Washington Capitols
From Hoopedia
The Washington Capitols were a charter Basketball Association of America (forerunner of the National Basketball Association) team based in Washington, D.C.
The team was founded in 1946 when the BAA began operations. When the NBA was formed in 1949 with the merger of the BAA and the National Basketball League, the Capitol became a charter NBA team. It folded on January 9, 1951.
The home arena was Uline Arena in Washington, which had a capacity of 7,500. Teams colors were green and white. The team was coached from 1947 to 1949 by Hall of Famer Red Auerbach.
Contents |
Franchise history
The Capitols' 81.7% win percentage in the BAA's inaugural season is still one of the top 10 winning percentages in NBA history.
The Washington Capitols are also noteworthy for two long win streaks during their short history. In 1946, the Capitols won 17 straight games — a streak that would remain the NBA's longest until 1969. The 15-0 start of the 1948-49 team is still the best in NBA history (albeit tied in 1993-94 by the Houston Rockets).
- NBA Championships: None
- Divisional Championships: Regular Season: 2 (1946-47 and 1948-49); playoffs (1947, 1948, 1949, 1950)
Basketball Hall of Famers
- Bill Sharman (leading scorer in the 1951 season)
- Red Auerbach (coach)
Leading scorers by season
- 1947 - Bob Feerick - 16.8 ppg
- 1948 - Bob Feerick - 16.1 ppg
- 1949 - Bob Feerick - 13.0 ppg
- 1950 - Don Otten - 14.9 ppg (in 18 games. Jack Nichols scored 13.1 over 49 games, but Fred Scolari scored the most points, with 860 in 66 games.)
- 1951 - Bill Sharman - 12.2 ppg
Coaches
- 1947-1949 - Red Auerbach
- 1950 - Bob Feerick (player-coach)
- 1951 - Bones McKinney (player-coach)
