Wes Unseld

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Template:Short description Template:About Template:Redirect Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox basketball biography Westley Sissel Unseld Sr. (March 14, 1946Template:SpndJune 2, 2020) was an American professional basketball player, coach and executive. He spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets. Unseld played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals and was selected with the second overall pick by the Bullets in the 1968 NBA draft. Known as "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Oak Tree" because of his immense physical presence, Unseld was named the NBA Most Valuable Player and NBA Rookie of the Year during his rookie season and joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in NBA history to accomplish the feat. He won an NBA championship with the Bullets in 1978 and the Finals MVP award to go with it.

After his retirement as a player in 1981,<ref name=hesout>Template:Cite news</ref> Unseld worked with the Bullets-Wizards organization as a vice president, head coach and general manager.

Unseld was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His son, Wes Unseld Jr., is currently an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls.

Early life

Unseld was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Charles and Cornelia Unseld as one of nine children.<ref name=encyclopedia>Template:Cite web</ref> His father was a prizefighter, construction worker, oilman, and baseball player for the Indianapolis Clowns.<ref name=encyclopedia />

Unseld starred for the Seneca High School team that won Kentucky state championships in 1963 and 1964. He was recruited by over 100 colleges,Template:Citation needed and became the first African-American athlete to be offered an athletic scholarship to the University of Kentucky in Lexington.<ref name=encyclopedia /> Integration leaders in Louisville tried to persuade Unseld to attend the University of Kentucky and stated that "it would be good for Kentucky and the Southeastern Conference," but Unseld opted to stay in town and attend the University of Louisville, which was racially integrated.<ref name=encyclopedia /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

College career

File:Wes Unseld 1967.jpeg
Unseld grabs a rebound during a 1967 game with the Louisville Cardinals

Unseld played center for the school's freshman team and averaged 35.8 points and 23.6 rebounds over 14 games. He lettered for Louisville as a sophomore (1965–66), junior (1966–67), and senior (1967–68), scored 1,686 points (20.6 average) and grabbed 1,551 rebounds (18.9 average) over 82 games.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He led the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding all three years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Unseld earned NCAA All-American honors in 1967 and 1968 and led Louisville to a 60–22 record during his collegiate career, making trips to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1966 and the NCAA tournament in 1967 and 1968. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.<ref name="whas11-obit">Template:Cite web</ref>

Professional career

File:Wes Unseld and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.jpeg
Unseld guarding Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Milwaukee Bucks Template:Circa 1971

Unseld was selected as the second overall pick by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1968 NBA draft.<ref name="stats">Template:Cite web</ref> He was also selected by his hometown Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in the 1968 ABA draft.<ref name=abrams>Template:Cite book</ref> Unseld was offered contracts by both teams but opted to sign with the Bullets of the more successful NBA despite them allegedly offering less money.<ref name=abrams /> After signing Unseld, Bullets owner Earl Foreman proclaimed that "this contract represents the most attractive and rewarding contract that has or will be signed by any player in the NBA this year."<ref name=abrams />

In his first regular season game, Unseld recorded eight points and 22 rebounds in a 124–116 Baltimore win over the Detroit Pistons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On October 19, Unseld recorded his first double-double of his career after recording 13 points and 20 rebounds in a 124–121 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On November 22, Unseld recorded 20 points and a career-high 29 rebounds in a 121–110 loss to the 76ers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

As a rookie, Unseld helped lead the Bullets (which had finished in last place in the Eastern division the previous year) to a Template:Winpct record and a division title. Unseld averaged 18.2 rebounds per game that year, and joined fellow future Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain to become the second player ever to win the Rookie of the Year Award and the Most Valuable Player Award in the same year.<ref name="whas11-obit" /> Unseld was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and also claimed the Sporting News MVP that year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Unseld was one of the best defensive players of his era, and in the Template:Nbay, he led the NBA in rebounding. The following season, he led the NBA in field goal percentage with a .561 percentage.<ref name="stats"/>

First with star ball-handler Earl Monroe and renowned two-way player Gus Johnson, and later with dominant center-turned-power-forward Elvin Hayes and experienced wing Bob Dandridge, Unseld played a key role in the Bullets making four NBA Finals appearances from 1971 to 1979, and won the championship in 1978 over the Seattle SuperSonics, in which he was named the Finals MVP. He ended his playing career in March 1981,<ref name=hesout/> and his No. 41 jersey was retired by the Bullets shortly thereafter.<ref name="nba-obit">Template:Cite web</ref>

Player profile

Famed for his rebounding, bone-jarring picks and ability to ignite a fast break with his crisp, accurate outlet passes, Unseld made up for his lack of height as a center with brute strength and sheer determination. In 984 NBA games – all with the Bullets – Unseld averaged a double-double in points and rebounds, with averages of 10.8 points and 14.0 rebounds per game. He also averaged 3.9 assists, excellent for a center, in the 36 minutes he played per game. Unseld was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988, and in 1996, he was named as one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of all time.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> In 2021, he was named on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To commemorate the NBA's 75th Anniversary The Athletic ranked their top 75 players of all time, and named Unseld as the 60th greatest player in NBA history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Executive and coaching career

After his retirement as a player, Unseld wasn't nearly as successful as a head coach and executive. In 1981, he moved into a front office position as Bullets vice president for six years before being named head coach in 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He resigned following the 1994 season with a 202–345 record (.369 win percentage) in the regular season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Unseld became the Bullets' general manager in 1996 (they were renamed to the Wizards in 1997) and served in that role for seven years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His team advanced to the playoffs once during his tenure as GM and failed to win a game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Unseld's wife, Connie, opened Unselds School in 1979. A coed private school located in southwest Baltimore, it has a daycare program, nursery school and a kindergarten-to-eighth grade curriculum. Connie and daughter Kimberly served as teachers at the school.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Unseld worked as an office manager and head basketball coach.

Unseld was the godfather of Utah Jazz forward Kevin Love, whose father Stan Love was a former teammate. His son Wes Unseld Jr. served as the head coach of the Wizards from 2021 to 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

Unseld died on June 2, 2020, of complications from pneumonia among other physical ailments.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="sheinin1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

NBA career statistics

Playing

Template:NBA player statistics legend Source:<ref>Template:Cite basketball-reference</ref>

Template:NBA player statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Baltimore | 82 || Template:Sort || 36.2 || .476 || Template:Sort || .605 || 18.2 || 2.6 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 13.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Baltimore | style="background:#cfecec;"|82* || Template:Sort || 39.4 || .518 || Template:Sort || .638 || 16.7 || 3.5 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 16.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Baltimore | 74 || Template:Sort || 39.2 || .501 || Template:Sort || .657 || 16.9 || 4.0 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 14.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Baltimore | 76 || Template:Sort || 41.7 || .498 || Template:Sort || .629 || 17.6 || 3.7 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 13.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Baltimore | 79 || Template:Sort || 39.1 || .493 || Template:Sort || .703 || 15.9 || 4.4 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 12.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Capital | 56 || Template:Sort || 30.8 || .438 || Template:Sort || .655 || 9.2 || 2.8 || 1.0 || .3 || 5.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | 73 || Template:Sort || 39.8 || .502 || Template:Sort || .685 || style="background:#cfecec;"|14.8* || 4.1 || 1.6 || .9 || 9.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | 78 || Template:Sort || 37.5 || style="background:#cfecec;"|.561* || Template:Sort || .585 || 13.3 || 5.2 || 1.1 || .8 || 9.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | 82 || Template:Sort || 34.9 || .490 || Template:Sort || .602 || 10.7 || 4.4 || 1.1 || .5 || 7.8 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"|Template:Nbay† | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | 80 || Template:Sort || 33.1 || .523 || Template:Sort || .538 || 11.9 || 4.1 || 1.2 || .6 || 7.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | 77 || Template:Sort || 31.2 || .577 || Template:Sort || .643 || 10.8 || 4.1 || .9 || .5 || 10.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | 82 || Template:Sort || 36.3 || .513 || .500 || .665 || 13.3 || 4.5 || .8 || .7 || 9.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | 63 || Template:Sort || 32.3 || .524 || .500 || .640 || 10.7 || 2.7 || .8 || .6 || 8.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 984 || Template:Sort || 36.4 || .509 || .500 || .633 || 14.0 || 3.9 || 1.1 || .6 || 10.8 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|All-Star | 5 || 0 || 15.4 || .500 || Template:Sort || .600 || 7.2 || 1.2 || .4 || .0 || 6.2 Template:S-end

Template:NBA player statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"|1969 | style="text-align:left;”|Baltimore | 4 || Template:Sort || 41.3 || .526 || Template:Sort || .789 || 18.5 || 1.3 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 18.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1970 | style="text-align:left;”|Baltimore | 7 || Template:Sort || 41.3 || .414 || Template:Sort || .789 || 23.6 || 3.4 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 10.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1971 | style="text-align:left;”|Baltimore | 18 || Template:Sort || 42.2 || .462 || Template:Sort || .568 || 18.8 || 3.8 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 13.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1972 | style="text-align:left;”|Baltimore | 6 || Template:Sort || 44.3 || .492 || Template:Sort || .526 || 12.5 || 4.2 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 12.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1973 | style="text-align:left;”|Baltimore | 5 || Template:Sort || 40.2 || .417 || Template:Sort || .474 || 15.2 || 3.4 || Template:Sort || Template:Sort || 9.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1974 | style="text-align:left;”|Capital | 7 || Template:Sort || 42.4 || .492 || Template:Sort || .600 || 12.1 || 3.9 || .6 || .1 || 10.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1975 | style="text-align:left;”|Washington | 17 || Template:Sort || 43.2 || .546 || Template:Sort || .656 || 16.2 || 3.8 || .9 || 1.2 || 10.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1976 | style="text-align:left;”|Washington | 7 || Template:Sort || 44.3 || .462 || Template:Sort || .542 || 12.1 || 4.0 || .9 || .6 || 7.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1977 | style="text-align:left;”|Washington | 9 || Template:Sort || 40.9 || .556 || Template:Sort || .583 || 11.7 || 4.9 || .9 || .7 || 7.4 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;"|1978† | style="text-align:left;”|Washington | 18 || Template:Sort || 37.6 || .530 || Template:Sort || .587 || 12.0 || 4.4 || .9 || .4 || 9.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1979 | style="text-align:left;”|Washington | 19 || Template:Sort || 38.7 || .494 || Template:Sort || .609 || 13.3 || 3.4 || .9 || .7 || 10.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|1980 | style="text-align:left;”|Washington | 2 || Template:Sort || 43.5 || .500 || .000 || .667 || 14.0 || 3.5 || .0 || 1.5 || 9.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 119 || Template:Sort || 41.1 || .493 || .000 || .608 || 14.9 || 3.8 || .8 || .7 || 10.6 Template:S-end

Coaching

Source:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:NBA coach statistics legend Template:NBA coach statistics start |- | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | 55 || 30 || 25 || Template:Winpct || style="text-align:center;"|2nd in Atlantic || 5 || 2 || 3 || Template:Winpct | style="text-align:center;"|Lost in first round |- | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | 82 || 40 || 42 || Template:Winpct || style="text-align:center;"|4th in Atlantic || — || — || — || — | style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs |- | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | 82 || 31 || 51 || Template:Winpct || style="text-align:center;"|4th in Atlantic || — || — || — || — | style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs |- | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | 82 || 30 || 52 || Template:Winpct || style="text-align:center;"|4th in Atlantic || — || — || — || — | style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs |- | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | 82 || 25 || 57 || Template:Winpct || style="text-align:center;"|6th in Atlantic || — || — || — || — | style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs |- | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | 82 || 22 || 60 || Template:Winpct || style="text-align:center;"|7th in Atlantic || — || — || — || — | style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs |- | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | style="text-align:left;"|Template:Nbay | 82 || 24 || 58 || Template:Winpct || style="text-align:center;"|7th in Atlantic || — || — || — || — | style="text-align:center;"|Missed playoffs |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 547 || 202 || 345 || Template:Winpct ||   || 5 || 2 || 3 || Template:Winpct ||   Template:S-end

See also

References

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