Wes Unseld, Powerful Hall of Fame N.B.A. Center, Dies at 74

That skill was ideal for Unseld, who was unselfish about his scoring. While other players could have emulated him, few did.

In 2015, he told The New York Times: “When you throw that outlet pass, you’re not going to get the ball back.” But others, looking for more glory, he said, “would rebound the ball and they would hold it, give it to a guard to dribble it up, and then post up and get the ball back so they could score.”

“It just depends on how you look at the game.”

Westley Sissel Unseld was born in Louisville on March 14, 1946, to Cornelia and Charles Unseld. His father was employed by International Harvester and later worked in construction; his mother was a school lunchroom manager.

Unseld was heavily recruited by colleges after leading Seneca High School in Louisville to two state championships. He chose the University of Louisville, where he averaged 20.6 points and 18.9 rebounds a game over three seasons. He was a consensus All-American in 1967 and 1968.

The Bullets chose him as the second player in the 1968 N.B.A. draft; a future teammate, Elvin Hayes, was selected first, by the San Diego Rockets. The Bullets improved dramatically in Unseld’s rookie year, winning 57 games, up from 36 the previous season.

The Bullets were in the playoffs in 12 of Unseld’s 13 seasons, making it to the finals against the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 and the Golden State Warriors in 1975 before beating Seattle in seven games in 1978. Unseld averaged nine points and 11.7 rebounds in that series. The next season, in a repeat finals appearance, the Bullets lost to the SuperSonics in five games. The team, known as the Wizards since 1997, hasn’t been to the finals since.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/sports/basketball/wes-unseld-dead.html