2008–09 Washington Wizards season

The 2008–09 Washington Wizards season was the 48th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Wizards began the season hoping to improve on their 43–39 record from the previous season, but failed and fell 24 games short. The team finished 2008–09 with a dismal 19–63 record that equalled their worst 82-game performance from the 2000–01 season, and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2003–04 season.

2008–09 Washington Wizards season
Head coach	Eddie Jordan (Games 1-11) Ed Tapscott (interim) (Games 12-82)
Arena	Verizon Center
Results
Record	19–63 (.232)
Place	Division: 5th (Southeast) Conference: 15th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	CSN Mid-Atlantic, The CW Washington, News Channel 8
Radio	ESPN 980

Key dates

• June 26: The 2008 NBA draft took place in New York City, New York.
• July 1: The free agency period started.

Transactions

• June 30 - Re-signed forward Antawn Jamison to a 4-year, $50 million contract
• July 11 - Guard Roger Mason signed with the San Antonio Spurs
• July 13 - Re-signed guard Gilbert Arenas to a 6-year, $111 million contract
• September 23 - Signed guard Juan Dixon to a contract.
• December 10 - Traded guard Antonio Daniels to the New Orleans Hornets and a conditional first-round draft pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal in exchange for guards Mike James and Javaris Crittenton. Also waived guard Dee Brown

Draft picks

Main article: 2008 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	18	JaVale McGee	C	United States	Nevada
2	47	Bill Walker (traded to Boston)	SF	United States	Kansas State

Roster

Washington Wizards roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From PG 0 Arenas, Gilbert 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Arizona F/C 32 Blatche, Andray 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) South Kent Prep (HS) SG 3 Butler, Caron 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Connecticut G 8 Crittenton, Javaris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Georgia Tech G 12 Dixon, Juan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 164 lb (74 kg) Maryland C 33 Haywood, Brendan 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 268 lb (122 kg) North Carolina PG 13 James, Mike 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Duquesne PF 4 Jamison, Antawn 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 223 lb (101 kg) North Carolina C 34 McGee, JaVale 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 237 lb (108 kg) Nevada SF 5 McGuire, Dominic 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fresno State C 14 Pecherov, Oleksiy 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Ukraine C 9 Songaila, Darius 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 248 lb (112 kg) Wake Forest SG 2 Stevenson, DeShawn 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Washington Union High School C 36 Thomas, Etan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 256 lb (116 kg) Syracuse SG 1 Young, Nick 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) USC

Head coach Eddie Jordan (fired) Ed Tapscott (interim) Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Standings

Southeast Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div	GP
y-Orlando Magic	59	23	.720	—	32–9	27–14	14–2	82
x-Atlanta Hawks	47	35	.573	12	31–10	16–25	11–5	82
x-Miami Heat	43	39	.524	16	28–13	15–26	9–7	82
Charlotte Bobcats	35	47	.427	24	23–18	12–29	5–11	82
Washington Wizards	19	63	.232	40	13–28	6–35	1–15	82

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Cleveland Cavaliers	66	16	.805	—
2	y-Boston Celtics	62	20	.756	4
3	y-Orlando Magic	59	23	.720	7
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	47	35	.573	19
5	x-Miami Heat	43	39	.524	23
6	x-Philadelphia 76ers	41	41	.500	25
7	x-Chicago Bulls	41	41	.500	25
8	x-Detroit Pistons	39	43	.476	27
9	Indiana Pacers	36	46	.439	30
10	Charlotte Bobcats	35	47	.427	31
11	New Jersey Nets	34	48	.415	32
12	Milwaukee Bucks	34	48	.415	32
13	Toronto Raptors	33	49	.402	33
14	New York Knicks	32	50	.390	34
15	Washington Wizards	19	63	.232	47

Game log

2008–09 game log
October: 0–1 (home: 0–1; road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 29 New Jersey L 85–95 Antawn Jamison, DeShawn Stevenson (14) Caron Butler (11) Caron Butler (5) Verizon Center 20,173 0–1
November: 2–11 (home: 2–5; road: 0–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 November 1 @ Detroit L 109–117 Antawn Jamison (24) Antawn Jamison (8) Caron Butler (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 0–2 3 November 5 @ Milwaukee L 104–112 (OT) Caron Butler (27) Antawn Jamison (10) Juan Dixon, Antonio Daniels (4) Bradley Center 13,895 0–3 4 November 7 New York L 108–114 Caron Butler (30) Antawn Jamison (12) Juan Dixon (11) Verizon Center 20,173 0–4 5 November 8 @ Orlando L 81–106 Nick Young (20) JaVale McGee, Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas (6) Dee Brown (5) Amway Arena 16,911 0–5 6 November 12 Utah W 95–87 Caron Butler (27) JaVale McGee (11) Caron Butler (3) Verizon Center 14,885 1–5 7 November 14 @ Miami L 77–97 Antawn Jamison (15) Antawn Jamison (10) Juan Dixon (3) American Airlines Arena 15,284 1–6 8 November 18 Miami L 87–94 Antawn Jamison (25) Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler (12) Juan Dixon (5) Verizon Center 15,102 1–7 9 November 19 @ Atlanta L 87–91 Caron Butler (32) Antawn Jamison (11) DeShawn Stevenson (5) Philips Arena 14,416 1–8 10 November 21 Houston L 91–103 Antawn Jamison (27) Antawn Jamison (10) DeShawn Stevenson (7) Verizon Center 20,173 1–9 11 November 22 @ New York L 117–122 Antawn Jamison (29) Antawn Jamison (13) DeShawn Stevenson (8) Madison Square Garden 19,763 1–10 12 November 25 Golden State W 124–100 Caron Butler (35) Andray Blatche (12) DeShawn Stevenson (7) Verizon Center 13,852 2–10 13 November 27 Orlando L 90–105 Caron Butler (25) Antawn Jamison (12) Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson (6) Verizon Center 13,295 2–11 14 November 29 Atlanta L 98–102 Antawn Jamison (26) Antawn Jamison (13) Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler (5) Verizon Center 18,110 2–12
December: 4–12 (home: 2–6; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 15 December 2 @ New Jersey W 108–88 Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison (22) Antawn Jamison (8) Caron Butler (10) Izod Center 15,062 3–12 16 December 3 Portland L 92–98 Antawn Jamison (22) JaVale McGee (7) Antawn Jamison (5) Verizon Center 12,802 3–13 17 December 5 L.A. Lakers L 104–106 Caron Butler (26) Andray Blatche, Antawn Jamison (12) DeShawn Stevenson (6) Verizon Center 20,173 3–14 18 December 6 @ Chicago L 110–117 Caron Butler (27) Antawn Jamison (12) Caron Butler (6) United Center 21,741 3–15 19 December 9 Detroit W 107–94 Caron Butler (33) Antawn Jamison (11) Juan Dixon (7) Verizon Center 14,707 4–15 20 December 11 Boston L 88–122 Caron Butler (19) JaVale McGee (6) Juan Dixon (7) Verizon Center 20,173 4–16 21 December 13 @ Philadelphia L 89–104 Antawn Jamison (17) Antawn Jamison (9) Juan Dixon (5) Wachovia Center 15,865 4–17 22 December 15 Indiana L 98–118 Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler (26) Antawn Jamison (15) Mike James (6) Verizon Center 14,502 4–18 23 December 17 @ Detroit L 74–88 Mike James (16) Antawn Jamison, Andray Blatche (11) Andray Blatche, Caron Butler (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 22,076 4–19 24 December 19 Philadelphia L 103–109 Antawn Jamison (23) Antawn Jamison (10) Antawn Jamison (5) Verizon Center 18,323 4–20 25 December 21 Dallas L 86–97 Antawn Jamison (22) Mike James, Antawn Jamison (8) Mike James (5) Verizon Center 15,582 4–21 26 December 23 @ Charlotte L 72–80 Caron Butler (31) Dominic McGuire (10) Caron Butler (4) Time Warner Cable Arena 13,776 4–22 27 December 25 @ Cleveland L 89–93 Antawn Jamison (28) Dominic McGuire (11) Caron Butler (10) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 4–23 28 December 27 Oklahoma City W 104–95 Antawn Jamison (29) Andray Blatche (15) Mike James (11) Verizon Center 16,181 5–23 29 December 29 @ Houston W 89–87 Antawn Jamison (30) Antawn Jamison (12) Dominic McGuire (6) Toyota Center 18,278 6–23 30 December 30 @ New Orleans L 85–97 Antawn Jamison (22) Antawn Jamison (12) Mike James (7) New Orleans Arena 18,021 6–24
January: 4–13 (home: 3–4; road: 1–9) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 January 2 @ Boston L 83–108 Nick Young (15) Antawn Jamison (9) Caron Butler (5) TD Banknorth Garden 18,624 6–25 32 January 4 Cleveland W 80–77 Antawn Jamison (26) Antawn Jamison (13) Andray Blatche (4) Verizon Center 20,173 7–25 33 January 6 @ Orlando L 80–89 Caron Butler (29) Antawn Jamison (9) Caron Butler, Mike James (5) Amway Arena 16,011 7–26 34 January 7 Toronto L 93–99 Antawn Jamison (32) Antawn Jamison (7) Caron Butler, Javaris Crittenton (6) Verizon Center 13,864 7–27 35 January 9 @ Chicago L 86–98 Nick Young (28) Antawn Jamison (11) Caron Butler (6) United Center 20,125 7–28 36 January 10 Charlotte L 89–92 Caron Butler (19) Andray Blatche (10) Andray Blatche (4) Verizon Center 20,173 7–29 37 January 12 Milwaukee L 91–97 Nick Young (30) Dominic McGuire (10) Dominic McGuire (5) Verizon Center 13,510 7–30 38 January 14 @ New York L 122–128 Nick Young (33) Antawn Jamison (7) Mike James (5) Madison Square Garden 18,020 7–31 39 January 16 New York W 96–89 Antawn Jamison (28) Andray Blatche (11) Caron Butler (7) Verizon Center 17,526 8–31 40 January 19 @ Golden State L 98–119 Andray Blatche, Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler (22) Dominic McGuire (11) Dominic McGuire (6) Oracle Arena 19,244 8–32 41 January 21 @ Sacramento W 110–107 Antawn Jamison (33) Dominic McGuire (12) Caron Butler (5) ARCO Arena 10,821 9–32 42 January 22 @ L.A. Lakers L 97–117 Antawn Jamison (19) JaVale McGee (9) Caron Butler, Mike James (6) Staples Center 18,997 9–33 43 January 24 @ Portland L 87–100 Caron Butler (31) Caron Butler (10) Mike James (7) Rose Garden 20,566 9–34 44 January 26 Phoenix L 87–103 Caron Butler (28) Antawn Jamison (13) Dominic McGuire (7) Verizon Center 17,344 9–35 45 January 28 @ Miami L 71–93 Antawn Jamison (21) Antawn Jamison (12) Caron Butler (6) American Airlines Arena 16,424 9–36 46 January 30 @ Philadelphia L 94–104 Antawn Jamison (25) Antawn Jamison (15) Javaris Crittenton (7) Wachovia Center 15,528 9–37 47 January 31 L.A. Clippers W 106–94 Antawn Jamison (25) Caron Butler (13) Caron Butler (7) Verizon Center 18,227 10–37
February: 4–8 (home: 3–5; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 48 February 2 Memphis L 97–113 Antawn Jamison (29) Antawn Jamison (13) Caron Butler (5) Verizon Center 11,442 10–38 49 February 4 New Jersey L 88–115 Nick Young (21) Antawn Jamison (6) Nick Young (4) Verizon Center 12,602 10–39 50 February 6 Denver L 103–124 Antawn Jamison (26) Dominic McGuire, Antawn Jamison (8) Javaris Crittenton (7) Verizon Center 20,173 10–40 51 February 8 Indiana W 119–117 Caron Butler (35) Caron Butler (13) Mike James (7) Verizon Center 13,708 11–40 52 February 10 @ Atlanta L 90–111 Caron Butler (22) Antawn Jamison (12) Javaris Crittenton (7) Philips Arena 17,027 11–41 53 February 11 @ Charlotte L 89–101 Caron Butler (26) Antawn Jamison (9) Caron Butler (6) Time Warner Cable Arena 10,237 11–42 54 February 17 Minnesota W 111–103 Antawn Jamison (29) Antawn Jamison (11) Caron Butler (6) Verizon Center 11,623 12–42 55 February 20 @ New Jersey W 107–96 Antawn Jamison (28) Dominic McGuire (14) Dominic McGuire, Javaris Crittenton, Andray Blatche (3) Izod Center 15,113 13–42 56 February 21 San Antonio L 67–98 Caron Butler (24) Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison (7) Dominic McGuire, Caron Butler (4) Verizon Center 20,173 13–43 57 February 25 Philadelphia L 98–106 Caron Butler (17) Dominic McGuire (14) Caron Butler (5) Verizon Center 16,505 13–44 58 February 27 Chicago W 113–90 Antawn Jamison (27) Dominic McGuire, Antawn Jamison (11) Caron Butler (6) Verizon Center 18,114 14–44 59 February 28 @ Milwaukee L 93–109 Antawn Jamison (21) Antawn Jamison (14) Caron Butler (6) Bradley Center 15,970 14–45
March: 3–13 (home: 2–5; road: 1–8) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 60 March 2 Atlanta L 89–98 Antawn Jamison (23) Antawn Jamison, JaVale McGee (9) Dominic McGuire (9) Verizon Center 10,189 14–46 61 March 4 @ Oklahoma City L 83–88 Antawn Jamison (29) Antawn Jamison (10) Dominic McGuire (6) Ford Center 18,576 14–47 62 March 6 @ San Antonio L 78–100 Antawn Jamison (14) Nick Young (6) Dominic McGuire (4) AT&T Center 18,440 14–48 63 March 7 @ Dallas L 103–119 Antawn Jamison (24) Antawn Jamison (11) Mike James (7) American Airlines Center 20,150 14–49 64 March 9 @ Minnesota W 110–99 Caron Butler (27) Caron Butler (10) Caron Butler (6) Target Center 13,119 15–49 65 March 11 New Orleans L 98–109 Antawn Jamison (25) Antawn Jamison (10) Caron Butler (9) Verizon Center 15,255 15–50 66 March 13 Orlando L 103–112 Antawn Jamison (36) Dominic McGuire (7) Javaris Crittenton (7) Verizon Center 18,152 15–51 67 March 15 Sacramento W 106–104 Antawn Jamison (30) Antawn Jamison (9) Dominic McGuire (8) Verizon Center 15,108 16–51 68 March 17 @ Utah L 88–103 Nick Young, Juan Dixon (14) Andray Blatche (13) Darius Songaila (3) EnergySolutions Arena 19,911 16–52 69 March 18 @ L.A. Clippers L 108–123 Antawn Jamison (24) Antawn Jamison (11) Antawn Jamison (7) Staples Center 15,123 16–53 70 March 20 @ Denver L 105–116 Antawn Jamison (27) JaVale McGee (11) Mike James (9) Pepsi Center 18,231 16–54 71 March 21 @ Phoenix L 96–128 Antawn Jamison (25) Andray Blatche (9) Darius Songaila (3) US Airways Center 18,422 16–55 72 March 23 Chicago L 99–101 Antawn Jamison (34) Andray Blatche (13) Dominic McGuire (7) Verizon Center 15,421 16–56 73 March 25 Charlotte W 95–93 Antawn Jamison (27) Antawn Jamison (8) Mike James (5) Verizon Center 14,657 17–56 74 March 28 Detroit L 96–98 Antawn Jamison (21) Caron Butler (10) Gilbert Arenas (10) Verizon Center 20,173 17–57 75 March 29 @ Indiana L 115–124 Caron Butler (31) Caron Butler (13) Javaris Crittenton, Caron Butler (3) Conseco Fieldhouse 13,729 17–58
April: 2–5 (home: 1–2; road: 1–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 1 @ Memphis L 107–112 Caron Butler (31) Javaris Crittenton (11) Caron Butler (4) FedExForum 10,013 17–59 77 April 2 Cleveland W 109–101 Caron Butler (25) Brendan Haywood, Dominic McGuire (10) Gilbert Arenas (10) Verizon Center 20,173 18–59 78 April 4 Miami L 104–118 Caron Butler (27) Brendan Haywood (12) Javaris Crittenton (8) Verizon Center 20,173 18–60 79 April 8 @ Cleveland L 86–98 Nick Young (16) Brendan Haywood (7) Dominic McGuire (4) Quicken Loans Arena 20,562 18–61 80 April 10 @ Toronto W 100–98 Antawn Jamison (24) Antawn Jamison (12) Caron Butler (7) Air Canada Centre 18,107 19–61 81 April 13 Toronto L 96–97 Caron Butler (28) Caron Butler, Dominic McGuire (9) Juan Dixon (7) Verizon Center 18,455 19–62 82 April 15 @ Boston L 107–115 Caron Butler (39) Oleksiy Pecherov (10) Caron Butler, Javaris Crittenton (4) TD Banknorth Garden 18,624 19–63
2015–16 season schedule

Playoffs

Did not qualify

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Source:

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Antawn Jamison	81	81	38:12	46.8	35.1	75.4	8.9	1.9	1.2	0.3	22.2
Caron Butler	67	67	38:36	45.3	31.0	85.8	6.2	4.3	1.6	0.3	20.8
Gilbert Arenas	2	2	31:18	26.1	28.6	75.0	4.5	10.0	0.0	0.5	13.0
Nick Young (basketball)	82	5	22:23	44.4	34.1	85.0	1.8	1.2	0.5	0.2	10.9
Andray Blatche	71	36	24:00	47.1	23.8	70.4	5.3	1.7	0.7	1.0	10.0
Brendan Haywood	6	5	29:11	48.0	0.0	47.6	7.3	1.3	0.7	2.5	9.7
Mike James	53	50	29:41	38.7	36.7	83.8	2.4	3.6	0.8	0.1	9.6
Darius Songaila	77	29	19:48	53.2	0.0	88.9	2.9	1.2	0.8	0.3	7.4
DeShawn Stevenson	32	25	27:41	31.2	27.1	53.3	2.4	3.1	0.7	0.1	6.6
JaVale McGee	75	14	15:11	49.4	0.0	66.5	3.9	0.3	0.4	0.8	6.5
Javaris Crittenton	56	10	20:11	45.9	14.3	59.3	2.9	2.6	0.7	0.1	5.3
Juan Dixon	50	6	16:18	39.5	33.3	87.2	1.3	2.4	0.7	0.1	5.2
Antonio Daniels	13	5	22:11	40.0	45.5	75.8	1.7	3.6	0.5	0.0	5.1
Dominic McGuire	79	57	26:11	43.2	50.0	72.5	5.4	2.5	0.8	0.9	4.5
Oleksiy Pecherov	32	0	08:41	38.6	32.6	82.8	2.4	0.1	0.2	0.1	3.6
Etan Thomas	26	7	11:48	48.5	0.0	69.6	2.5	0.2	0.1	0.7	3.1
Dee Brown (basketball, born 1984)	17	11	13:41	38.6	30.0	33.3	1.7	1.9	0.6	0.0	2.4

Transactions

Trades

June 26, 2008	To Washington Wizards Cash considerations	To Boston Celtics The 47th pick in the 2008 NBA draft (Bill Walker)
December 10, 2008	To Washington Wizards Mike James & Javaris Crittenton	To New Orleans Hornets Antonio Daniels To Memphis Grizzlies Conditional 1st round pick