Washington Wizards: 30 greatest players in franchise history

Former shooting guard Phil Chenier is one of five players in franchise history to have his number retired by the Washington franchise. His No. 45 jersey was hung in the rafters in March 2018 after it was announced he was leaving the broadcast booth. Besides serving as a player, Chenier also spent 33 years in the broadcast booth for the Wizards.

The shooting guard wasn’t truly defined by his position by NBA standards as he only attempted six career 3-pointers. He spent nine seasons with Washington from 1971-80, proving that he belonged in the league.

He was a First-Team All-Rookie selection during the 1971-72 campaign, averaging 12.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. In his second season, he notched a career-high 53 points on 22-of-31 (71 percent) shooting from the floor in a 115-102 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

During the 1974-75 season, he earned his lone All-NBA selection (Second Team), putting up 21.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals per contest.

A back injury slowed Chenier down a bit in the latter part of his career. He missed the 1977-78 run to the championship, as he was on the mend during the second half of the 1977-78 season.

Despite that, Chenier has still managed to remain a household name with the Wizards franchise. He currently ranks seventh all-time in franchise history on the scoring list (9,778), fourth in steals (667) and 10th in assists (1,688).