Washington Wizards: A Who’s Who of Death Row DC
By Ryan Eugene
Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris coined a nickname that spread like wildfire for the players and fans this past season, Death Row DC. In an interview during the season he spoke of some of his teammates’ Death Row Records personas. Which got me thinking. Who’s who? And why?
As the Wizards gained momentum late in their 2016-2017 season, so did the team’s internal nickname: Death Row DC. The team has been interviewed about the name, they warmed up in custom t-shirts, and they even got requests from fans for orders.
Although forward Markieff Morris coined the name, everyone has embraced it, from John Wall to Daniel Ochefu.
The moniker has been featured on Yahoo’s The Vertical, The Washington Post, SLAM Magazine, and Jim Rome.
About the name, Bradley Beal was quoted in The Washington Post saying:
"“Death Row; that’s the type of team we are, that’s the type of team we want to be. A physical team that will kind of trash talk you a little bit, and that just don’t take no BS. That’s pretty much it.”"
Sheldon Mac continued with the sentiment:
"“It’s a fun meme to come up with, but it actually meant something. It’s something we kind of play by. It symbolizes toughness, grittiness and just passion to want to win.”"
While the season didn’t end with the most toughness in Game 7 against Boston, the season was a great first step. We saw that Morris enjoys being a leader on the team, and that he’s probably the toughest and most physical player on the team.
Considering the team is called the “Wizards”, the new moniker does give more intimidating imagery. Maybe not on the level of Sea Dogs, but whatever.
In that Washington Post article, Dan Steinberg gave us insight on some of the player profiles.
John Wall – Tupac
Markieff Morris – Snoop Dogg
Bradley Beal – Dr. Dre
David Best (Bodyguard) – Suge Knight
Trey Burke – Kurupt
Kelly Oubre Jr. – Daz Dillinger
Jason Smith – Vanilla Ice
So it got me thinking, how well do these roles fit, and what about the other players?