Best of the Bluegrass

Wes Unseld – Seneca – 1964 Mr. KY Basketball

You can find the name Westley Unseld in the KHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament Record Book 13 times for his two state championships in 1963 & 1964 with Seneca High School.  It has been said by some that Unseld is the best basketball player the state of Kentucky has ever produced.  Unseld went to the University of Louisville where he led the conference in rebounding his three years playing as a lettered player.  He was drafted in the first round, second pick by the Baltimore Bullets in thr 1968 NBA draft.  As a rookie, Unseld helped lead the Bullets to a 57–25 record and a division title.  Unseld averaged 18.2 rebounds per game that year, and became the second player ever to win the Rookie of the Year Award and the Most Valuable Player Award in the same year (the first to do this was fellow Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain).

Unseld was one of the best defensive players of his era, and in 1975, he led the NBA in rebounding. The following season, he led the NBA in field goal percentage with a .561 percentage.

Unseld took the Bullets franchise to four NBA Finals, and won the championship in 1978 over the Seattle SuperSonics, in which he was named the Finals MVP. He ended his playing career following the 1980–1981 season, and his #41 jersey was retired by the Bullets shortly thereafter.