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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach who is the head coach 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 league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

of the

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

(NBA). He is the son of Basketball Hall of Fame 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. At a young age, he developed a close attachment to basketball; his father is Basketball Hall of Fame 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 school f ...

Towson, Maryland Towson () is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltimore County and the second-most populous unincor ...

. His skill set as a center did not carry over to the backcourt, as he continued on with college basketball for four years at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, graduating in 1997.

Coaching career

Washington Wizards (2005–2011)

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

, 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 club of the league's Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference ...

of the WNBA.

Golden State Warriors (2011–2012)

In 2011, Unseld Jr. left the Wizards for the Golden State Warriors 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 2014–2015 season Unseld was fired, along with coach

Jacque Vaughn Jacque T. Vaughn (born February 11, 1975) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing career High school A native of Pasadena ...

, in February, 2015.

Denver Nuggets (2015–2021)

When his lifelong friend,

Tim Connelly Tim Connelly (born ca. 1976–1977) is an American basketball executive who is the President of Basketball Operations of the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He previously worked for the Washington Wizards an ...

, 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,

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. He played one season of college basketball fo ...

, and

Michael Porter Jr. Michael Lamar Porter Jr. (born June 29, 1998) 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 was ranked as one of ...

In 2019, he interviewed for the vacant Cleveland Cavaliers 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–present)

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

on July 17, 2021.

Personal life

Unseld is married with two children. The family resides in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named after the nearby Potomac River. Potomac is the seventh most educated small town in America, based on percentage of residents with postsecondary deg ...

Head coaching record

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References

{{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 People from Catonsville, Maryland People from Towson, Maryland Sportspeople from Baltimore County, Maryland Washington Wizards assistant coaches Washington Wizards head coaches