2000–01 Washington Wizards season

The 2000–01 NBA season was the 40th season for the Washington Wizards in the National Basketball Association, and their 28th season in Washington, D.C.. The city of Washington, D.C. hosted the 2001 NBA All-Star Game at the MCI Center this season. During the off-season, the Wizards acquired Felipe López and Cherokee Parks from the Vancouver Grizzlies, and acquired Popeye Jones from the Denver Nuggets.

Under new head coach Leonard Hamilton, and later on trading Parks to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Tyrone Nesby, the Wizards continued to struggle posting a nine-game losing streak between November and December. The team lost nine straight again in January leading to an awful 7–34 start to the regular season, as Mitch Richmond only played just 37 games due to knee injuries. At mid-season, Juwan Howard, who grew disgruntled with all the team failures, was traded along with second-year center Calvin Booth to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Christian Laettner, Hubert Davis, Loy Vaught and rookies; shooting guard Courtney Alexander and power forward Etan Thomas, who was out for the entire regular season due to a toe injury he sustained with the Mavericks, while Lopez was released to free agency, and later on signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After the trade deadline, Rod Strickland, who was also disgruntled playing for the Wizards, was also released and later on re-signed with his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers. The Wizards lost nine of their final ten games of the season, finishing in last place in the Atlantic Division with a dreadful 19–63 record, their worst to that point over a full 82-game season, although subsequently equalled by the 2008–09 Wizards.

Second-year star Richard Hamilton showed improvement and led the team in scoring with 18.1 points per game, while Alexander averaged 17.0 points per game in the second half of the season with the Wizards, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Following the season, Richmond signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Lakers, while Vaught and Michael Smith were both released to free agency, and Leonard Hamilton resigned as head coach after only one year with the Wizards.