Jump to content

Wes Unseld: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
curr.
t
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit
Line 63: Line 63:
| CBBASKHOF_year = 2006
| CBBASKHOF_year = 2006
}}
}}
'''Westley Sissel Unseld''' (March 14, 1946 – June 2, 2020) was an American professional [[basketball]] player, coach and executive. He spent his entire [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) career with the [[Washington Wizards|Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets]]. Unseld played collegiately for the [[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball|Louisville Cardinals]] and was drafted second overall by the Bullets in the [[1968 NBA draft]]. He was named the [[NBA Most Valuable Player Award|NBA Most Valuable Player]] during his rookie season and joined [[Wilt Chamberlain]] as the only two players in NBA history to accomplish the feat. Unseld won a championship with the Bullets in [[1978 NBA Finals|1978]]. After his retirement from playing in 1981, he worked with the Bullets as a vice president, head coach and general manager.
'''Westley Sissel Unseld''' (March 14, 1946 – June 2, 2020) was an American professional [[basketball]] player, coach and executive. He spent his entire [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) career with the [[Washington Wizards|Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets]]. Unseld played collegiately for the [[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball|Louisville Cardinals]] and was drafted second overall by the Bullets in the [[1968 NBA draft]]. He was named the [[NBA Most Valuable Player Award|NBA Most Valuable Player]] during his rookie season and joined [[Wilt Chamberlain]] as the only two players in NBA history to accomplish the feat. Unseld won a championship with the Bullets in [[1978 NBA Finals|1978]]. After his retirement from playing in 1981, he worked with the Bullets as a vice president, head coach and general manager. He just died a few minutes ago.


Unseld was inducted into the [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 1988 and the [[National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 2006.
Unseld was inducted into the [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 1988 and the [[National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 2006.

Revision as of 14:32, 2 June 2020

This article is about the former basketball player, coach and executive. For his son and active coach, see Wes Unseld Jr.
"Unseld" redirects here. For others with the surname, see Unseld (surname).
Wes Unseld
Unseld in 1975
Personal information
Born(1946-03-14)March 14, 1946
Louisville, Kentucky
DiedJune 2, 2020(2020-06-02) (aged 74)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High schoolSeneca (Louisville, Kentucky)
CollegeLouisville (1965–1968)
NBA draft1968: 1st round, 2nd overall pick
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets
Playing career1968–1981
PositionCenter
Number41
Coaching career1988–1994
Career history
As player:
1968–1981Baltimore / Capital / Washington Bullets
As coach:
1988–1994Washington Bullets
Career highlights and awards
Career NBA statistics
Points10,624 (10.8 ppg)
Rebounds13,769 (14.0 rpg)
Assists3,822 (3.9 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference
Basketball Hall of Fame as player
College Basketball Hall of Fame
Inducted in 2006
Medals
Representing United States United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1967 Winnipeg Team Competition
Universiade
Gold medal – first place 1967 Tokyo Team Competition

Westley Sissel Unseld (March 14, 1946 – June 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 collegiately for the Louisville Cardinals and was drafted second overall by the Bullets in the 1968 NBA draft. He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player during his rookie season and joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in NBA history to accomplish the feat. Unseld won a championship with the Bullets in 1978. After his retirement from playing in 1981, he worked with the Bullets as a vice president, head coach and general manager. He just died a few minutes ago.

Unseld was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Early life and college career

Unseld starred for the Seneca High School team that won Kentucky state championships in 1963 and 1964. He was recruited by over 100 colleges. Adolph Rupp, the University of Kentucky coach, offered Unseld a basketball scholarship, making Unseld the first African American athlete offered an athletic scholarship to the school. Integration leaders in Louisville attempted to persuade Unseld to attend U.K., saying that "we think it would be good for Kentucky and the Southeastern conference."[1] He chose to enroll at the University of Louisville in 1965 where he played center for the school's freshman team, averaging 35.8 points and 23.6 rebounds over 14 games. Unseld 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 as a member of the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team.

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 NIT tournament in 1966 and NCAA tournament in 1967 and 1968. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Professional career

Unseld was drafted by the Kentucky Colonels in the 1968 American Basketball Association draft, and second overall in the first round by the Baltimore Bullets in the 1968 NBA draft.[2]

In his first career game, Unseld recorded 8 points and 22 rebounds in a 124–116 win over the Detroit Pistons.[3] 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.[4] On November 22, Unseld recorded 20 points and a career-high 29 rebounds in a 110-121 loss to the Sixers.[5]

As a rookie, Unseld helped lead the Bullets (which 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 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 was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, and also claimed the Sporting News MVP that year.

Unseld 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.

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 1980–81 season, and his No. 41 jersey was retired by the Bullets shortly thereafter.

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 size 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.[6]

Executive and coaching career

After Unseld’s 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 1988.[7] He resigned following the 1994 season with a 202–345 record (.369).[8][9] Unseld became the team's general manager in 1996 and guided the team to the playoffs once during his tenure.

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 Kimberley serve as teachers at the school.[10][11] Unseld works as an office manager and head basketball coach. He is the godfather of Cleveland Cavaliers all-star forward, Kevin Love, as Kevin's father Stan Love was a teammate of Unseld's on the Baltimore Bullets. His son, Wes Jr., became a basketball coach most recently with the Denver Nuggets.[12]

On June 2, 2020, Unseld's family announced that he had died after suffering lengthy health battles, including most recently with pneumonia.[13]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1968–69 Baltimore 82 — 36.2 .476 — .605 18.2 2.6 — — 13.8
1969–70 Baltimore 82 — 39.4 .518 — .638 16.7 3.5 — — 16.2
1970–71 Baltimore 74 — 39.2 .501 — .657 16.9 4.0 — — 14.1
1971–72 Baltimore 76 — 41.7 .498 — .629 17.6 3.7 — — 13.0
1972–73 Baltimore 79 — 39.1 .493 — .703 15.9 4.4 — — 12.5
1973–74 Capital 56 — 30.8 .438 — .655 9.2 2.8 1.0 .3 5.9
1974–75 Washington 73 — 39.8 .502 — .685 14.8* 4.1 1.6 .9 9.2
1975–76 Washington 78 — 37.5 .561* — .585 13.3 5.2 1.1 .8 9.6
1976–77 Washington 82 — 34.9 .490 — .602 10.7 4.4 1.1 .5 7.8
1977–78† Washington 80 — 33.1 .523 — .538 11.9 4.1 1.2 .6 7.6
1978–79 Washington 77 — 31.2 .577 — .643 10.8 4.1 .9 .5 10.9
1979–80 Washington 82 — 36.3 .513 .500 .665 13.3 4.5 .8 .7 9.7
1980–81 Washington 63 — 32.3 .524 .500 .640 10.7 2.7 .8 .6 8.0
Career 984 — 36.4 .509 .500 .633 14.0 3.9 1.1 .6 10.8
All-Star 5 0 15.4 .500 — .600 7.2 1.2 .4 .0 6.2

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1969 Baltimore 4 — 41.3 .526 — .789 18.5 1.3 — — 18.8
1970 Baltimore 7 — 41.3 .414 — .789 23.6 3.4 — — 10.4
1971 Baltimore 18 — 42.2 .462 — .568 18.8 3.8 — — 13.2
1972 Baltimore 6 — 44.3 .492 — .526 12.5 4.2 — — 12.3
1973 Baltimore 5 — 40.2 .417 — .474 15.2 3.4 — — 9.8
1974 Capital 7 — 42.4 .492 — .600 12.1 3.9 .6 .1 10.1
1975 Washington 17 — 43.2 .546 — .656 16.2 3.8 .9 1.2 10.7
1976 Washington 7 — 44.3 .462 — .542 12.1 4.0 .9 .6 7.0
1977 Washington 9 — 40.9 .556 — .583 11.7 4.9 .9 .7 7.4
1978† Washington 18 — 37.6 .530 — .587 12.0 4.4 .9 .4 9.4
1979 Washington 19 — 38.7 .494 — .609 13.3 3.4 .9 .7 10.3
1980 Washington 2 — 43.5 .500 .000 .667 14.0 3.5 .0 1.5 9.0
Career 119 — 41.1 .493 .000 .608 14.9 3.8 .8 .7 10.6

Coaching record

NBA

Legend
Regular season G Games coached W Games won L Games lost W–L % Win–loss %
Playoffs PG Playoff games PW Playoff wins PL Playoff losses PW–L % Playoff win–loss %
Team Year G W L W–L% Finish PG PW PL PW–L% Result
Washington 1987–88 55 30 25 .545 2nd in Atlantic 5 2 3 .400 Lost in First Round
Washington 1988–89 82 40 42 .488 4th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 1989–90 82 31 51 .378 4th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 1990–91 82 30 52 .366 4th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 1991–92 82 25 57 .305 6th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 1992–93 82 22 60 .268 7th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Washington 1993–94 82 24 58 .293 7th in Atlantic — — — — Missed playoffs
Career 547 202 345 .369   5 2 3 .400  

See also

References

  1. ^ "Adolph Rupp: Fact and Fiction". www.bigbluehistory.net. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  2. ^ "Wes Unseld". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  3. ^ "Detroit Pistons at Baltimore Bullets Box Score, October 16, 1968". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  4. ^ "Philadelphia 76ers at Baltimore Bullets Box Score, October 19, 1968". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  5. ^ "Baltimore Bullets at Philadelphia 76ers Box Score, November 22, 1968". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "Wes Unseld". NBA Encyclopedia Playoff Edition. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  7. ^ "N.b.a.; Unseld Is Named Bullets' New Coach". The New York Times. January 4, 1988. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  8. ^ "Bullets' Unseld Quits as Coach". The New York Times. April 25, 1994. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  9. ^ Terry, Mike (April 25, 1994). "Unseld resigns after 7 seasons as Bullets coach". Washington Post. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  10. ^ "Eye on the Entrepreneur – Silver anniversary for Unseld's School". The Daily Record. Baltimore. February 27, 2004. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
  11. ^ Neale, Barrett (December 2010). "Unselds Are Still Heroes, But In Scholastic Arena" (156 ed.). Press Box (Baltimore, Maryland).
  12. ^ "Meet the 2016-17 Nuggets Coaches". Denver Nuggets. September 14, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  13. ^ "Statement from the Unseld family". Washington Wizards. June 2, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wes Unseld.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wes_Unseld&oldid=960359245"