Top 5 Washington Wizards centers of all-time

At number four is Marcin Gortat

From 2013 to 2018, the Wizards were known to be John Wall’s and Bradley Beal’s team, so it’s not surprising Marcin Gortat doesn’t get enough credit.

But without the big man, the Wizards wouldn’t have made it as far as they did in those years.

Before suiting up for the Wizards, he played for the Orlando Magic and Phoenix Suns. On Oct. 25, 2013, the Suns traded him to the Wizards for Emeka Okafor and a 2014 protected first-round draft pick. The Wizards also received Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, and Kendall Marshall.

For a player who was coming off a knee injury, Gortat made a huge impression.

After a slight slow start to his season, he began to show his worth. On Feb. 27, 2014, he logged in a career-high 31 points and 12 rebounds in a triple overtime victory against the Toronto Raptors. With 56 seconds in the third overtime period, Gortat fouled out.

Gortat’s amazing season continued in the playoffs.

The Wizards faced off against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. With the Pacers holding a 3-1 series lead, they were looking to close the series out.

But Gortat had different plans.

He recorded a playoff career-high 31 points and 16 rebounds to keep the Wizards alive. Unfortunately, the Wizards lost in six games. But with that stat line, he became the first Wizard since Moses Malone to have at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game. Malone recorded 31 points and 16 rebounds in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first round against the Detroit Pistons.

The next season was no different for Gortat.

December 2015 was arguably the best month of his career, particularly near the end. Between Dec. 21 and Dec. 26, he averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds, earning himself the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award.

He followed that up with a career performance. On Feb. 29, 2016, he scored 18 points while recording 13 of them in the fourth quarter. And that wasn’t even the most impressive part of the game! He did that while grabbing a career-high 20 rebounds, 10 in the first half.

Gortat’s production started to go downhill, though. In the next two seasons, he averaged just nine points and nine rebounds.

On Jun. 26, 2018, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, with whom he spent his final year. However, once he retired, he became a player development and assistant coach for the Wizards, a position he still holds today.

Gortat currently ranks No. 7 on the Wizards’ all-time rebounds list with 3,697 and No. 8 on their all-time blocks list with 449.