The Wizards finished the lockout shortened season of 1998–99 with a record of 18–32. Mitch Richmond led the team in scoring with a 19.7 ppg average. In the 1999–2000 season, the Wizards finished with a 29–53 record. Mitch Richmond led the team with 17.4 ppg. In the 2000–2001 season, under newly hired coach Leonard Hamilton, 1999 NBA draft pick Richard Hamilton led the team in scoring with 18.1 ppg, but the team finished with a 19–63 record, the most losses the team had ever suffered in one season.