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Sports InsiderBill Walton was a Big, Red God!
October 2nd 2007 12:23
Bill Walton was a hippie that could straight-up ball! (Image from NBA.com)
When we’re talking about starcrossed basketball players, Bill Walton would have to be up there as one of the NBA players that had a mixed bag of a career. Although, Big Red is considered as an all-time great, he really only had three truly great season, but what a run it was!
Name: William Theodore Walton
Date of Birth: 5th November, 1952
Height: 6’11” (211cm)
College: UCLA
Draft: 1st overall pick in the 1974 Draft by the Portland Trailblazers.
Points per Game: 13.3
Rebounds per Game: 10.5
Assists per Game: 3.4
Honours: Elected to Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1993); NBA champion (1977, '86); NBA Finals MVP (1977); NBA MVP (1978); All-NBA First Team (1978); All-NBA Second Team (1977); NBA All-Defensive Team (1977, '78); NBA All-Star (1977, '78); Sixth Man Award (1986); One of 50 Greatest Players in NBA History (1996).
Starting his basketball education when he was in grade 4, Walton would eventually carve a path which would lead him to hoops immortality.
Big Red would become an uber-basketball player during his time at UCLA where he would change the face of the college game by being one of the most dominant players in higher learning history. Playing for John Wooden’s powerhouse UCLA squad in the early 70s, Walton and his band of merry students would dominate the sport, with Billy winning, three straight College Player of the Year awards.
UCLA was so dominant during Bill’s time that they posted an 86-4 record when he was playing in college, winning two national titles along the way.
However, Walton was more than just a basketball player, he was an activist with a rebellious streak that was once arrested during an anti-Vietnam war protest. He also criticised President Nixon and the FBI, whilst flirting with the idea of leaving basketball to try and find
Let's all praise, Bill! (Image from NBA.com)
After his arrest, Walton released this kickass statement: "Your generation has screwed up the world. My generation is trying to straighten it out. Money doesn't mean anything to me. It can't buy happiness, and I just want to be happy." (NBA.com)
The NBA would beckon, and he was the no-brainer number one pick when he declared for the Draft.
Portland was his destination and he made an immediate impression in the pro level with his dominating performances. The moment, Walton broke onto the scene he was compared to some of the great big men of the game, in fact the universal praise that was bestowed on Big Red exceeded the love that other centres got. "Bill Russell was a great shot blocker. Wilt Chamberlain was a great offensive player," Dr. Jack Ramsay, Walton's coach in Portland, told Sport magazine. "But Walton can do it all." (NBA.com)
Walton’s skill set was so immense and complete, that there were absolutely no weaknesses in his game, scoring, rebounding, passing, blocking, hustle and intimidation, whatever was needed, Bill would provide. He was the ultimate winner, with a nasty perfectionist streak.
Exploding into the NBA-sphere as a rookie, Walton averaged 16 points, 19 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 4 blocks per game in his first seven games!
So, great was Walton that although he had only three peak seasons, he won the MVP award in the 1977-78 season for the defending champion Trailblazers.
Praise of greatness flowed easily when people spoke of Walton, however, injuries would take a devastating toll on his career. Dozens of injuries would haunt Walton, with a chronically broken left foot, amongst other injuries would rob, Bill of the potential to be labelled as ‘the greatest ever’.
Bill Walton was so injury-prone that during his 13 years in the NBA, he only played in 44 percent of regular-season games.
Still, for that brief moment in time when Walton was healthy, no star blazed brighter in the NBA skies than that of one William Theodore Walton.
Today’s video is obviously of the great man working his magic.
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