Wes Unseld
Teams
Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets - 1968-81
Playoffs
Appearances - 12 (1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980)
Conference Finals - 4 (1971,1975,1978,1979)
NBA Finals - 4 (1971,1975,1978,1979)
Championships - 1 (1978)
Awards and Honors
Rookie of the Year - 1969
MVP - 1969
Finals MVP - 1978
All-NBA First Team - 1 (1969)
Hall of Fame - 1988
*(actual in bold, deserved in italics)
All-Time Ranks
Rebounds Per Game - #7
Total Rebounds - #14
League Leads
Total Rebounds (#2-1969,1970, #3-1972,1975,1976,1980, #4-1973, #5-1971)
Rebounds Per Game (#1-1975, #2-1970,1971,1972, #3-1976,1980, #5-1969,1973)
Field Goal Percentage (#1-1976, #3-1979)
After averaging 20.6 points and 18.9 rebounds in his college career playing for his hometown Louisville Cardinals, Wes Unseld was drafted #2 overall by the Baltimore Bullets, rejecting an offer from the Kentucky Colonels of the ABA, who had also drafted the local hero. He never scored close to that level in the NBA, but the rebounding translated well.
His rookie season of 1968-69 was one for the ages. Unseld averaged 13.8 points and 18.2 rebounds per game, and led the Bullets to 57 wins, best in the league, just one season after they had finished last in the East. For his efforts he was named both Rookie of the Year and MVP, only the second player ever to achieve that double, following Wilt Chamberlain a decade earlier.
The team played in Baltimore for Unseld's first 5 seasons, and he averaged at least 12 points and 15 rebounds per game in all 5 of those seasons, guiding them to the playoffs each season and all the way to the Finals in 1971, where they fell to Kareem and the Bucks in 4 games.
The team moved to the suburbs of Washington DC in 1973, where Unseld had his lone subpar season. He was in and out of the lineup, especially early in the season, with lingering injuries, and finished the season with averages of 5.9 points and 9.2 rebounds, the only time he would not finish in double figures in that category.
The team moved into downtown Washington the next season, and in 7 seasons in the nation's capital, Unseld was extremely steady, averaging between 7 and 11 points each year to go along with between 10 and 15 rebounds. He led the league in rebounding in their first season in Washington, and field goal percentage the next year.
They also made the playoffs in each of their first 6 seasons in Washington, extending Unseld's streak to 12 straight playoff appearances to open his career. He led the team back to the Finals in 1975, when they were swept again, this time by Rick Barry and the Warriors.
The team finally broke through in 1978, taking the NBA Championship in 7 games over the Seattle SuperSonics, with Unseld being named the Finals MVP. He averaged 9.0 points and 11.7 rebounds for the series, while Elvin Hayes averaged 20.7 points and 11.9 rebounds, and should have won the MVP in my opinion, though Unseld was always the franchise favorite, which helped him get the award.
The team returned to the Finals the next season, losing to the Sonics in a rematch 4-1, and two years later, after missing the playoffs for the first and only time in his career, Unseld announced his retirement. He remained with the organization for the next 22 years, serving first as vice president, then head coach, and later general manager before retiring for good.
Unseld was well-known for his masterful full-court passes, and he averaged 3.9 assists per game for his career, above average for a center. He was never much of a scorer in the NBA, with a career average of just 10.8, but he was one of the best rebounders throughout his career, even though he was only 6'7", one of the shortest centers in history. He is proof that a player can be one of the best of all time without being a volume scorer and focusing more on defense, and he deserves to be remembered for it.
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