Wes Unseld Jr. is a true basketball junkie, he grew up with the game in his house and there was never a doubt what is his calling. At the moment he is the head coach for the Washington Wizards. His father is Wes Unseld Sr., a true Washington legend, known for his contributions in different roles with the franchise, and a Hall-of-Famer.
Wes Unseld Jr. -Early life and education
Unseld Jr. grew up in Catonsville, Maryland. He developed a close affection for the game. He was following his father’s steps from an early age, as he was often a visitor in locker rooms after the games. He remembers the positive family atmosphere of his father’s teams. He played high school basketball as a big guy at Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland.
His skills as a center were good enough to help him get an education, as he continued to play college basketball at Johns Hopkins University, graduating in 1997.
Wes Unseld Jr. -Washington Wizards
Unseld went straight from college to the NBA, starting as a personnel scout for the Washington Wizards, working for his general manager father. He had planned to go to graduate school after getting his degree but decided to give basketball a chance and see if he would enjoy it.
After eight years of different scouting positions in his ninth year, he was promoted to assistant coach.
Unseld Jr. has been credited for creating Washington’s offensive game plan, leading to three consecutive top-ten offensive seasons from 2004 to 2007. He also had experience as a scout and assistant coach for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.
Wes Unseld Jr. -Golden State Warriors
In 2011, Unseld Jr. left the Wizards and moved to the Golden State Warriors after being denied a better coach position. That season he worked as head coach Mark Jackson’s associate head coach
Wes Unseld Jr. -Orlando Magic
After one year with the Warriors, Unseld went to the Orlando Magic as an assistant coach in 2012. After a bad start to the 2014–2015 season, Unseld was fired with head coach Jacque Vaughn in February 2015.
Wes Unseld Jr. -Denver Nuggets
When his long-time friend, Tim Connelly, became general manager of the Denver Nuggets in 2015, he offered Wes a job as a full-time assistant coach. In 2016 he was promoted to lead assistant coach role. His particular assignment had been to manage a defense that had been one of the worst in the league; the Nuggets went from 28th in defense in 2017–2018 to 10th in the 2018–19 season.
From 2018 until 2021, Nuggets ranked among the top six in defensive efficiency. He has been crucial in the development of Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. In 2019, he interviewed for several head coaching jobs but did not get any of them.
Wes Unseld Jr. -Washington Wizards head coach
Wes Unseld Jr. agreed to a four-year contract to become the head coach of the Washington Wizards in July 2021. Wes officially began his tenure as head coach of the Washington Wizards one year after his father, a Hall of Famer and the organization’s most legendary player and executive, died of complications of pneumonia.
Since joining the Wizards, Unseld’s job as a coach has been nearly flawless. From uniting the locker room, developing legitimate game plans, and using his personnel the right way, Unseld has been a significant reason for Washington’s early success.
The methods used by Unseld to develop players like Kyle Kuzma or Deni Avdija over a short period of time have been crucial to the team’s success.
Wes Unseld Sr.
Unseld, a graduate of the University of Louisville, played a pivotal role in his rookie, averaging 35.8 points and 23.6 rebounds over 14 games. In his other three years at University, he scored 1,686 points (20.6 points on average) and collected 1,551 rebounds (18.9 on average) in 82 games. He is the leader in terms of rebounds captured in the Missouri Valley Conference over those three years.
Wes Unseld was selected second in the 1968 draft by the Baltimore Bullets. He became the second player in NBA history to win the title of Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year, with 13 points and 18 rebounds average per game.
His contribution to the team was decisive. The Bullets won twenty more games than the previous season. Only Wilt Chamberlain had done something like that before.
Renowned for his rebounding qualities, Unseld compensated for his small size with his unfailing strength and determination. He took the Bullets to four NBA Finals and won the title in 1978 against the Seattle SuperSonics.
But his contribution went beyond the statistical lines: he made screens for his teammates, knew how to start the fastbreaks thanks to his fast passes, and prevented the opposing pivots from taking a position in the paint. Without being very fast, he was very agile for his weight.
Employed by the Bullets as vice-president after his retirement in 1982, Wes Unseld found himself being a head coach of the team during the 1987-1988 NBA season. Wes Unseld Sr. was named to the Hall Of Fame in 1988. His Washington team withdrew his number, 41. He is also part of the 50 best players in the NBA established in 1996.
Who are the Washington Wizards assistant coaches?
Wes Unseld Jr. hired Pat Delany, Joseph Blair, Zach Guthrie, and Mike Miller as assistant coaches for his first head coaching season. Wizards also retained assistant coaches Ryan Richman and Dean Oliver from the season 2020-2021.
Alex McLean was promoted to the assistant coach position as well as the Director of Player Development. Eric Sebastian is the Director of Coaching Operations. The Player development crew consists of Landon Tatum, Mike Williams, and Ryan Lumpkin.
Who coached the Washington Wizards when Michael Jordan played?
Doug Collins was the Washington coach during the Jordan era. Collins drafted MJ and was his first coach at Chicago Bulls. Wes Unseld Sr. was the general manager of the team.
Did Wes Unseld Jr play in the NBA?
No, he was never drafted or played in the league. Straight from the college, he got the scouting role for the Wizards.
