Wes Unseld

Westley Sissel Unseld was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Attending the University of Louisville, Unseld was a consensus two-time All-American, averaging 20.6 points and 18.9 rebounds. Drafted second overall by the Baltimore Bullets in 1968, the 6-foot-7, 245-pound center transformed a last-place franchise into a 57-win division champion in his first season, joining Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same campaign.

What Unseld lacked in height for a center, he made up for with sheer physical mass, unyielding determination, and immaculate fundamentals. He was renowned for setting the most punishing, immovable screens in the league, allowing guards Earl Monroe and Kevin Loughery to shoot freely. Moreover, Unseld perfected the baseball-style, two-handed overhead outlet pass: the millisecond his feet touched the floor with a rebound, he would launch a 70-foot pinpoint chest-pass to a sprinting guard on the break.

Unseld led the Bullets to four NBA Finals appearances during the 1970s. In 1978, paired with Elvin Hayes, Unseld led Washington to a Game 7 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics in Seattle to win the franchise's sole NBA championship, earning Finals MVP honors. After retiring, he served as the Bullets' head coach and general manager, being inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1988.