Early Life
Westley Unseld who goes by the nick name "Wes" was born March 14, 1946 in Louisville, Kentucky. He was born the son of Charles and Cornelia Unseld. He was one of nine children who were instilled with great values. His parents steered him onto a road of success. He attended Seneca High School in Louisville where he was the star of his team and led them to 2 basketball state championships. While leading his team to Championships Wes was getting the job done in the classroom as well. After his high school career, the success continued.
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College Career
During his tenure at the University of Louisville, Wes continued to live by the values his parents instilled in him. Following these values, Wes continued to have success in the class room and on the court. He was a member of the dean's list which is a great accomplishment for a student-athlete who earned basketball All-American honors. While attending the University of Louisville Wes joined the fraternity of Alpha Phi Alpha. In his career at Louisville, Wes averaged nearly 21 points per game and 19 rebounds a game. He led the Missouri Valley Conference in rebounds for 3 years. His performance on the college level allowed him to be drafted with the 2nd overall pick into the NBA. In the NBA Wes continued to have success.
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Professional Career
After succeeding on the college level, Wes began his professional career right where he left off with his college career. He was the 2nd overall pick to the Baltimore Bullets, he was drafted after his would be future teammate Elvin Hayes. Wes Unseld made a direct impact in his first NBA season. He helped improve Baltimore's season record by 21 wins compared to the prior season. They became the number one team in the NBA's Eastern conference with a 57-25 record. He had a scoring average of nearly 14 points per game and 18 rebounds per game. Wes' first season averages earned him the Rookie of the Year award, and also earning the Most Valuable Player award. In doing so, Wes made history. Wes became only the second player to ever receive the Rookie of the Year award and the Most Valuable player awards in NBA history. He earned the rebounding title in 1974-1975. After a few more years Wes Unseld helped lead the new named Washington Bullets to the NBA finals where they won their first Championship in 1977-1978.
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Historical Comparison
As Wes Unseld continued to become a great player, his competition became harder. One of his most challenging competitors went by the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Throughout their career, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the upper hand. Nearly in all statistical categories Kareem had more statistics than Wes. Kareem played 7 more seasons than Wes Unseld which is also a boost, which allowed him to get more stats than Wes. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar currently holds the ranks of being the NBA all-time leading scorer with 38,387 points total. Compared to Kareem's total points, Wes Unseld has a career total of 10,624 point. Kareem is currently ranked 3rd all-time in rebounds with a total of 17,440, Wes notches in at the 12th all time leader with 13,769 rebounds.
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