Wes Unseld

High school

Seneca High School

College

University of Louisville

Pro team(s)

Baltimore Bullets, Capital Bullets, Washington Bullets

Hall of Fame

⭐ Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Westley Sissel Unseld was born on March 14, 1946, in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended Seneca High School, where he was recruited by virtually every major college basketball program in the country. He chose the University of Louisville and became one of the most dominant college players of the mid-1960s. The Baltimore Bullets selected him second overall in the 1968 NBA Draft, and what followed was one of the most spectacular rookie seasons in professional sports history: Unseld averaged 13.8 points and 18.2 rebounds per game, won both the NBA Rookie of the Year award and the NBA Most Valuable Player award — only the second player (after Wilt Chamberlain) to accomplish both in the same season. Despite standing just 6-foot-7 for a center, Unseld was one of the most physical forces in the game, using extraordinary lower-body strength to dominate rebounding position and a basketball IQ that made him one of the era's most respected passers from the pivot. He led the Washington Bullets (formerly the Baltimore Bullets) to four NBA Finals appearances and the 1978 championship, winning the Finals MVP at age 32. He was a five-time All-Star. He later coached the Bullets/Wizards for eight seasons. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky.