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Washington Wizards: 25 Best Players To Play For The Wizards

By Phil Watson

Jan 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; A general view of the scoreboard at Verizon Center, as the Washington Wizards changed their name to the Baltimore Bullets for one game as part of throwback night against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets won 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; A general view of the scoreboard at Verizon Center, as the Washington Wizards changed their name to the Baltimore Bullets for one game as part of throwback night against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets won 117-113. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Basketball: NBA Finals: Seattle SuperSonics Marvin Webster (40) in action vs Washington Bullets Wes Unseld (41). Game 4. Seattle, WA 5/30/1978 CREDIT: Peter Read Miller (Photo by Peter Read Miller /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X22420 )
Basketball: NBA Finals: Seattle SuperSonics Marvin Webster (40) in action vs Washington Bullets Wes Unseld (41). Game 4. Seattle, WA 5/30/1978 CREDIT: Peter Read Miller (Photo by Peter Read Miller /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images) (Set Number: X22420 ) /

Wes Unseld. 2. player. 142. <strong>How acquired:</strong> 2nd overall pick from Louisville, 1968 NBA Draft.. C. 1968-81

Wes Unseld beat the odds as a 6-foot-7 center, using his bulk to make up for a lack of height. The Baltimore Bullets took a chance on the two-time All-American from Louisville with the second pick in the 1968 NBA Draft.

Unseld made history as a rookie, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to be named Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season. He was a five-time All-Star with the Bullets and was named All-NBA in 1968-69.

WAS_02_UNSELD
WAS_02_UNSELD /

He led the NBA in rebounding in 1974-75 and in field-goal percentage in 1975-76, finishing in the top five in rebounding eight times in his career. He was also third in field-goal percentage in 1978-79.

In the 1971 NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks, Unseld averaged 15 points, 19.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 42.8 minutes per game, shooting 39.7 percent from the floor and going 10-for-18 at the line as the Bullets were swept.

He was back in the Finals in 1975, averaging 12.3 points, 16.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a steal in 43 minutes per game on 52.6 percent shooting from the field while hitting 9-of-16 at the foul line, but Washington was swept by the Golden State Warriors.

In the 1978 NBA Finals against the Seattle SuperSonics, Unseld averaged nine points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 38.6 minutes per game, shooting 52 percent from the floor and 55 percent at the line, earning Finals MVP honors as the Bullets captured their lone NBA title in seven games.

Back in the Finals against Seattle in 1979, Unseld averaged 11 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 42.4 minutes per game on 47.9 percent shooting from the field and hitting 9-of-12 at the foul line as the Sonics won in five games.

Unseld is the only player to have appeared in all four of the franchise’s NBA Finals trips.

He retired after the 1980-81 season.

In 13 seasons with Baltimore, Capital and Washington, Unseld averaged 10.8 points, 14 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 36.4 minutes per game, shooting .509/3-for-6/.633.

Unseld later coached the Bullets to a 202-345 records, going 2-3 in the playoffs, from 1988-94 and was general manager of the club from 1996-2003.

He is 12th in NBA history with 13,769 rebounds, 35th with an average of 36.4 minutes per game and sixth with an average of 14.0 rebounds per game.

Inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988, Unseld was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team in 1996.

Next: The Big E Was A Big Acquisition

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