The Washington Wizards And MLK Day: A History Of Random Success

The Washington Wizards are 1-11, and on Monday, they will be hosting a Houston Rockets team that just knocked off a very good Portland Trail Blazers squad at home. While the Rockets are under .500, all signs points to them winning on Monday.

So why am I confident? The Wizards' history on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is randomly outstanding.

Every year, the Wizards play a home afternoon game on MLK Day, and for some reason, that energizes the team. Washington is 7-2 in its last nine games on MLK Day, and some of their opponents have been very strong clubs. Take a look.

• 2011 vs. Utah Jazz: Win, 108-101. This was a Jazz team that hadn't yet traded Deron Williams and still had major playoff aspirations.
  
• 2010 vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Win, 97-92. The Blazers were shorthanded, but they still were a 50-win playoff team that year.
  
• 2009 vs. Golden State Warriors: Loss, 119-98. OK, so Golden State wasn't very good this year.
  
• 2008 vs. Dallas Mavericks: Won, 102-84. The Mavericks won 51 games that year.
  
• 2007 vs. Utah Jazz: Win, 114-111. This was the famous Gilbert Arenas 51-point game, which he ended with one of his patented buzzer beaters. Utah won 51 games this year and reached the Western Conference Finals.
  
• 2006 vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Win, 104-76. Philadelphia won 43 games this year.
  
• 2005 vs. San Antonio Spurs: Loss, 101-73. No shame in losing here. The Spurs only won the NBA title.
  
• 2004 vs. Chicago Bulls: Win, 93-83. OK, the Bulls were awful this year.
  
• 2003 vs. Denver Nuggets: Win, 89-74. OK, so were the Nuggets.

If only every day could be MLK Day for the Wizards...

For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Wizards, visit Bullets Forever, SB Nation's Wizards blog. For some perspective on the team from the other side of the court, head over to SB Nation's Rockets blog, The Dream Shake. For all your NBA news and notes visit SB Nation's NBA hub.