1985–86 Washington Bullets season

The 1985–86 NBA season was the Bullets 25th season in the NBA and their 13th season in the city of Washington, D.C.^[1]

1985–86 Washington Bullets season
Head coach	Gene Shue (fired) (32–37) Kevin Loughery (7–6)
General manager	Bob Ferry
Owner(s)	Abe Pollin
Arena	Capital Centre
Results
Record	39–43 (.476)
Place	Division: 3rd (Atlantic) Conference: 6th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to 76ers 2–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WDCA Home Team Sports
Radio	WTOP
< 1984–85 1986–87 >

Draft picks

Main article: 1985 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	12	Kenny Green	SF	United States	Wake Forest
2	31	Manute Bol	C	Sudan	Bridgeport
3	58	Vernon Moore		United States	Creighton
3	65	Ken Perry		United States	Southern Illinois
4	81	Richie Adams		United States	Nevada-Las Vegas
5	104	Dean Shaffer		United States	Florida State
6	127	Matt England		United States	Houston Baptist
7	150	Keith Gray		United States	Detroit Mercy

Roster

1985–86 Washington Bullets roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From C 10 Bol, Manute 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1962-10-16 Bridgeport SG 22 Bradley, Dudley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1957-03-19 North Carolina SF 25 Daye, Darren 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960-11-30 UCLA C 23 Jones, Charles 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1957-04-03 Albany State SG 24 Malone, Jeff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1961-06-28 Mississippi State SG 3 McKenna, Kevin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1959-01-08 Creighton C 54 McMillen, Tom 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1952-05-26 Maryland SF 4 Robinson, Cliff 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960-03-13 USC PF 5 Roundfield, Dan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1953-05-26 Central Michigan PF 43 Ruland, Jeff 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1958-12-16 Iona PG 1 Williams, Gus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1953-10-10 USC PG 32 Wood, Leon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1962-03-25 Cal State Fullerton

Head coach Gene Shue (fired) Kevin Loughery Assistant coach(es) Fred Carter Don Moran Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: May 13, 1986

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	67	15	.817	–	40–1	27–14	18–6
x-Philadelphia 76ers	54	28	.659	13	31–10	23–18	15–9
x-Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	28	26–15	13–28	11–13
x-New Jersey Nets	39	43	.476	28	26–15	13–28	11–13
New York Knicks	23	59	.280	44	15–26	8–33	5–19

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	67	15	.817	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	57	25	.695	10
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	54	28	.659	13
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	17
5	x-Detroit Pistons	46	36	.561	21
6	x-Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	28
7	x-New Jersey Nets	39	43	.476	28
8	x-Chicago Bulls	30	52	.366	37
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	29	53	.354	38
10	Indiana Pacers	26	56	.317	41
11	New York Knicks	23	59	.280	44

Notes

• z, y – division champions
• x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1985–86 NBA records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–6	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	4–2	5–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4
Boston	6–0	—	5–1	5–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	2–0	2–0	5–0	4–2	5–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1
Chicago	1–5	1–5	—	3–3	0–2	2–0	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4
Cleveland	2–4	1–5	3–3	—	1–1	1–1	1–5	0–2	0–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	1–5	3–3	4–1	0–6	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–5
Dallas	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	—	3–3	0–2	4–1	1–5	2–0	2–3	1–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	5–0	2–3	3–3	4–2	3–2	5–1	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	—	1–1	3–2	3–3	2–0	4–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	3–3	3–3	2–3	3–3	2–0
Detroit	2–4	1–4	4–2	5–1	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	4–2	4–1	2–4	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	4–2
Golden State	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	—	0–5	1–1	5–1	2–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–5	2–3	2–3	2–4	2–3	1–1
Houston	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	5–1	3–3	1–1	5–0	—	2–0	3–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	3–2	4–2	5–1	3–2	3–3	2–0
Indiana	1–5	1–5	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–1	0–2	—	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–3	2–4	0–6	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	5–1
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–4	0–2	1–5	2–3	0–2	—	2–4	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–4	2–4	5–0	1–4	3–3	3–2	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–3	1–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	4–2	—	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	5–1	6–0	5–0	4–1	4–2	5–0	2–0
Milwaukee	3–3	0–5	5–1	5–1	2–0	0–2	4–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	1–1	0–2	—	4–2	6–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
New Jersey	2–4	2–4	3–2	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	—	5–1	2–4	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–4
New York	1–5	1–5	2–4	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–4	1–1	0–2	4–2	0–2	1–1	0–6	1–5	—	0–6	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–3
Philadelphia	1–4	2–4	5–1	6–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	6–0	2–0	0–2	1–4	4–2	6–0	—	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–3
Phoenix	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–4	2–0	4–2	2–3	1–1	4–2	1–5	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—	2–4	2–3	3–2	5–1	1–4	1–1
Portland	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	2–0	4–2	0–6	0–2	0–2	2–0	0–2	4–2	—	3–2	1–4	5–1	2–3	0–2
Sacramento	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	2–0	3–2	2–4	2–0	0–5	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	2–3	—	5–1	5–0	2–4	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	3–3	1–1	3–2	1–5	1–1	4–1	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	4–1	1–5	—	2–3	2–4	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	0–2	4–2	2–3	0–2	3–3	2–4	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5	1–5	0–5	3–2	—	2–3	1–1
Utah	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–5	3–3	1–1	3–2	3–3	2–0	2–3	0–5	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	3–2	4–2	4–2	3–2	—	1–1
Washington	4–1	1–5	4–1	5–1	1–1	0–2	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–0	0–2	2–4	4–2	3–3	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—

Game log

Regular season

1985–86 game log Total: 39–43 (home: 26–15; road: 13–28)
October: 2–1 (home: 0–1; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 25, 1985 7:30 p.m. EDT @ Atlanta W 100–91 Robinson (22) Ruland (14) Ruland (9) The Omni 10,129 1–0 2 October 29, 1985 @ Cleveland W 97–90 Richfield Coliseum 2–0 3 October 31, 1985 Cleveland L 107–114 Capital Centre 2–1
November: 5–9 (home: 5–3; road: 0–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 4 November 2, 1985 Boston L 73–88 Capital Centre 2–2 5 November 5, 1985 @ New Jersey L 106–112 Brendan Byrne Arena 2–3 6 November 6, 1985 San Antonio L 80–81 Capital Centre 2–4 7 November 8, 1985 Detroit L 110–117 Capital Centre 2–5 8 November 12, 1985 @ Detroit L 122–124 (OT) Pontiac Silverdome 2–6 9 November 15, 1985 @ Boston L 114–118 Boston Garden 2–7 10 November 16, 1985 Philadelphia W 118–97 Capital Centre 3–7 11 November 19, 1985 @ New York L 94–98 Madison Square Garden 3–8 12 November 20, 1985 Cleveland W 101–98 Capital Centre 4–8 13 November 22, 1985 New York W 102–94 Capital Centre 5–8 14 November 24, 1985 Chicago W 115–106 Capital Centre 6–8 15 November 26, 1985 @ Dallas L 99–112 Reunion Arena 6–9 16 November 27, 1985 @ San Antonio L 97–104 HemisFair Arena 6–10 17 November 30, 1985 Detroit W 133–119 Capital Centre 7–10
December: 8–5 (home: 5–4; road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 18 December 3, 1985 Portland W 118–115 Capital Centre 8–10 19 December 4, 1985 @ Philadelphia L 110–115 (OT) The Spectrum 8–11 20 December 6, 1985 Seattle W 115–109 Capital Centre 9–11 21 December 8, 1985 Sacramento W 111–89 Capital Centre 10–11 22 December 11, 1985 @ Detroit W 108–100 Pontiac Silverdome 11–11 23 December 12, 1985 Milwaukee W 110–108 (OT) Capital Centre 12–11 24 December 17, 1985 Utah L 98–106 Capital Centre 12–12 25 December 19, 1985 @ Chicago W 98–92 Chicago Stadium 13–12 26 December 21, 1985 L.A. Lakers L 84–96 Capital Centre 13–13 27 December 22, 1985 New York L 93–100 Capital Centre 13–14 28 December 27, 1985 7:30 p.m. EST Atlanta W 111–109 Malone (31) Roundfield (8) Johnson (7) Capital Centre 8,178 14–14 29 December 28, 1985 @ New Jersey W 98–93 Brendan Byrne Arena 15–14 30 December 30, 1985 Indiana L 80–97 Capital Centre 15–15
January: 7–8 (home: 5–2; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 January 2, 1986 @ New York W 115–109 Madison Square Garden 16–15 32 January 3, 1986 Milwaukee L 100–107 Capital Centre 16–16 33 January 5, 1986 @ L.A. Lakers L 88–118 The Forum 16–17 34 January 6, 1986 @ Sacramento L 87–106 ARCO Arena 16–18 35 January 8, 1986 @ Phoenix L 97–109 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 16–19 36 January 9, 1986 @ Utah W 95–89 Salt Palace Acord Arena 17–19 37 January 11, 1986 @ Houston L 86–87 The Summit 17–20 38 January 13, 1986 L.A. Clippers W 90–77 Capital Centre 18–20 39 January 14, 1986 @ Chicago W 117–113 Chicago Stadium 19–20 40 January 16, 1986 @ Milwaukee L 98–114 MECCA Arena 19–21 41 January 17, 1986 New Jersey W 116–96 Capital Centre 20–21 42 January 19, 1986 Chicago W 112–98 Capital Centre 21–21 43 January 23, 1986 Phoenix W 114–112 Capital Centre 22–21 44 January 25, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST Atlanta W 111–103 Robinson (38) Robinson (11) Williams (6) Capital Centre 7,038 23–21 45 January 29, 1986 @ Indiana L 88–92 Market Square Arena 23–22 46 January 31, 1986 Boston L 88–97 Capital Centre 23–23
February: 5–9 (home: 2–1; road: 3–8) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 47 February 1, 1986 @ Detroit L 101–116 Pontiac Silverdome 23–24 48 February 5, 1986 @ Boston L 88–103 Boston Garden 23–25 49 February 6, 1986 Detroit L 109–111 (OT) Capital Centre 23–26 All-Star Break 50 February 11, 1986 @ Portland W 124–116 Memorial Coliseum 24–26 51 February 13, 1986 @ Golden State L 105–109 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena 24–27 52 February 15, 1986 @ Seattle L 106–112 Seattle Center Coliseum 24–28 53 February 17, 1986 @ L.A. Clippers W 96–94 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena 25–28 54 February 18, 1986 @ Denver L 90–101 McNichols Sports Arena 25–29 55 February 21, 1986 @ Philadelphia L 87–97 The Spectrum 25–30 56 February 22, 1986 @ Cleveland W 110–102 Richfield Coliseum 26–30 57 February 24, 1986 New Jersey W 99–89 Capital Centre 27–30 58 February 25, 1986 @ Indiana L 87–100 Market Square Arena 27–31 59 February 27, 1986 Golden State W 114–102 Capital Centre 28–31 60 February 28, 1986 @ Milwaukee L 84–102 MECCA Arena 28–32
March: 7–8 (home: 6–3; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 61 March 2, 1986 Milwaukee W 125–104 Capital Centre 29–32 62 March 4, 1986 @ New York L 83–119 Madison Square Garden 29–33 63 March 6, 1986 New York W 113–111 (OT) Capital Centre 30–33 64 March 8, 1986 Boston W 110–108 (OT) Capital Centre 31–33 65 March 12, 1986 @ Cleveland W 128–114 Richfield Coliseum 32–33 66 March 14, 1986 Denver L 91–101 Capital Centre 32–34 67 March 15, 1986 @ Indiana L 100–105 Market Square Arena 32–35 68 March 17, 1986 New Jersey L 102–130 Capital Centre 32–36 69 March 18, 1986 @ Milwaukee L 87–116 MECCA Arena 32–37 70 March 21, 1986 @ Philadelphia L 105–112 The Spectrum 32–38 71 March 22, 1986 Indiana W 111–110 Capital Centre 33–38 72 March 24, 1986 Philadelphia W 100–93 Capital Centre 34–38 73 March 26, 1986 Dallas W 120–112 Capital Centre 35–38 74 March 28, 1986 @ Boston L 97–116 Boston Garden 35–39 75 March 29, 1986 Houston L 109–114 Capital Centre 35–40
April: 4–3 (home: 3–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 76 April 1, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST @ Atlanta L 91–107 Malone (32) Robinson (10) Malone, Williams (5) The Omni 6,835 35–41 77 April 3, 1986 @ New Jersey W 120–108 Brendan Byrne Arena 36–41 78 April 4, 1986 7:30 p.m. EST Atlanta W 135–129 (OT) Robinson (31) Roundfield (16) Williams (15) Capital Centre 9,113 37–41 79 April 6, 1986 Cleveland W 106–95 Capital Centre 38–41 80 April 8, 1986 Indiana L 104–111 Capital Centre 38–42 81 April 11, 1986 @ Chicago L 103–105 Chicago Stadium 38–43 82 April 13, 1986 Philadelphia W 98–97 Capital Centre 39–43
1985–86 schedule

Playoffs

1986 playoff game log
First Round: 2–3 (home: 1–1; road: 1–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 18, 1986 @ Philadelphia W 95–94 Jeff Malone (21) Cliff Robinson (8) Gus Williams (7) Spectrum 9,148 1–0 2 April 20, 1986 @ Philadelphia L 97–102 Jeff Malone (25) Cliff Robinson (11) Gus Williams (12) Spectrum 9,057 1–1 3 April 22, 1986 Philadelphia L 86–91 Gus Williams (28) Bol, Roundfield (10) Williams, Roundfield (4) Capital Centre 17,137 1–2 4 April 24, 1986 Philadelphia W 116–111 Cliff Robinson (31) Manute Bol (12) Jeff Ruland (5) Capital Centre 12,588 2–2 5 April 27, 1986 @ Philadelphia L 109–134 Cliff Robinson (30) Cliff Robinson (11) Gus Williams (6) Spectrum 15,162 2–3
1986 schedule

Player statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

• Manute Bol, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

Transactions

See also

• 1985–86 NBA season

References

1. "1985-86 Washington Bullets Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 16, 2021.