The basketball world has lost one of its most colorful characters. Hall of Fame basketball legend Bill Walton has died at age 71, the NBA announced Monday, after battling cancer in recent years.
Born on November 5, 1952, in La Mesa, California, just east of San Diego, Walton had a renowned college career at UCLA under iconic coach John Wooden. During his career at Westwood, the 6-foot-1 center won two national championships (in 1972-73) and three national college player of the year awards, and was a three-time All-American. His teams lost just four games in his three seasons as a varsity player, going 86-4 overall.
His success continued in the NBA. The No. 1 overall pick in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, he won an NBA championship in 1977 and an MVP award (averaging 18.9 points and 13.2 rebounds) in 1978. But he struggled chronic foot injuries that limited him to 209 games (out of a possible 328) played in four seasons.
After sitting out the entire 1978–79 season to protest how his and his teammates’ injuries were treated, Walton signed with the San Diego Clippers as a free agent. Still, he played in just 169 games in six seasons, missing two full seasons with foot injuries.
In 1985, Walton was traded to the Boston Celtics. He played a career-high 80 games during the 1985-86 season and won another NBA championship as the sixth man on a team featuring Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. Walton played just 10 games the following season and retired after injuries kept him out of the 1986–87 campaign.
“Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique versatile skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to a regular season and NBA Finals MVP, two NBA championships and a spot in the 50th and 75th NBA Anniversary Teams.”
“What I will remember most about him was his zest for life,” he added. “Always optimistic, smiling from ear to ear and trying to share his wisdom and warmth.”
Walton was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Generations of basketball fans probably know Walton best as an eccentric basketball announcer. During the first 20 years of his broadcasting career, he called college and NBA games for CBS, NBC, the Clippers and ESPN/ABC.
But after a three-year absence while recovering from back surgery (relieving injuries that dated back to his playing career), Walton returned as a full-time analyst for ESPN. He also called NBA games on NBC with Marv Albert, Greg Gumbel and Steve “Snapper” Jones.
Often going off on tangents that had little or nothing to do with the action on the court – which sometimes referenced recreational drug use, bizarre trivia, his love of the Grateful Dead and his political beliefs – Walton became an enormously popular color commentator. Play-by-play partners including Dave Pasch and Jason Benetti often had to maintain a deadpan sense of humor, knowing that Walton could go anywhere with storytelling and analysis.
In 2009, Walton was named one of the 50 greatest sports broadcasters of all time by the American Sportscasters Association.
