Wizards trace turnaround to 'Death Row' label

Ten days before Christmas, the Washington Wizards were 9-14 and staring down the corridor of another disappointing season. But that's when their U-turn began, with the team compiling a 40-19 record after that point.

More often than not, turnarounds are accompanied by a new mindset. And while it's probably more tongue-in-cheek than anything else, Markieff Morris chose to embrace a vintage rap label as motivation at the time.

The Wizards have since called themselves "Death Row D.C." in a nod to '80s and '90s hip-hop pioneer Death Row Records.

"It was just the realization that we weren't the team that we knew we were capable of being," Bradley Beal told The Vertical's Michael Lee. "We didn't give up on it. We stayed with it and we're confident in who we are."

Beal told Lee that assignments are as follows: John Wall is Tupac Shakur, Morris is Snoop Dogg, and that he is Dr. Dre, "because there is no Death Row without Dr. Dre."

Beal and Wall appear to have set aside any previous tensions this season, and it's paid off with both having career years. The Wizards also have a 1-0 series lead on the Atlanta Hawks with Game 2 going Wednesday night in Washington.

"It's just funny. We have a lot of fun on this team," Wall said. "(Morris) came up with that and we're just rolling with it. This is the mob. We got the mob."

No Death Row fantasy world would be complete without a character playing the infamous Suge Knight, an honor that apparently goes to team security guard David Best.