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Jan 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; (L-R) Former Washington Bullets/Wizards greats Terry Discharger, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, and Bernard King are honored during a timeout on 'throwback night" against the Denver Nuggets at Verizon Center. The Nuggets won 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Three Wizards Who Could Have Their Jerseys Retired

Originally posted on Washington Wizards on SI
By Scott Conrad | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The news has been out for a few days now. Former Washington Wizards' point guard John Wall is hanging up his basketball shoes and calling it a career after over a decade.

This week, there has been discussion about his jersey being retired by the franchise. The Wizards have not hung a player's number up in their arena since 2018; maybe it's time to add a sixth up there.

Wall wore the number 2 with pride. He recorded more than 40 double-doubles in his career with Washington, and had seven of his eight triple-doubles with the franchise.

Among the past greats, the former Kentucky Wildcat deserves this same honor with Wes Unseld and Elvin Hayes, to name a few. There's also a few other players worth the notion.

1. Juwan Howard

The fifth pick of the 1994 NBA Draft belonged to the Washington Bullets. After a prominent collegiate career with the Michigan Wolverines, Howard joined a team that was just 24-58.

He averaged 17 points per game in his rookie year and a career best 8.4 rebounds in 65 games (52 as a starter). Howard followed that up with three more career highs in his second season.

In the 1995-96 NBA season, he started in all but one of the Bullets' 82 games. He checked in for career-highs of 40.7 minutes, 22.1 points, and averaged 4.4 assists a game. These two seasons rank up here with some of Wall's best years.

ALAN R. KAMUDA, Detroit Free Press

The Washington Bullets were swept in the first round the 1997 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls. Howard averaged 18.7 points and was 88.7% from the free-throw line in that series.

His only NBA All-Star nomination was with the Washington Bullets. Howard is another candidate to have his jersey retired.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

2. Chris Webber

This former Bullets' teammate of Howard's also played at Michigan with him. Webber played for Washington from 1994–1998.

In four seasons with the Bullets/Wizards, the power forward recorded a triple double of 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against his former team, the Golden State Warriors.

Injuries affected Webber's career early on, even before he left to play for the Sacramento Kings. He did average a double-double (20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game) during the 1996-97 NBA season.

In the three-game series against the Bulls in the 1997 NBA Playoffs, Webber connected on a postseason career high of 45.5% from behind the three-point arc and 63.3% from the floor, overall.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

3. Bernard King

While Michael Jordan would be a popular pick among the current NBA generation, this former Bullets player is a bit more old school. King played four seasons for the Bullets in the late 80s and early 90s, towards the end of his career.

He averaged just over 22 points a game during his four-year stint in Washington. King's last of four All-Star selections came in 1991 as a member of the Bullets.

In 2013, he was inducted to the Washington Wizards Hall of Fame. Webber was added in 2021, Jordan in 2009, but Howard has not received this honor.

Honorable Mention: Gilbert Arenas could also be another former Wizards star to have their jersey retired by the team. After all, John Wall got to take over the starting guard position when 'Agent Zero' left Washington.

This article first appeared on Washington Wizards on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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