Washington Wizards majority owner Abe Pollin said the long-suffering franchise likely will turn a profit this season, largely based on a projected run of continued sellouts at the 20,674-seat MCI Center.
"If we continue selling out games, for the first time in many years, I will not lose any money and maybe make a few bucks," Pollin said yesterday, without discussing exact figures. "We would make some money but, as I've said many times before, I'm not in this business strictly for the financial end of it. If I wanted to be in the business for financial reasons, I'd go back to building buildings like I used to do."
Washington leads the 29-team NBA in attendance, selling out all 10 of its home games. Tonight's game against the visiting Atlanta Hawks also is expected to be a sellout even though there are a limited number of seats available. The Wizards also have sold out every road game, a luxury for Pollin's fellow owners, some of whom are having problems filling seats on a regular basis.
Should the Wizards advance to the playoffs, "We'd probably make some more money," Pollin said.
Pollin, 78, said he won't consider selling his majority interest in the team unless it wins a title. Pollin, who has a 56 percent stake of the Wizards, is in his 37th year owning the team -- the longest tenure of any NBA owner. Lincoln Holdings, headed by Washington Capitals owner and AOL executive Ted Leonsis, controls the remaining interests.
"There is no way I'm prepared to sell the team," Pollin said. "The only time I would consider selling it is if we win a championship. If and when that happens, I would only think about selling it. Up until then, as long as the good Lord is good to me, I'm going to be with this team while we fight to win another championship." 
The draw for the Wizards, of course, is Michael Jordan, who came out of a three-year retirement this season at age 38. This summer, mere speculation of Jordan's return led to Washington selling more than 14,500 season tickets before the opening game.
"We sell the place out because of Michael but now people are getting very excited about the team," Pollin said about the red-hot Wizards, who have won six consecutive games. "Now this is a team. It's not just Michael. Michael is a fantastic draw and player but now [fans] see this team is winning and they see potential for a very exciting and competitive team.
"I predicted we'd be in the playoffs back at the beginning of the year and people laughed at me. They probably will still laugh at me when I say I still believe we'll make the playoffs. That's okay."
Before coming out of retirement, Jordan spent the previous 19 months as part owner and president of basketball operations for the Wizards. Jordan owned 10 percent of the team, although his shares came from Lincoln Holdings. To conform to NBA rules, Jordan had to sell his interest back to Leonsis and abandon his role as the team's top basketball executive once he returned as a player.
As president of basketball operations, Jordan made personnel moves that trimmed about $7 million off the team's payroll, bringing it to about $52 million this season -- another reason the Wizards could finish the season in the black.
Pollin said he isn't keeping as much an eye on the bottom line as he is on the improvement of a franchise that, under his ownership, won a title in 1978 but hasn't won a playoff game since 1986. Washington last advanced to postseason in 1997, when Jordan's Chicago Bulls swept the then-Washington Bullets in the three-game first round. The Wizards are off to their best start since the '97-98 season.
"I always felt that this team, once it starting clicking together and learning how to play with Michael, would be a very competitive team," Pollin said. "It took a while but our young players are starting to play together and play like they're capable of playing.
"Our veterans are playing well. Popeye Jones is great and Richard [Hamilton] is playing wonderfully. After losing eight games in a row and now winning six in a row, that's a tremendous turnaround."
Pollin said first-year Wizards coach Doug Collins is a key reason for the change.
"He's doing a great job," Pollin said of Collins. "We had a team dinner [Monday] night and the assistant coaches who know Doug well gave a lot of credit for what's going on to Doug. The players have finally inherited his passion for hard work and he's taught them how to fight hard and play defense. He's a very knowledgeable basketball man and I'm very lucky to have him."