| |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 14, 1946 Louisville, Kentucky |
| Died | June 2, 2020 (aged 74) Catonsville, Maryland |
| Nationality | American |
| Physical stats | |
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) |
| Listed weight | 245 lbs (111 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Seneca (Louisville, Kentucky) |
| College | Louisville (1965–1968) |
| NBA Draft | 1968 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall |
| Selected by the Baltimore Bullets | |
| Playing career | 1968–1981 (13 years) |
| Position | Center / Power forward |
| Number | 41 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1968–1981 | Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets |
| As coach: | |
| 1987–1994 | Washington Bullets |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
|
Points 10,624 (10.8 png) | |
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 college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals and was selected with the second overall pick 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 an NBA championship with the Bullets in 1978. After retiring from playing in 1981, he worked with the Bullets 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.
On June 2, 2020, Unseld's family announced that he had died after suffering lengthy health battles, including most recently with pneumonia.
Early life[]
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.
Unseld starred for the Seneca High School team that won Kentucky state championships in 1963 and 1964. He was recruited by over 100 colleges, and became the first African-American athlete to be offered an athletic scholarship to the University of Kentucky in Lexington. 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.
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[]
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. 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."
In his first regular season game, Unseld recorded eight points and 22 rebounds in a 124–116 Baltimore win over the Detroit Pistons. 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 57–25 (.695) 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 the 1974–75, 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 to four NBA Finals in the 1970s, 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, and his No. 41 jersey was retired by the Bullets shortly thereafter