Washington Welcomes Capital City Go-Go G league team
In what the organization says is an homage to the District’s roots, the Washington Wizards announced Friday night that the organization’s G League team will be called the Capital City Go-Go.
Washington is one of the last teams in the league to have its own G League, formerly the D-League, team. The Go-Go is expected to start play in a new arena located on the campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital in Ward 8 starting in the fall of 2018. When it does, it will become the 27th team in the G league. There are 30 teams in the NBA.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said a friend showed him a text last winter that suggested calling the G League team the Go-Go, the organization discussed the idea, then settled on it. Further explanation from the press release:
“A pillar of DC’s music scene, the Go-Go subgenre was invented in the nation’s capital by Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers. The Young Senators, Black Heat, Trouble Funk, Rare Essence, Experience Unlimited and other impactful acts have helped make Go-Go a prevalent part of the region’s unique identity through multiple generations and an influential style that can be heard throughout several musical styles to this day.”
Using the term ‘Capital City’ also plays on basketball’s history in Washington, going back to the NBA’s Capital City Bullets teams in the 1970s. The logo itself doesn’t stray too far from the Wizards, however. Atop the Conga featured on the emblem is a drum head with the Wizards’ primary basketball logo. The color scheme will also remain the same as the Wizards and Mystics.
When the project was first touted in September of 2015, G League President Malcolm Turner said teams usually need a 12- to 18-month timeline to put a team in place. Washington’s agreement with the league is another step toward meeting that timeline. Monumental has an agreement for the team, a planned location and strategy to move forward. It now needs the facility to be built.
