The Best 'Wizards' Out There

Daniel Radcliffe turns 20 today. Let that sink in for a second: Daniel Radcliffe, i.e. Harry Potter film-side, is not even 21 years old yet. Are you depressed? You should be; theoretically, you've accomplished little in your life compared to him. (For actors with at least five films, Radcliffe averages the highest per-film gross, which really isn't surprising in the least.) Seemed only one way to celebrate his third decade on the planet: rank the five best 'Wizards' of all-time. Two major issues with this list off the bat: (1) being a late 20-something male, I'm slightly concerned by the fact that my first thought at crafting this list was 'Where can I rank Selena Gomez?' and (2) the Wizards of DC - not of Waverly Place - have only been the Wizards for about 13 years, so while the best professional DC baller might be Wes Unseld, Gus Johnson, or the like -- well, those guys were Bullets, and it doesn't appear to be Stringer Bell's birthday, does it? We're just ranking Wizards. Hopefully we can get Obinna Ekezie on this list. It may be challenging.

1. Gilbert Arenas

Thought about some other options here, because Gil does get hurt a lot. But honestly, in what's predominantly a football / college hoops town, Gilbert has been huge for the Wizards. All the balling and playoff appearances (shame about their inability to beat Cleveland, though) have been nice, but really, would DC Sports Bog be as relevant without Agent Zero in the capital? No, and because he is, it might be the best use of a 'blog' format by a major newspaper's efforts to go online. That's big, and Gil powers it in many ways (OK, so does Clinton Portis). Another bonus for Hibachi: the irreverence is great and all, but honestly, he's also in the one adidas ad that belongs in the discussion with some of NIKE's best. 

2. Michael Jordan

Actually set the franchise back in several ways, but there's a unwritten bylaw of Internet rankings involving professional basketball that MJ can be no lower than No. 3 on any list involving the sport. We'll slot him No. 2. Insert Sam Bowie joke now, before weeping for what could have been.

3. 'Twan Jamison

Personally, like Juwan and C-Webb more in this spot, but when you think of them and DC, you tend to think more 'Bullets' than 'Wizards,' right? I do, but that may be the six beers I just had. Kidding -- it was four. Jamison wants to end his career with the Wizards, which is balling, because not a lot of people ever want to end their career in the District. (Even Presidents fly off in helicopters and have people salute 'em, ya know?) Jamison's best professional moments have come in DC, all in the Wizards years, and he's a true anchor for the team.

4. Larry Hughes

Sigh. What the heck happened to Larry Hughes? This guy was 2005 All-NBA Defensive Team. Now he's squandering his life away on the Knicks. Remember how, four years ago, the Wizards would play a big game and all the talking heads would be saying "yadda yadda yadda ... the key here is that Hughes can stick anyone on the other team ... yadda yadda yadda?" Remembering those days is hard, because they seem so distant, but this dude was DC Big Three before Caron was -- and he could do some nice work on-ball. ("That's what she said.")

5. Caron Butler

Love the dude. He rose above. How many Wizards do you ever see on Oprah Winfrey? (Let's hope Andray is next.) He's had some injury issues too, but let's hope Flip Saunders (and Sam Cassell, and Wes Unseld Jr. -- Saunders did a good political job with that staff) gets the most out of him.

Now, who else should be on here? (Besides Darius Songalia, of course.)