identity as one of the league’s toughest teams throughout the 1970s.

Spending his entire 13-year career in Baltimore and D.C., Unseld led the franchise in total games played (984). Like Carrington, he played in every game in his first two years. Unlike Carrington, Unseld played at least 70 games 11 times and all 82 in four of them, all while capturing MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same campaign.

The 6-foot-7 center transformed the franchise right away. He boosted the Bullets by 21 wins in his rookie year and led them to the association’s second-best defensive rating.

In the 1977-78 championship season, Unseld played 80 games and delivered tireless efforts in the Finals series against the Seattle SuperSonics. He logged 40 minutes in Washington’s Game 7 victory away from home, barely scraping by Seattle 105-99, and earned Finals MVP.

Across his career, Unseld played an average of 36 minutes per game and put Washington on the map before the team fell into irrelevance in the years to come.

Elvin Hayes

The Big E formed the other half of Washington’s two-headed snake in its glory days. Elvin Hayes was a dominant interior force on both ends of the floor. He made eight consecutive All-Star games in Baltimore/Washington and led the champion Bullets in scoring.

What isn’t discussed as much is how consistently he played to get there.

In his 16-year NBA career, Hayes incredibly never played fewer than 80 games in a season. He totaled eight seasons without missing a game and didn’t miss a contest until his fifth year. The astounding longevity helped him accumulate the second most games played in franchise history with 731.

Hayes appeared in all 21 games of Washington’s championship run, averaging 21.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while logging a heavy 41.3 minutes per game. In Game 7, he tallied 12 points and eight boards before fouling out, helping secure the championship.

In 1984, Hayes retired as one of the best players in franchise history and one of the greatest power forwards ever. And through only missing nine games in 16 years, he became the epitome of on-court dependability.

Greg Ballard

Greg Ballard won’t be found on many leaderboards. The small forward was nothing more than a strong role player early in his career. But the one leaderboard he sits near the top of is total games played in Washington, in fourth with 643.

Ballard became such a reliable option through efficient scoring, 47.2% for his career, and energy on the glass, averaging as much as eight per game. He recorded five 82-game seasons in Washington and never played fewer than 75 during his tenure.

Following Unseld’s retirement and Hayes’ departure, Ballard stepped into a larger role.

His scoring skyrocketed to 18.8 points per game in 1981-82, and his usage rate rose four percent from his rookie year. He was no longer the benchwarmer on the 1978 championship squad. Ballard played 37 minutes per game and became the face of a struggling team.

One of the standout games of Ballard’s career came in an overtime loss against the Portland Trail Blazers. He erupted for a career-high 38 points and 15 rebounds on 59% shooting. Fittingly, he played every game that season, reflecting the consistency that defined his career.