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Wes Unseld has died

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cville deac

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https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id...ashington-bullets-star-wes-unseld-dies-age-74

Surprised RJ hasn't already posted. HOFer and seemed like a cool guy. Growing up in Baltimore, I was a big fan of the late 70s Bullets teams as a kid with Unseld, Dandridge and the Big E late in their careers. Wes wasn't tall and didn't have a great vertical but was a great rebounder and probably the best outlet passer ever.
 
I met him in the lobby of a Washington DC hotel when I was a kid on a family trip. He was there as part of the committee that was selecting the teacher to go up in the Space Shuttle Challenger and of course you know what happened to that teacher, Christa Mcauliffe and her fellow Challenger crew on that flight. His hands were enormous and he seemed to be a very nice gentleman.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-01-mn-10000-story.html
 
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I always thought Buck Williams was a poor man's version of Unseld. You don't see many players like Wes any more.
 
He was so good and those Bullet teams were fun to watch long a favorite of mine. RIP Wes.
 
People don't remember Gus Johnson. Before there was Doc, there was Gus Johnson flying in for thunderous dunks, broken backboards and gold star in his tooth.

Gus died far too young as well.
 
Yeah, I think Gus still holds the NBA broken backboards record with 3. I don't have memories of those 1st good Bullet teams with Wes, Earl the Pearl and Gus, but I've seen pics of some ugly early 70s unis. The late 70s unis were a vast improvement.
 
4 NBA finals and one world title for the Bullets in the 70s.
 
The Pearl was long gone for the title. But they did have another all time great, who has become grossly underrated - Elvin Hayes. They also had Bobby Dandrige and Phil Chenier.

Karl Malone couldn't carry The Big E's jock.
 
BirdinBama said:
They had Mike Riordan, too, if my memory serves?
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Riordan played on the Bullets in the early mid 70s, but their NBA Championship team started:

C - Wes Unseld
PF - Elvin Hayes
SF - Bobby Dandridge
SG - Phil Chenier
PG - Tom Henderson

Mitch Kupchak, Kevin Grevey, Larry Wright and Charles Johnson were there primary bench guys.

They Bullets had a ton of injuries during the season and slid into the playoffs with a 43-39 record, but they were finally healthy at the end of the regular season. They swept the Hawks in the first round. Beat the Spurs and George Gervin in the 2nd round. The Sixers with Dr. J, Doug Colins, World B. Free and George McGinnis in the East Finals, and the Sonics with Downtown Freddie Brown, Dennis Johnson (DJ) and Jack Sikma in the Finals. The next year, the Bullets had the best record in the NBA, but the Sonics won the rematch in the NBA Finals.
 
cville deac said:
Yeah, I think Gus still holds the NBA broken backboards record with 3. I don't have memories of those 1st good Bullet teams with Wes, Earl the Pearl and Gus, but I've seen pics of some ugly early 70s unis. The late 70s unis were a vast improvement.
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The unis not withstanding, the early ‘70s Bullets were better than the ‘78 team that won the championship. It’s just that by ‘78, the Knicks and Celtics were in decline, making their road a lot easier.
 
Shorty said:
The unis not withstanding, the early ‘70s Bullets were better than the ‘78 team that won the championship. It’s just that by ‘78, the Knicks and Celtics were in decline, making their road a lot easier.
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In 1978 the Celtics were 32-50. With the 6th pick in the draft they chose Larry Bird, Granted, that was when he still had a year to play but Mychal Thompson, Rick Robey, and Purvis Short were some of those picked ahead of him. That has to be one of the top 5 draft picks in any sport ever. It was worth waiting a year to get the 13 seasons that followed.
 
tagsfan said:
In 1978 the Celtics were 32-50. With the 6th pick in the draft they chose Larry Bird, Granted, that was when he still had a year to play but Mychal Thompson, Rick Robey, and Purvis Short were some of those picked ahead of him. That has to be one of the top 5 draft picks in any sport ever. It was worth waiting a year to get the 13 seasons that followed.
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Back then, players could be drafted if their freshman class was graduating. Teams would have their rights until the day before the next draft.
 
RJKarl said:
Back then, players could be drafted if their freshman class was graduating. Teams would have their rights until the day before the next draft.
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Yep. I remember a friend commenting during Bird's last college season that the Celtics might not be able to afford to sign him. I responded that they couldn't afford not to sign him.
 
Willis Reed and Wes Unseld battles were epic. Undersized big men who hustled and got the boards.
 
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