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William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American professional basketball player and television sportscaster. He played college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers, San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers, and Boston Celtics. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Walton rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the starting center for coach John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins. The 6-foot-11-inch (2.11 m) Walton won three consecutive national college player of the year awards (1972–1974), while leading UCLA to NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973 and an 88-game winning streak. After being selected as the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft, Walton led the Portland Trail Blazers to the team's first NBA championship in 1977, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. The following season, Walton was the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Walton's professional career, however, was significantly hampered by foot injuries, requiring numerous surgeries (Walton underwent 37 orthopedic surgeries in his lifetime).[1][2][3] Walton played in 468 out of 1,148 regular season games across his 14-year NBA career.[4] After his MVP season, Walton sat out the 1978–79 season and was then signed by the Clippers, for whom he played four injury-plagued seasons. His career was rehabilitated during two seasons with the Celtics at the end of his career. Playing as a backup center behind Robert Parish, Walton earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in the 1985–86 season, winning his second NBA championship.[5] He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.[6][7] Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
After retiring from the NBA, Walton overcame stuttering and embarked on a second career as a sportscaster, working both as a studio analyst and color commentator with several networks and teams. He earned an Emmy Award in 1991. Walton was a fan of the Grateful Dead, as a self-described "Deadhead", and often mentioned them in his broadcasts. He hosted several podcasts and satellite radio programs featuring the music of the Grateful Dead.
- ^ Skipper, Clay (March 26, 2016). "The Thing Bill Walton Still Can't Forgive Himself For". GQ. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "Bill Walton's Battle With Chronic Pain And His Journey 'Back From The Dead'". www.wbur.org. August 18, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Anderson, Sam (March 25, 2016). "Bill Walton's Long, Strange Tale of N.B.A. Survival". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "Bill Walton Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ "William "Bill" Walton Biography". Hoophall.com. December 5, 2006. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
- ^ "NBA at 50: Top 50 Players". NBA.com. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
- ^ "NBA 75". NBA.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.