Career Stats Walton led UCLA in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage for three consecutive years: No sophomore, junior or senior in UCLA history has averaged more rebounds per game, respectively, than when Walton was a sophomore, junior and senior. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. "[41], Walton was drafted by the American Basketball Association's Dallas Chaparrals in the 1973 ABA draft as an underclassman in an attempt to lure him from UCLA. Draft: Portland Trail Blazers, 1st round (1st pick, 1st overall), 1974 NBA draft, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Wednesday, March 1, 6:01AM. Fans of the Boston Celtics from the 1980s with NBA League Pass are in for a treat on Monday evening. After his retirement as a player, Walton has become a successful and controversial basketball color commentator. Walton tallied 17 points, nine rebounds, and four assists against San Francisco. But an incident between his junior and senior seasons at UCLA nearly ended his pro career before it started. I said, 'Mom, that's Big E! According to Russian sports historian Robert Edelman, "when (the Soviets) saw who was and wasn't on the U.S. team, that's when they started feeling like they'd actually have a chance. After being selected as the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft, Walton led the Portland Trail Blazers to an NBA championship in 1977, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award that season. Walton continued to display his dominance during the 197778 campaign, ultimately winning the NBAs MVP award after tallying 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game that season. [23][24], In the 1972 Final Four, Walton had 33 points and 21 rebounds, on 11 of 13 shooting and 11 of 12 free-throws, against Louisville in the NCAA semifinal, as UCLA won 9677. Bill Walton led a dynasty to two national championships, and an 88-game winning streak that no men's team has yet to touch. Find out more. Here is the Week 1 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, released Feb. 14. [83], While broadcasting a game between the Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans, Walton talked about a speech Bob Dylan gave at MusiCares, and ESPN had prepared graphics about Dylan's career highlights. I've got a new knee. Playing as a backup center behind Robert Parish, Walton earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in the 198586 season, winning his second championship that same season.[3]. Then, when I was 28 I learned how to speak. [69], Walton was selected to the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team, but declined to participate. In April 2019, Luke Walton was named head coach of the Sacramento Kings. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. "[12], On Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Walton commented, "The checks bounced higher than the basketballs when Donald Sterling took over. Walton, who missed a 12-foot shot off an inbounds pass to win the game as time expired, finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. [116] It remained on The New York Times bestseller list for two weeks in April 2016. "Yes", said Gloria Walton, "then when the referee wasn't looking, Bruce would give the player an elbow and let him know that the skinny guy was his kid brother. But I will take one. Following his retirement, he became an outspoken analyst on NBA television broadcasts. "[36], In 2009, Walton underwent an eight-hour spinal-fusion surgery. And Red, through the smoke, with a big, cherubic grin on his face, looked at the doctors, looked at me, and he said, 'He's fine. Subscribe to Stathead Basketball: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Basketball Reference Database. Perhaps, I've never had a better team when you consider both offense and defense. | Mike Lawrie/Getty Images. William T. "Bill" Walton. And I realized immediately that I had just absolutely blown this whole deal with John Wooden. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. inLa Mesa,California Coach Nash played Bill and Bruce Walton together in the paint. He is a graduate of Indiana University. I became his worst nightmare. Give me the phone!' [63], In the 1986 NBA Finals, the Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets with "Twin Towers" Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson 42 to win the NBA Championship. [104], Walton's sister Cathy was an outstanding youth swimmer and played some basketball at the University of California. Get the latest news, stats, videos, highlights and more about not available Bill Walton on ESPN. 2x NBA ALL-STAR. I'm the luckiest guy on earth. Big Red, Grateful Red, Red Baron, Redwood, Chief are nicknames for Bill Walton. [118][119], Walton has cameo appearances in the films 88 and 1, Celtic Pride, Little Nicky and Semi-Pro, and appeared as Sven the Wise in the 2011 Capital One Visigoth SportsNet commercials. I'm the lucky one, in that I never thought going through all of it that I would be healthy at the end. UCLA next defeated San Francisco 8360 in the Western Regional Final to reach the Final Four. His parents had interests in art, literature, politics, and music. [46][11], "When you fail in your hometown, that's as bad as it gets, and I love my hometown", said Walton of his tenure in San Diego. [43], Walton's first two seasons in Portland were marred by chronic foot injuries. Join our linker program. "[49], Walton led the NBA in both rebounds per game (14.4) and blocked shots per game (3.2) as he was selected to the NBA All-Star Game, but did not participate due to an injury. Arguably the most impressive feat of his collegiate career was the key role he played in UCLAs NCAA-record 88-game winning streak, as he led the team to the final 73 victories of that run during his first two and a half years at the school. In 2009, however, after undergoing surgery because of chronic back problems, he briefly stepped away from his second profession. Updates? [22], Walton is a fan of the Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers Band, Neil Young, Phish, and Bob Dylan. Bartow added, "I felt very good at halftime, very good. He utilized shot fakes and refined post moves to get clean looks. That's the day the oft-injured Hall of Famer, whose career had . Bill Walton is a 6-11 junior center from Helix, Calif. who is the best college basketball player ever. Bill Walton is my main man, for that reason."[66]. That's the best team I've ever been on, no question about that. "They had some great teams with Elvin Hayes and Calvin Murphy and future head coaches and broadcasters such as Pat Riley, Rick Adelman, Rudy Tomjanovich, Jim Barnett, and Stu Lantz. In the Nuggets series Walton averaged 17.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 3.0 blocks. Walton was named the NCAA player of the year in three consecutive seasons (197274). "[107], On Walton's desk sits a message to him from Coach Wooden: "To Bill Walton, it's the things you learn after you know it all that count. I regret the circumstances in which I left the Portland Trail Blazers family. Walton reportedly agreed to a seven-year, $7 million contract. Walton appeared in the premiere of the third season in the reality TV show Shark Tank on January 20, 2012, where he helped to sell the "Clean Bottle", a water bottle that unscrews at both ends for easier cleaning.[121][122]. [93][94] Luke was the head coach of the Lakers (20162019), after two years as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors. He was recruited by many colleges, but quickly accepted UCLA's scholarship offer to play basketball for the Bruins and Coach Wooden. Viewed by many as the best-passing big man of all time, Walton was honoured as one of the NBAs 50 all-time greatest players in 1996. RELATED: Gonzaga, Baylor lead Andy Katz's first Power 36 rankings for the 2020-21 season. Walton had 28 points and 14 rebounds against Arizona State, on 13 of 18 shooting, and 9 points and 14 rebounds against San Francisco, taking only 7 shots. Walton called the game the most disappointing outcome of his entire basketball career, as UCLA had a 5-point lead late in regulation and a 7-point lead in the 2nd overtime, before NC State with David Thompson rallied to win, 8077. Their comparative career stats: WALTON 468 Games averaging 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.2 blocks on 52.1% shooting from the field. Providing a reliable backup to Kevin McHale and Robert Parish, and playing alongside Larry Bird, Danny Ainge and Dennis Johnson, Walton received the 1986 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award en route to the NBA championship. To fellow Deadheads, Walton is fondly known as "Grateful Red" and the "Big Red Deadhead" and "World's Tallest Deadhead". North Carolina State defeated the Bruins 8077 in double overtime in the NCAA semi-finals. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Backing up McHale and Parish, he averaged 6.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2.0 blocks in 19 minutes as the Celtics' had a 30 sweep in the Eastern Conference first round over the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan (43.7 point average in the series). He averaged 17.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 4.3 blocks in the first round series against the Bulls. It's not like he attempted 22 dunks, and still, he missed only once all game. 1952 [25], Walton was the 1973 recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Thank you Red Auerbach. Bill Walton attended Helix in La Mesa, California and UCLA. Walton then suffered a broken foot, ending his regular season. He had 19 points and 11 rebounds against Long Beach State. "Twenty minutes too much", he said. Do you have a sports website? Walton averaged 7.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 19 minutes, and finished with a career-high 56.2 field goal percentage. Tech. We got the basketball legend just days after MJ was crowned king of . We couldn't let him dominate the game. And Red says, 'Shut up. After steadily improving his game, he led the Trail Blazers in 1977 to their first NBA championship. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Bill Walton can talk a good game when it comes to doing color commentary on college basketball telecasts, but he played a nearly perfect one as UCLA's star center in the 1973 NCAA Tournament final. He won another NBA title in 1986 as a member of the Boston Celtics. As a matter of policy, Sports Reference only reports the results of games as played on the field. I drove the poor guy to an early grave when he was 99. Portland, concerned that Walton was injury-prone, traded him to the San Diego Clippers after the 197879 season. [32], "I don't think anything ever meant as much to me as playing UCLA and one of John Wooden's best teams for the national championship", Bartow said in 1993. He spent three more quiet seasons in San Diego before being traded to the Boston Celtics in 1985. 13 on USA Today's list of the greatest NCAA tournament games of all time. Bird said that if Walton felt healthy enough to play that it was good enough for him, as opposed to Lakers GM Jerry West, who was hedging his interest in Walton pending a doctor's report. "I came back and told Coach Wooden that this Walton kid was the best high school player I'd ever seen", Crum recalled. "Injuries [he missed games with a bad back]. Nonetheless, he was one of the greatest college basketball players in history. [81], Walton frequently works alongside Dave Pasch while calling Pac-12 games. Red looks down at me. One new team enters after the opening weekend. Portland Trail Blazers, 1st round (1st pick, 1st overall), 1974 NBA Draft, Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 1993 (Full List), More Bill Walton pages at Sports Reference. That's the timelessness of pain and suffering; the agonizing, the reflection and the endless questioning of yourself. Sports data and Coach Wooden has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some.. 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