1995–96 Washington Bullets season

The 1995–96 NBA season was the Bullets' 35th season in the National Basketball Association.^[1] The Bullets had the fourth overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft, and selected Rasheed Wallace from the University of North Carolina.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} During the off-season, the team acquired All-Star guard Mark Price from the Cleveland Cavaliers,^{[7][8][9][10]} acquired Robert Pack from the Denver Nuggets,^[11][12][13] and signed free agents Tim Legler,^[14][15] Chris Whitney and former Bullets guard Ledell Eackles.^[16] However, injuries would be an issue all season, as Chris Webber was limited to only just 15 games following the lingering effect to his injured left shoulder, averaging 23.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.8 steals per game.^{[17][18][19][20]} Meanwhile, Price only appeared in just seven games due to a foot injury,^[21][22][10] and Pack, who only played just 31 games, was out with nerve damage in his right leg, averaging 18.1 points, 7.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game.^[23][24][25]

The Bullets played around .500 for the first half of the regular season, but struggled losing 11 of their 14 games in February, and held a 22–24 record at the All-Star break.^[26] After a 7-game winning streak, the Bullets lost their final four games, and finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with a 39–43 record, which was an impressive 18-game improvement over their previous season.^[27] However, they missed the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.

Second-year star Juwan Howard averaged 22.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, while Calbert Cheaney averaged 15.1 points per game, and 7' 7" center Gheorghe Mureșan provided the team with 14.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, and was named Most Improved Player of the Year.^[28][29][30] In addition, Wallace provided with 10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, while Price's younger brother, Brent Price, contributed 10.0 points and 5.1 assists per game, and led the Bullets with 139 three-point field goals, Legler contributed 9.4 points per game and 128 three-point field goals off the bench, and also led the league with .522 in three-point field goal percentage, Eackles provided with 8.6 points per game, and second-year center Jim McIlvaine contributed 2.1 blocks per game off the bench.^[31]

During the All-Star Weekend in San Antonio, Texas, Howard was selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game,^{[32][33][34][35]} and Legler won the Three-Point Shootout.^[36][37][38] Howard also finished tied in fourteenth place in Most Improved Player voting.^[39][40]

Following the season, Wallace and Mitchell Butler were both traded to the Portland Trail Blazers,^{[41][42][43][44]} while Pack signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Nets,^[45][46][47] Mark Price signed with the Golden State Warriors,^[48][49][50] while Brent Price signed with the Houston Rockets,^[51][52] McIlvaine signed with the Seattle SuperSonics,^[53][54] and Eackles was released to free agency.