The 1994–95 Washington Bullets season was the 34th season for the Washington Bullets in the National Basketball Association, and their 22nd season in Washington, D.C.

Season summary

Off-season The Bullets received the fifth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, and selected power forward Juwan Howard from the University of Michigan. During the off-season, the team acquired Scott Skiles from the Orlando Magic, and hired Jim Lynam as their new head coach. During the first month of the regular season, the Bullets traded Tom Gugliotta to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Howard's former "Fab Five" teammate at Michigan, second-year star Chris Webber.

Regular season Under Lynam and with the addition of Webber, Howard and Skiles, the Bullets won four of their first five games of the regular season, but continued to struggle losing 25 of their next 28 games, which included a ten-game losing streak, and held an 11–34 record at the All-Star break. At mid-season, things got worse as Kevin Duckworth dealt with continuing weight problems, and was suspended indefinitely after 40 games for not staying in physical condition, where he weighed over 310 lbs. The Bullets suffered a 13-game losing streak between March and April, and finished in last place in the Atlantic Division with a 21–61 record; the team missed the NBA playoffs for the seventh consecutive year.

Webber averaged 20.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.6 blocks per game in 54 games, missing 19 games due to a shoulder injury, while Howard averaged 17.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and second-year guard Calbert Cheaney provided the team with 16.6 points per game. In addition, Rex Chapman contributed 16.2 points per game in only just 45 games due to groin and thumb injuries, while Skiles provided with 13.0 points and 7.3 assists per game, Don MacLean contributed 11.0 points per game, but only played just 39 games due to knee and thumb injuries, and second-year center Gheorghe Mureșan averaged 10.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Meanwhile, second-year guard Mitchell Butler contributed 7.9 points per game, while Duckworth averaged 7.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, and Doug Overton provided with 7.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. Undrafted rookie small forward Anthony Tucker averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, but was released to free agency after 62 games, and shortly before the regular season had ended.

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the America West Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, Howard and Tucker were both selected for the NBA Rookie Game, as members of the Green team. Howard also finished tied in fifth place in Rookie of the Year voting, while Mureșan finished tied in third place in Most Improved Player voting. The Bullets finished eleventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 689,463 at USAir Arena during the regular season.

Aftermath Following the season, Chapman was traded to the Miami Heat, while Skiles signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers during the following season, and Duckworth was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. Meanwhile, MacLean and Overton were both dealt to the Denver Nuggets, and Larry Stewart was left unprotected in the 1995 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Vancouver Grizzlies expansion team.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College 1 5 Juwan Howard SF/PF Michigan 2 32 Jim McIlvaine C Marquette

Roster

Roster notes Center Kevin Duckworth was suspended indefinitely after playing 40 games, due to continuing weight problems and not maintaining playing shape. Point guard Brent Price was on the injured reserve list due to a knee injury, missed the entire regular season, and was waived on April 19, 1995. Rookie small forward Anthony Tucker was waived on April 19, 1995.

Regular season

Season standings

z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot

Game log Regular season

|- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 17 | December 13, 19948:30p.m. EST | @ Houston | L 85–93 | Webber (22) | Webber (16) | Skiles (5) | The Summit13,889 | 6–11

|- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 48 | February 17, 19957:30p.m. EST | Houston | L 92–109 | Howard, Webber (20) | Webber (15) | Webber (7) | USAir Arena18,756 | 12–36

Player statistics

Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 76 5 20.4 .421 .326 .665 2.2 1.2 .8 .1 7.9 45 29 32.6 .397 .314 .862 2.5 2.8 1.5 .3 16.2 78 71 34.0 .453 .339 .812 4.1 2.3 1.0 .3 16.6 40 22 20.5 .442 .200 .643 4.9 .5 .5 .6 7.1 6 6 37.7 .398 .500 .788 8.8 3.0 3.5 1.8 16.0 65 52 36.1 .489 .000 .664 8.4 2.5 .8 .2 17.0 39 20 27.0 .438 .250 .765 4.2 1.3 .4 .1 11.0 55 0 9.7 .479 .000 .683 1.9 .2 .2 1.8 1.7 73 58 23.6 .560 .000 .709 6.7 .5 .7 1.7 10.0 6 0 7.0 .444 .000 .750 .7 .7 .0 .0 2.3 82 20 20.8 .416 .424 .872 1.7 3.0 .6 .0 7.0 62 62 33.5 .455 .421 .886 2.6 7.3 1.1 .1 13.0 40 0 8.7 .461 .000 .667 1.7 .5 .4 .2 2.6 62 13 15.8 .457 .000 .614 2.7 1.1 .7 .2 3.9 30 24 11.1 .429 .000 .750 2.0 0.3 0.2 0.2 2.4 54 52 38.3 .495 .276 .502 9.6 4.7 1.5 1.6 20.1

Statistics with the Washington Bullets.

Player statistics citation:

Awards and records Juwan Howard, NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team

Transactions

Overview Players Added Via draft Juwan Howard Jim McIlvaine Via free agency Anthony Tucker Brian Oliver Via trade Scott Skiles Chris WebberPlayers Lost Via trade Michael Adams Tom Gugliotta Via free agency Pervis Ellison Marty Conlon Via waivers Brent Price Later waived. Signed for the rest of the season after a 10-day contract.

Trades July 29, 1994 To Washington BulletsScott SkilesConditional 1996 first-round pickConditional 1998 first-round pick To Orlando MagicConditional 1996 second-round pickConditional 1998 first-round pick August 2, 1994 To Washington BulletsConditional 1996 second-round pickConditional 1997 second-round pick To Charlotte HornetsMichael Adams November 17, 1994 To Washington BulletsChris Webber To Golden State WarriorsTom GugliottaConditional 1996 first-round pickConditional 1998 first-round pickConditional 2000 first-round pick

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Anthony Tucker October 5, 1994 N/A Brian Oliver October 5, 1994 Rockford Lightning (CBA)

Subtractions Player Left New team Pervis Ellison August 1, 1994 Boston Celtics Marty Conlon August 3, 1994 Milwaukee Bucks

Waivings Player Left Brian Oliver November 18, 1994 Anthony Tucker April 19, 1995 Brent Price April 19, 1995

Player Transactions Citation:

References

See also 1994–95 NBA season