Westley Sissel Unseld Jr. (born September 20, 1975) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach who is an assistant coach for the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He is the son of

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

player, coach, and executive

Wes Unseld Westley Sissel Unseld Sr. (March 14, 1946June 2, 2020) was an American professional basketball player, coach and executive. He spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Baltimore/Capital/Washington Bullets. Unseld ...

Early life and education

Unseld was born on September 20, 1975, and grew up in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...

. At a young age, he developed a close attachment to basketball; his father is

member

. From the age of five, he was in locker rooms with his father before games, and after drove home with him. As an adult, he remembers "a great family atmosphere in the locker room". He played high school basketball as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Loyola Blakefield Loyola Blakefield is a private Catholic, college preparatory school run by the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus in Towson, Maryland and within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It was established in 1852 by the Jesuits as an all-boys scho ...

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincorpo ...

. Standing at , he played as a

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three, is one of the five Basketball position, positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than Power forward (basketball), power forwards and Cent ...

during his

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

career with the

Johns Hopkins Blue Jays The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays are the 24 intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Johns Hopkins University, located in Baltimore, Maryland. They compete in the NCAA Division III, except for their lacrosse and fencing teams, which compete in ...

and graduated in 1997.

Coaching career

Washington Wizards (2005–2011)

Unseld went directly from college to the NBA, starting as a personnel scout for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

, working for his father who was general manager. He had planned to go to graduate school after graduation but decided to give basketball one year to see if he would enjoy it.A lifelong friendship
Retrieved March 24, 2020 In his ninth year, after eight years of personnel and advance scouting, he was promoted to assistant coach. Unseld has been given credit for creating Washington's offensive game plan, which led to three consecutive top-ten offensive seasons from 2004 to 2007. He also worked as a scout and assistant coach for the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

of the WNBA.

Golden State Warriors (2011–2012)

In 2011, Unseld Jr. left the Wizards for the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

after being denied a position as a front-row bench coach.

Orlando Magic (2012–2015)

After one season with the Warriors, Unseld went to the Orlando Magic as an assistant coach in 2012. After a 15–37 start to the 2014–15 season Unseld was fired, along with coach

Jacque Vaughn Jacque Trevan Vaughn (born February 11, 1975) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12 Conference. Vaughn played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) fo ...

, in February, 2015.

Denver Nuggets (2015–2021)

When his lifelong friend, Tim Connelly, became general manager of the Denver Nuggets in 2015, he offered Unseld a job as an assistant coach. In 2016 he was made lead assistant coach. His special assignment had been to manage a defense that had been poor; the Nuggets went from 28th in defense in 2017–18 to 10th in the 2018–19 season. He has been credited with the development of

Nikola Jokić Nikola Jokić ( ; sr-Cyrl, Никола Јокић ; born February 19, 1995) is a Serbian professional basketball player who is a Center (basketball), center for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the ...

Jamal Murray Jamal Murray (born February 23, 1997) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the Canadian national team and played one season of college basketball fo ...

, and

Michael Porter Jr. Michael Lamar Porter Jr. (born June 29, 1998), also known as "MPJ", is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Missouri Tigers. Porter ...

In 2019, he interviewed for the vacant

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

head coaching job, but did not get the job. From 2018 until 2021, Denver ranked among the top six in defensive efficiency.

Return to the Wizards (2021–2024)

Unseld Jr. signed a four-year contract to become the head coach of the

on July 17, 2021. On January 25, 2024, Unseld Jr. was relieved of his coaching duties and moved to a front office position.

Chicago Bulls (2024–present)

On July 13, 2024, Unseld was hired as an assistant coach by the

Personal life

Unseld is married with two children. The family resides in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 47,018. It is named a ...

Head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 35, , 47, , , , style="text-align:center;", 4th in

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...

, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 82, , 35, , 47, , , , style="text-align:center;", 3rd in Southeast, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;", , 43, , 7, , 36, , , , style="text-align:center;", (fired), , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", — , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 207, , 77, , 130, , , , , , —, , —, , —, , —, ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Unseld, Wes Jr. 1975 births Living people African-American basketball coaches American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Maryland Basketball players from Maryland Denver Nuggets assistant coaches Golden State Warriors assistant coaches Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's basketball players Loyola Blakefield alumni Orlando Magic assistant coaches Sportspeople from Catonsville, Maryland People from Towson, Maryland Small forwards Washington Wizards assistant coaches Washington Wizards head coaches