Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins earlier than changing into an NBA (National Basketball Association) Hall of Famer and one of many greatest stars in basketball broadcasting, died Monday, the league introduced on behalf of his household.
Walton, who had a protracted combat with most cancers, was 71.
He was the NBA’s MVP within the 1977-78 season, a two-time champion as a participant and a member of each the NBA’s fiftieth anniversary and seventy fifth anniversary groups. That all adopted a school profession through which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time nationwide participant of the yr.
Walton at an NCAA school basketball recreation between Oregon and Colorado in 2020. He was one of many greatest stars of basketball broadcasting.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Walton at an NCAA school basketball recreation between Oregon and Colorado in 2020. He was one of many greatest stars of basketball broadcasting.
| Photo Credit:
AP
“Bill Walton,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated, “was truly one of a kind.”
Walton, who was enshrined within the Hall of Fame in 1993, was bigger than life, on the court docket and off. His NBA profession — disrupted by power foot accidents — lasted solely 468 video games with Portland, the San Diego and finally Los Angeles Clippers and Boston. He averaged 13.3 factors and 10.5 rebounds in these video games, neither of these numbers precisely record-setting.
Still, his affect on the sport was huge.
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His most well-known recreation was the 1973 NCAA title recreation, UCLA in opposition to Memphis, through which he shot an unimaginable 21 for 22 from the sphere and led the Bruins to a different nationwide championship.
UCLA centre Bill Walton (32) shoots for 2 of his document 44 factors in opposition to Memphis State within the last recreation of the NCAA school basketball match in St. Louis, March 26, 1973. Walton’s efficiency in opposition to Memphis State continues to be one of many biggest particular person video games in historical past.
| Photo Credit:
AP
UCLA centre Bill Walton (32) shoots for 2 of his document 44 factors in opposition to Memphis State within the last recreation of the NCAA school basketball match in St. Louis, March 26, 1973. Walton’s efficiency in opposition to Memphis State continues to be one of many biggest particular person video games in historical past.
| Photo Credit:
AP
“One of my guards said, ’Let’s try something else,” Wooden advised The Associated Press in 2008 for a thirty fifth anniversary retrospective on that recreation.
Wooden’s response throughout that timeout: “Why? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
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They saved giving the ball to Walton, and he saved delivering in a efficiency for the ages.
“It’s very hard to put into words what he has meant to UCLA’s program, as well as his tremendous impact on college basketball,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin stated Monday. “Beyond his exceptional accomplishments as a participant, it’s his relentless power, enthusiasm for the sport and unwavering candor which were the hallmarks of his bigger than life character.
Bill Walton in motion for Portland Trail Blazers’ in an NBA recreation in 1978.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Bill Walton in motion for Portland Trail Blazers’ in an NBA recreation in 1978.
| Photo Credit:
AP
“As a passionate UCLA alumnus and broadcaster, he loved being around our players, hearing their stories and sharing his wisdom and advice. For me as a coach, he was honest, kind and always had his heart in the right place. I will miss him very much. It’s hard to imagine a season in Pauley Pavilion without him.”
