Wes Unseld

Unseld was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Charles and Cornelia Unseld as one of nine children. His father was a prizefighter, construction worker, oilman, and baseball player for the Indianapolis Clowns. ==College career==

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. He led the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounding all three years. 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. ==Professional career==

of the Milwaukee Bucks 1971 Unseld was selected as the second overall pick by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1968 NBA draft. He was also selected by his hometown Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association (ABA) in the 1968 ABA draft. 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. 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. On November 22, Unseld recorded 20 points and a career-high 29 rebounds in a 121–110 loss to the 76ers. As a rookie, Unseld helped lead the Bullets (which had finished in last place in the Eastern division the previous year) to a 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. Unseld, who was one of the best rebounders of his era, led the NBA in rebounding in the . The following season, he led the NBA in field goal percentage with a .561 percentage. ==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. In 2021, he was named on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. 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. ==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. He resigned following the 1994 season with a 202–345 record (.369 win percentage) in the regular season. Unseld became the Bullets' general manager in 1996 (they were renamed to the Wizards in 1997) and served in that role for seven years. His team advanced to the playoffs once during his tenure as GM and failed to win a game. ==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. 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. ==Death==

Unseld died on June 2, 2020, of complications from pneumonia among other physical ailments. ==NBA career statistics==

Playing Source: Coaching Source: ==See also==