Wes Unseld is synonymous with the golden age of a franchise that is synonymous with mediocrity, despite the fact that Washington was the place chosen by Michael Jordan to hang his shirt, and later become an owner with little success. At the Bullets from start to finish , first in Baltimore and since 1973 in the US capital, the stocky center, who died of pneumonia this Tuesday, June 2 at 74, developed his solid Hall of Famer career. .

Unseld is not remembered so much for his spectacular baskets as for his emphatic way of helping his partner, of compulsively catching rebounds and, of course, for his inseparable afro look. Upon his arrival in the NBA from the University of Louisville, as number two of the 1968 draft -only behind Elvin Hayes, with whom a decade later he was going to achieve the only ring of his career and the franchise-, he achieved a milestone that relaunched his fame: only Wilt Chamberlain had achieved the MVP of the season and the rookie of the year at the same time (he averaged 13.8 points, 18.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 48% of field).

From then on, the Bullets, despite the transfers (in 1973 they played in Landover (Maryland) as Capital Bullets), were going to experience a zenith that they never recovered. 12 consecutive playoff seasons, champions in '78 and finalists in '75 and '79 . Unseld, also included in the list of the 50 best players in NBA history, was the MVP of those finals to seven games against the Supersonics of Lenny Wilkens, Dennis Johnson and Paul Silas, who a year later would take revenge on the same scenario.

Unseld, a 'one man club', played 984 games with the legendary Bullets jersey and was a five-time All Star. He continues to maintain the franchise's rebounding record and in 2016 John Wall snatched the one for assists. He finished his playing career in 1981, although he served the franchise for 23 more years doing almost everything: manager, commentator, coach -without too much success in a mediocre squad in which he had some resounding encounter with Manute Bol due to his low attitude- and General Manager. Her son has also been an assistant coach for several NBA franchises.

He was not a tall center, just over two meters, but he did stand out for his strength and tenacity: he averaged 14 rebounds per game during his career, sixth best mark of all time. He was also not a leading scorer (10.8 points). An anecdote from the beginning of his career tells of a peculiar play he rehearsed in training: he caught a rebound at the top and before falling to the ground he threw a pass that touched the board of the opposite basket.

Later, also legendary were the arthritis problems of his knees, for which he could hardly train during the week. "Every time he stepped on the court, he felt pain. It wasn't comfortable for him, but he saw it as part of his job. He knew that his teammates were looking at him and, if he didn't, maybe the others were not either. Wes was leading by example, "his teammate Mitch Kupchak recalled to the Washington Post.

His companions also remembered Unseld's main ability, his ability to perform screens and locks that facilitated the game of the rest. The king of intangibles. And his defensive ability against the legendary centers of the time, from Wilt Chamberlain to Willis Reed, including Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , the best batch in history. "My job is not to show off, it's to make others stand out," he used to remember when asked about his modest statistics compared to those myths.

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