Chicago Packers
An ABA original often mistaken for the NBA franchise's Chicago roots.
The Chicago Packers were a professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, competing in the American Basketball Association (ABA) during the late 1960s. While often confused by casual fans with the franchise lineage of the Washington Wizards, the Packers are distinct from the NBA's Chicago Zephyrs, which formed the actual foundation of the Wizards organization.
- League
- American Basketball Association (ABA)
- Years Active
- 1967-1968
- City
- Chicago, Illinois
- Home Arena
- International Amphitheatre
- Franchise Fate
- Relocated to become the Illinois Express
- Relation to Wizards
- No direct lineage connection
Lore & Background
Understanding this distinction is vital for any historian of the Wizards franchise. The path from Chicago to Washington was paved by the Zephyrs and Bullets, not the Packers. While both teams wore colors and competed on hardwood during a transformative decade in sports, their organizational DNA never merged. Acknowledging the Packers helps clarify why the Wizards' official history begins with the 1961-62 season rather than the ABA's later expansion.
In Their Own Story
The lights hummed over the International Amphitheatre in 1967, casting long shadows across the court where the Chicago Packers took their final steps as a local entity. Fans cheered for a team that would soon vanish from this city, unaware that another basketball lineage was already carving its path toward the East Coast.
Reader's Guide
This entry serves primarily to correct a common misconception within Wizards fandom regarding franchise origins. Fans often conflate the two due to shared geography and era, but the Packers became the Illinois Express and later the Kentucky Colonels. For a true understanding of the Wizards' history, focus remains on the Zephyrs moving to Baltimore as the Bullets before arriving in Washington D.C.
Did You Know?
- The Chicago Packers played only one full season in Chicago before becoming the Illinois Express.
- The Washington Wizards franchise originated with the NBA's Chicago Zephyrs, not the ABA Packers.
- Both teams operated in Chicago during overlapping years but belonged to rival leagues (NBA vs. ABA).
- No player from the 1967-68 Packers roster is credited as a founding legend of the Wizards franchise.
More in Club History & Eras
Elsewhere in the Washington Wizards universe
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