Washington Wizards: Ranking the Top 5 Point Guards In Recent Franchise History
By Ben Mehic
5) Chris Whitney
My dad took my brother and I to Fan Appreciation Day during Washington Wizards preseason at what was then known as the MCI Center.
We were both very excited – outfitted with hats, jerseys, and balls waiting to get signed by each player. With our gear in hand, we reached out to Courtney Alexander, Rip Hamilton, and even Jahidi White as they all begrudgingly handed out autographs.
The most eager of all to connect with the fans was the point guard of the team, Chris Whitney. But then a funny thing happened: my brother passively declined his signature.
I later asked why, as I wasn’t sure the logic behind choosing NOT to interact with an NBA player.
“Whitney’s no good man, I don’t want him signing this stuff,” he’d tell me.
We actually laugh about that memory now but so it went for no.12. Underappreciated, diminutive in stature, but a consistent performer nonetheless.
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Whitney spent seven seasons in D.C., spanning the name change from the Bullets to the Wizards.
His career in the nation’s capital was marked by initial promise, as the team was bounced by Jordan’s Bulls in 1996-97 while being anointed as having “next” in Eastern Conference hierarchy.
Eventually, following ill advised trades that forced the team to retool, the Wizards went through a three year stretch of winning 66 total games (18 of which came during the lockout shortened season).
By the time Whitney finally became a full-time starter in 2001-02 (and what would be his last full season in Washington), the Wizards had regained some level of respectability, and added that aforementioned opponent from their last playoff battle and although the team didn’t qualify for the postseason in MJ’s inaugural season, it produced some of Whitney’s best basketball.
At the core, Whitney was a solid backup guard for the Wizards, capable of running an offense and hitting open shots.
From 1999-2002 (the 3 seasons he logged consistent minutes with the team), he averaged 9 points and 4 assists in just under 24 minutes per game, including 127 starts.
His assist to turnover mark (3:1) would make John Wall jealous and his 39 percent shooting from deep was a big factor in becoming the Wizards’ all-time leader in 3-pointers made (later overtaken by Gilbert Arenas, and eventually Bradley Beal) with 489.
In those three years, Whitney graded out fairly favorably from even an advanced metric perspective.
His PER (14.9) was nearly league average and his win shares/48 minutes stood at .114, including a team leading 6.5 total WS in 2000-01, per Basketball-Reference.
His True Shooting % of 55.5 is higher than either Wall or Beal have ever earned and his slash line in 2001-02 was an impressive 42/41/88.
The issue with Whitney, of course, was his defense.
Standing just 6-feet-tall and weighing 168 pounds, he struggled to hold up against larger players yet didn’t possess elite quickness to be a major factor in the steals category (career 0.6 spg).
In his career, he never posted a single season with positive Defensive Box Plus Minus, ending with a per-season average of -2.5, which nearly doubled his OBPM of 1.3.
Whitney was a solid player, and by all accounts a good teammate.
The fact that he stands at no.5 on this list is a testament to his longevity and even-keeled play, but may be more so a referendum on the quality of players the Wizards have employed over the last 25 years.
Still, we should’ve gotten that autograph. Sorry, C-Whit.
Next: 4) Adams