Wes Unseld had no problem transitioning from college to the pros.
Selected by the Baltimore Bullets with the No. 2 pick of the 1968 NBA Draft, Unseld quickly became one of the most dominant players in the league. The 6-foot-7 center helped lead the Bullets — who had finished last in the Eastern Division one season prior — to a 57-25 record and a trip to the East semifinals during his rookie season.
Unseld averaged 13.8 points, 18.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists during his first season to win both NBA Rookie of the Year and NBA MVP. He remains only the second player in NBA history to accomplish the feat (joining Wilt Chamberlain, who accomplished it in 1960). Unseld went on to captain the Baltimore and Washington Bullets to four NBA Finals appearances in the 1970s and the NBA championship in 1978.
Unseld retired in 1981 with career averages of 10.8 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists. He was inducted in to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1996, he was named to the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players.
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