<P> Washington, boasting the league's tallest player (Mureșan, whose height is 7 ft 7 in), two very athletic forwards (Howard and Webber) and one of the league's top point guards (Rod Strickland), started the 1996--97 season at 22--24 . That led to the dismissal of Head Coach Jim Lynam . Bernie Bickerstaff, an assistant coach with the Bullets when they won their only NBA Championship in 1978, was called upon to resurrect his former team . The Bullets responded, winning 16 of their final 21 games to finish 44--38, their best record since 1978--79 . The late surge enabled the Bullets to climb within reach of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference . In a win - or - go - home game with the Cavaliers on the season's final day, the Bullets squeezed past Cleveland 85--81 to end the franchise's longest playoff drought . And while the Bullets were swept by the Bulls in the first round, they lost the three games by a total of 18 points . </P> <P> Webber led the way in scoring (20.1 ppg), rebounding (10.3) and blocks (1.9) and shot 51.8 percent from the floor to make his first All - Star team . Howard averaged 19.1 ppg and 8.0 rpg, while Strickland averaged 17.2 ppg and 1.74 spg and finished fifth in the league in assists with 8.9 per game . Mureşan dominated the middle and led the NBA in field goal percentage (. 599). Washington received contributions from Calbert Cheaney (10.6 ppg) and Tracy Murray (10.0 ppg). </P> <P> In November 1995, owner Abe Pollin announced he was changing the team's nickname, because Bullets had acquired violent overtones that had made him increasingly uncomfortable over the years, particularly given the high homicide and crime rate in the early 1990s in Washington, D.C. It was widely believed to also be related to the assassination of Pollin's longtime friend, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin . </P> <P> A contest was held to choose a new name and the choices were narrowed to the Dragons, Express, Stallions, Sea Dogs, and the Wizards . On May 15, 1997, the Bullets officially became the Wizards . The new name generated some controversy because "Wizard" is a rank in the Ku Klux Klan, and Washington has a large African American population . A new logo was unveiled and the team colors were changed from the traditional red, white and blue to a lighter shade of blue, black and bronze, the same colors as the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL), also owned by Pollin . That same year the Wizards moved to the then MCI Center, now called Capital One Arena, which is home to the Capitals, the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association and the Georgetown Hoyas men's college basketball team . </P>

Why did the bullets change their name to the wizards
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