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Wizards make history with Wes Unseld Jr. hiring

By Mike DePrisco

Wizards make history with Wes Unseld Jr. hiring originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

The Wizards officially named their 25th head coach in franchise history on Saturday, and the hiring came with a bit of historical significance.

As Wes Unseld Jr. gets set to take on his first head coaching opportunity, it comes with the team his dad spent over two decades with as a player, head coach and general manager.

Washington is now the second team in NBA history to have a father/son duo at the head coaching position along with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Flip Saunders coached the Timberwolves from 1995-2005 and then again from 2014-15. Flip passed away in October of 2015, and then four years later, his son Ryan became interim head coach for the franchise. He did enough to earn the full-time role until he was fired in 2021.

This isn’t Unseld Jr.’s first stop with the Wizards either. He broke into the NBA as an assistant coach with Washington back in 2005 and served under three different coaches until 2011, including Eddie Jordan and, as it turns out, Flip Saunders.

Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes make NBA’s list of 76 greatest players

By Mike Gavin
Wes Unseld, Elvin Hayes make NBA's list of 76 greatest players originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe NBA's 75th season tipped off with a matchup between two of the league's top 76 players of all time.It was announced Tuesday ahead of the season opener between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks that Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named to the NBA's list of the greatest 75 players in league history as part of the celebration for the anniversary season. The league announced that 76 players made the list in all due to a tie in voting.Here are the first 25 players from the list that were unveiled Tuesday, listed in alphabetical order:Kareem Abdul-JabbarGiannis AntetokounmpoNate ArchibaldCharles BarkleyBob CousyDave CowensKevin DurantJulius ErvingGeorge GervinHal GreerJames HardenElvin HayesJerry LucasMoses MaloneKevin McHaleGeorge MikanSteve NashDirk NowitzkiHakeem OlajuwonBob PettitWillis ReedOscar RobertsonDavid RobinsonBill RussellJohn StocktonThe next 25 players were announced Wednesday. Here’s the second batch, in alphabetical order:Paul AzirinRick BarryLarry BirdWilt ChamberlainClyde DrexlerTim DuncanPatrick EwingWalt FrazierKevin GarnettJohn HavlicekAllen IversonMagic JohnsonSam JonesMichael JordanKarl MaloneRobert ParishChris PaulScottie PippenBill SharmanIsiah ThomasNate ThurmondWes UnseldBill WaltonJerry WestJames WorthyThe final 26 players were unveiled on Thursday. Here they are in alphabetical order:Ray AllenCarmelo AnthonyElgin BaylorDave BingKobe BryantBilly CunninghamStephen CurryAnthony DavisDave DeBusschereLeBron JamesJason KiddKawhi LeonardDamian LillardPete MaravichBob McAdooReggie MillerEarl MonroeShaquille O'NealGary PaytonPaul PierceDennis RodmanDolph SchayesDwyane WadeRussell WestbrookLenny WilkensDominique WilkinsThe NBA last did a greatest players list during the 1996-1997 season, as the top 50 were honored at halftime of the NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland for the league's 50th anniversary. All 50 players who were honored back then made the 75th anniversary team as well.Durant, in an interview on TNT on Tuesday, recalled that ceremony while discussing the honor of being selected for the latest list."It means a lot," Durant said. "It means everything, to be honest. You wanna leave your mark on this league, on the game of basketball itself. To be among the greatest that this game has ever seen, just to be in that same company is pretty sweet. As a kid I saw the 50th anniversary and always dreamed of having one of those jackets on, being amongst that group. So, it feels good to be part of it now."
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