The best shooter in Washington Wizards history: Final results

Over the last week, we’ve partnered with Locked on Wizards to run two brackets to determine the best shooter in Washington Wizards history. We’ve been running one on the Locked on Wizards podcast between Ben Standig and myself, and one here on the site, determined by fan vote.

First, let’s reveal the winner in the podcast bracket. I pitted Phil Chenier against Bradley Beal in the final round, and gave Ben the final pick to determine who would win. He opted for Phil Chenier, and explained why in his latest podcast:

Over on the fan side, we whittled it down to Gilbert Arenas and Bradley Beal. Over 800 of you voted, and with just over 56 percent of the vote, Arenas edged out Beal as the people’s choice.

Personally, I don’t think it will be long before Beal cements himself as the best shooter in franchise history, but Arenas and Chenier are both great choices for right now.

In terms of adding value to title contending teams, no one has done more for the franchise with their shooting than Chenier. Without his floor spacing, Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld wouldn’t have been able to dominate inside as much as they did, which was the Bullets’ biggest advantage during their peak in the 70’s.

But at the same time, you can make a pretty strong case that Gilbert Arenas was the most talented shooter this franchise has ever seen. He had unlimited range, could shoot from all sorts of angles, and could still be effective even though he was the focal point on offense. That’s incredibly valuable as well.