DC Basketball Legend Wes Unseld Dies At 74

WASHINGTON, DC — Wes Unseld, the legendary player for the Washington Bullets who led the team to its only NBA championship, has died at the age of 74, his family announced Tuesday. The Hall of Famer is considered by many to be the most important person in Washington Bullets/Wizards franchise history.

In 984 games in the league, Unseld averaged a double-double, with averages of 10.8 points and 14.0 rebounds per game over the course of his career. The native of Kentucky was then inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988 before being named one of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all time in 1996.

“It is with profound sadness that we share that our adored husband, father and grandfather Wes Unseld passed away peacefully this morning surrounded by family following lengthy health battles, most recently with pneumonia,” the family statement read. “He was the rock of our family — an extremely devoted patriarch who reveled in being with his wife, children, friends and teammates. He was a hero and loved playing basketball for the cities of Baltimore and Washington D.C., cities he proudly wore on his chest for so many years.”

Unseld was the team’s leader during its greatest run of success. Starting with his rookie season of 1968-1969, the team made 12 straight playoff appearances and won its lone championship, over the Seattle SuperSonics, in 1978, a finals for which he was named MVP.

Listed at only 6-foot-7, Unseld used his big body to become one of the NBA's all-time greatest rebounders. But Unseld is probably best known for his two-handed, over-the-head outlet pass that he threw with pinpoint accuracy.

Unseld attended the University of Louisville, where he was twice named an all-American. He was drafted by the Bullets in 1968 when the team was still based in Baltimore. The team moved to the Capital Centre in Landover in 1973 and became the Capital Bullets. A year later, the team changed its name to the Washington Bullets. In 1995, then owner Abe Pollin changed the team's name to the Wizards.

Along with his storied playing career, Unseld was a long-time head coach and general manager of the Bullets. He served as head coach of the Bullets from 1987 to 1994. Unseld became the team's general manager in 1996 and served in that role for seven years.