Abe Pollin

In the 1990s, two NBA teams attempted rebrands. The New Jersey Nets almost became the Swamp Dragons, which is pretty hilarious and somewhat awesome, but, sadly, we're not here to talk about that.

The Washington Bullets had resided in the capital since their move from Baltimore in 1973, where they were also called the Bullets. The team got its name from the Old Baltimore Shot Tower, a landmark in the city and once the tallest structure in America, and its role for producing, well, bullets, in the 19th century.

But in 1997, owner Abe Pollin decided that he could no longer have his team carry that name. "Bullets connote killing, violence, death. The American love of guns has long since got out of hand," he said. Yes, this was almost 30 years ago.

When he announced the change, Pollin had just returned from the funeral of his friend Yitzhak Rabin. "That sure put an exclamation point on the fact that I made a right decision," he was quoted.

So the Bullets became the Wizards, Pollin sold them soon after, and did not live long enough to see America's love of guns reach insane levels of today.

Sadly.

Verdict: **Jew**.

_August 8, 2025_