Westley Sissel "Wes" Unseld (born March 14, 1946 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American former basketball player. He spent his entire NBA career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.
[edit] Early life and college career
Unseld starred on a Seneca High School team that won two state championships. In 1965, Unseld began playing center for the University of Louisville, where he averaged 35.8 points per game and 23.6 rebounds per game in 14 games with a freshman team. He was a 3-year letter winner, scored 1,686 points in 82 games (20.6 points per game), grabbed 1,551 rebounds (18.9 rebounds per game), led the conference in rebounding in 1966, 1967 and 1968, and led Louisville to a 60-22 record with two trips to the NCAA tournament and one trip to the NIT tournament. Unseld is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
[edit] NBA years
Unseld was drafted by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1968 American Basketball Association draft and was drafted second overall in the first round by the Baltimore Bullets in 1968,[1] and helped lead the Bullets (who had finished in last place in the Eastern division the previous year) to a 57-25 record and a division title. Unseld averaged 18.2 rebounds per game that year, and became only the second player ever to win both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same season (Wilt Chamberlain being the first). Unseld was also named the Sporting News MVP that year. He was one of the best defensive players of his era, and in 1975, he led the NBA in rebounding. The following season, he led the NBA in field goal percentage with a .561 percentage.
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 size (6’7”) with brute strength and sheer determination. Unseld took the Bullets franchise to four NBA Finals, and won the championship in 1978 over the Seattle SuperSonics, in which he was named the Finals MVP. He ended his playing career following the 1980–1981 season, and his #41 jersey was retired by the Bullets shortly thereafter.
In 984 NBA games - all with the Bullets - Unseld averaged an offensive double-double, with averages of 10.8 points and 14.0 rebounds per game, as well as 3.9 assists per game, averaging over 36 minutes 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.[2]
[edit] General manager and head coach
After his retirement in 1981 he moved into a front office position with the Bullets where he served as vice president for six years before being named head coach in 1987. He resigned following the 1994 season with a 202–345 record (.369). Unseld became Washington's General Manager in 1996 and guided the team to the playoffs once during his tenure.
[edit] Post NBA career
Unseld and his 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 Kimberley serve as teachers at the school.[3][4]
[edit] Trivia
Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star Kevin Love's middle name Wesley is in honor of Unseld.[5]
His son, Wes Unseld Jr., has served as an assistant coach in the NBA. [6]
[edit] NBA statistics
[edit] Career highs
[edit] Regular season
| Stat |
High |
Opponent |
Date |
| Points |
30 |
|
|
| Field goal percentage |
|
|
|
| Field goals made |
12 |
|
|
| Field goal attempts |
24 |
|
|
| Free throws made, none missed |
— |
|
|
| Free throws made, one missed |
— |
|
|
| Free throws made |
13 |
|
|
| Free throw attempts |
17 |
|
|
| Rebounds |
32 |
at Cincinnati Royals |
01969-03-14 March 14, 1969 |
| Rebounds |
30 |
vs. Milwaukee Bucks |
01969-02-14 February 14, 1969 |
| Rebounds |
30 |
vs. New Orleans Jazz |
01975-04-06 April 6, 1975 |
| Offensive rebounds |
12 |
vs. Houston Rockets |
01974-01-20 January 20, 1974 |
| Defensive rebounds |
24 |
vs. New Orleans Jazz |
01975-04-06 April 6, 1975 |
| Assists |
13 |
|
|
| Steals |
8 |
at Phoenix Suns |
01976-01-24 January 24, 1976 |
| Blocked shots |
|
|
|
[edit] Playoffs
| Stat |
High |
Opponent |
Date |
| Points |
26 |
|
|
| Field goal percentage |
12—13 (.923) |
vs. San Antonio Spurs |
01979-05-06 May 6, 1979 |
| Field goals made |
12 |
vs. San Antonio Spurs |
01979-05-06 May 6, 1979 |
| Field goal attempts |
22 |
|
|
| Free throws made, none missed |
— |
|
|
| Free throws made, one missed |
— |
|
|
| Free throws made |
7 |
|
|
| Free throw attempts |
12 |
|
|
| Rebounds |
34 |
at New York Knicks |
01970-03-29 March 29, 1970 |
| Offensive rebounds |
11 |
at San Antonio Spurs |
01979-05-11 May 11, 1979 |
| Defensive rebounds |
|
|
|
| Assists |
10 |
|
|
| Steals |
|
|
|
| Blocked shots |
|
|
|
| Turnovers |
8 (OT) |
at Atlanta Hawks |
01978-04-14 April 14, 1978 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Basketball-Reference.com Wes Unseld page
- ^ http://www.nba.com/history/players/unseld_summary.html
- ^ "Eye on the Entrepreneur – Silver anniversary for Unseld's School," The Daily Record (Baltimore, MD), Friday, February 27, 2004.
- ^ Neale, Barrett. "Unselds Are Still Heroes, But In Scholastic Arena," PressBox (Baltimore, MD), December 2010.
- ^ http://www.thepostgame.com/interviews/201103/kevin-love-double-doubles-nba-history-and-john-wooden
- ^ http://www.nba.com/wizards/assistantcoaches_091104.html
[edit] External links
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Unseld, Wes |
| Alternative names |
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| Short description |
American basketball player-coach |
| Date of birth |
March 14, 1946 |
| Place of birth |
Louisville, Kentucky |
| Date of death |
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| Place of death |
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