David Dow/NBAE by way of Getty Photos
NBA legend and Corridor of Famer Invoice Walton died Monday at 71 years previous.
The NBA announced his dying and famous he was “surrounded by household” after “a protracted battle with most cancers.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver launched a press release that mentioned, partially, “Invoice Walton was really certainly one of a sort … What I’ll bear in mind most about him was his zest for all times. He was an everyday presence at league occasions—at all times upbeat, smiling ear to ear and seeking to share his knowledge and heat. I treasured our shut friendship, envied his boundless vitality and admired the time he took with each particular person he encountered.”
Earlier than he was a champion on the NBA degree, Walton was among the finest males’s school basketball gamers within the sport’s historical past.
He attended powerhouse UCLA and performed three seasons from 1971 to 1974 whereas constructing a resume that included two nationwide championships, three Naismith Awards, two Related Press Participant of the Yr awards and three consensus All-American choices.
UCLA Males’s Basketball @UCLAMBB
UCLA mourns the passing of two-time NCAA champion Invoice Walton, a Naismith Corridor of Fame inductee (1993) and constitution member of the @UCLAAthletics Corridor of Fame (1984).
𝑰𝑵 𝑴𝑬𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑨𝑴: https://t.co/VwZwd9uVDs pic.twitter.com/6GrCWvplK7
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
Walton was a transcendent collegiate star, and the Portland Path Blazers jumped on the likelihood to pick out him with the No. 1 general decide of the 1974 NBA draft.
It’s laborious to script a greater begin to a profession than the one Walton loved, as he led the Path Blazers to their solely championship in franchise historical past in simply his third season. As if that wasn’t sufficient, he was the league MVP in his fourth 12 months after finishing second in voting in that third season.
Walton led the league in rebounding and blocks throughout that championship season in 1976-77 after which received NBA Finals MVP whereas averaging 18.5 factors, 19.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 3.7 blocks and 1.0 steals per recreation within the victory over Julius Erving’s Philadelphia 76ers.
He appeared nicely on his strategy to an extended and legendary profession, however foot accidents undercut a lot of his peak following that unbelievable run in Portland.
In consequence, he missed the 1978-79, 1980-81 and 1981-82 seasons whereas enjoying simply 14 video games in 1979-80 and 33 video games in 1982-83 for the San Diego Clippers.
To Walton’s credit score, he carved out a second act of his NBA profession as a bench presence for the Boston Celtics. He took dwelling the Sixth Man of the Yr in 1985-86 for a Celtics crew that received the championship and is basically remembered as among the finest in NBA historical past.
He performed simply 10 video games after that season however was nonetheless elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Corridor of Fame in 1993 and named a member of the NBA’s seventy fifth Anniversary Workforce following his profession.
Portland Path Blazers @trailblazers
Rip Metropolis icon & basketball legend.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.Relaxation in Peace, Invoice 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/czZ4IiX6m2
LA Clippers @LAClippers
We’ve misplaced one of many biggest gamers and personalities that this franchise, this sport and this area have ever identified. Invoice Walton is synonymous with Southern California basketball: a San Diego native, a UCLA phenom, a Clipper icon.
He outlined the sport as a participant, a… pic.twitter.com/KAXvnG8Mkk
Boston Celtics @celtics
Invoice Walton was one of the crucial consequential gamers of his period. A Corridor of Famer, Most Precious Participant, and two-time NBA Champion, Walton might do all of it, possessing nice timing, full imaginative and prescient of the ground, wonderful fundamentals, and was of one of many biggest passing huge… pic.twitter.com/AW1PIUxALk
Boston Celtics @celtics
The Boston Celtics have a good time Invoice’s fantastic life and legacy, and ship their deepest sympathies to the Walton household.
Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.
That profession alone would have made him a perpetually memorable determine within the basketball world, however he later grew to become one of many voices of the game for a technology that was not sufficiently old to have watched him play.
Walton grew to become an NBA and school basketball analyst for NBC, CBS, ABC and ESPN. His eccentric method and catchphrases captured the viewers’s consideration and by no means did not amuse even when the video games themselves weren’t thrilling or shut.
ESPN @espn
There’ll by no means be one other fairly like Invoice Walton.
His ESPN household will miss him dearly ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mvS0Sh5iWZ
He received a Sports activities Emmy in 1991 and was named one of many high 50 sports activities broadcasters of all-time by the American Sportscaster Affiliation in 2009.
Some will bear in mind Walton as certainly one of school basketball’s greatest all-time gamers, some will bear in mind him as a champion and MVP for the Path Blazers, some will bear in mind him for his supporting function on Larry Chook’s Celtics, and others will bear in mind him as a broadcaster who appeared to get pleasure from each second on air.
He’s certainly one of basketball’s most enduring figures, and he’s survived by his spouse and 4 kids.