A four-year agreement has been formally reached with Wes Unseld Jr., who will become the Wizards’ new head coach. An official press release was released by the club to announce the move.
“Wes is one of the most highly-regarded assistant coaches in the NBA and clearly separated himself from the large and diverse group of candidates we considered,” Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said in a statement released by the Wizards.
“His strong record as an in-game tactician along with his attention to detail on both sides of the ball, combined with his reputation for player development and outstanding character during his 20+ years of coaching left no doubt that he was the best choice to guide our team to the next level.”
Unseld began his coaching career in 2005 in Washington after growing up in Maryland and attending Johns Hopkins from 1994-97. He served six years as an assistant coach with the Wizards between 2005-11 before taking on coaching positions with the Warriors (2011-12), Magic (2012-15), and Nuggets (2015-present).
The Denver Nuggets reportedly made a serious push to hire Unseld as their head coach after promoting him to the role of Michael Malone’s associate head coach last year. As a candidate, he had gained momentum in recent weeks and was reportedly offered the Wizards’ opening on Friday, beating out competitors Bucks assistants Charles Lee and Darvin Ham.
Wes Unseld Jr. is the son of Wes Unseld who spent over 20 years as a Wizards executive and coach after playing for Washington and Baltimore for 13 seasons. In 2020, the Hall-of-Famer passed away.