Current:Home > NewsBill Walton, Hall of Fame player who became a star broadcaster, dies at 71 -WealthConverge Strategies
Bill Walton, Hall of Fame player who became a star broadcaster, dies at 71
View
Date:2025-04-19 17:48:04
Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Famer for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars in basketball broadcasting, died Monday, the league announced on behalf of his family. Walton, who had a prolonged fight with cancer, was 71.
He was the NBA’s MVP in the 1977-78 season, a two-time champion and a member of both the NBA’s 50th anniversary and 75th anniversary teams. That followed a college career in which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time national player of the year.
“Bill Walton,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, “was truly one of a kind.”
Walton, who was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 1993, was larger than life, on the court and off. His NBA career — disrupted by chronic foot injuries — lasted only 468 games with Portland, the San Diego and eventually Los Angeles Clippers and Boston. He averaged 13.3 points and 10.5 rebounds in those games, neither of those numbers exactly record-setting.
Still, his impact on the game was massive.
His most famous game was the 1973 NCAA title game, UCLA against Memphis, in which he shot an incredible 21 for 22 from the field and led the Bruins to another national championship.
“One of my guards said, ’Let’s try something else,” Wooden told The Associated Press in 2008 for a 35th anniversary retrospective on that game.
Wooden’s response during that timeout: “Why? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
They kept giving the ball to Walton, and he kept delivering in a performance for the ages.
“It’s very hard to put into words what he has meant to UCLA’s program, as well as his tremendous impact on college basketball,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Monday. “Beyond his remarkable accomplishments as a player, it’s his relentless energy, enthusiasm for the game and unwavering candor that have been the hallmarks of his larger than life personality.
“As a passionate UCLA alumnus and broadcaster, he loved being around our players, hearing their stories and sharing his wisdom and advice. For me as a coach, he was honest, kind and always had his heart in the right place. I will miss him very much. It’s hard to imagine a season in Pauley Pavilion without him.”
Walton retired from the NBA and turned to broadcasting, something he never thought he could be good at — and an avenue he sometimes wondered would be possible for him, because he had a pronounced stutter at times in his life.
Turns out, he was excellent at that, too: Walton was an Emmy winner.
“In life, being so self-conscious, red hair, big nose, freckles and goofy, nerdy-looking face and can’t talk at all. I was incredibly shy and never said a word,” Walton told The Oregonian newspaper in 2017. “Then, when I was 28 I learned how to speak. It’s become my greatest accomplishment of my life and everybody else’s biggest nightmare.”
The last part of that was just Walton hyperbole. He was beloved for his on-air tangents.
He sometimes appeared on-air in Grateful Dead T-shirts; Walton was a huge fan of the band and referenced it often, even sometimes recording satellite radio specials celebrating what it meant to be a “Deadhead.”
And the Pac-12 Conference, which has basically evaporated in many ways now because of college realignment, was another of his many loves. He always referred to it as the “Conference of Champions” and loved it all the way to the end.
“It doesn’t get any better than this,” he once said on a broadcast, tie-dyed T-shirt on, a Hawaiian lei around his neck.
“What I will remember most about him was his zest for life,” Silver said. “He was a regular presence at league events — always upbeat, smiling ear to ear and looking to share his wisdom and warmth. I treasured our close friendship, envied his boundless energy and admired the time he took with every person he encountered.”
Walton died surrounded by his loved ones, his family said. He is survived by wife Lori and sons Adam, Nate, Chris and Luke — a former NBA player and now a coach.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- Simone Biles says she has calf discomfort during Olympic gymnastics qualifying but keeps competing
- Inter Miami vs. Puebla live updates: How to watch Leagues Cup tournament games Saturday
- ‘A Repair Manual for the Planet’: What Would It Take to Restore Our Atmosphere?
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- US gymnast Paul Juda came up big at Olympic qualifying. But 'coolest thing is yet to come'
- Why Alyssa Thomas’ Olympic debut for USA Basketball is so special: 'Really proud of her'
- Oldest zoo in the US finds new ways to flourish. See how it is making its mark.
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- This Weekend Only! Shop Anthropologie’s Extra 40% off Sale & Score Cute Dresses & Tops Starting at $17
Ranking
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Don't wash your hands, US triathlete Seth Rider says of preparing for dirty Seine
- Anthony Edwards up for challenge against US women's table tennis team
- A Vermont man is charged with aggravated murder in an 82-year-old neighbor’s death
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Oldest zoo in the US finds new ways to flourish. See how it is making its mark.
- MLB trade deadline tracker 2024: Breaking down every deal before baseball's big day
- Honda’s Motocompacto all-electric bike is the ultimate affordable pit scooter
Recommendation
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
3 men sentenced for racist conspiracy plot to destroy Northwest power grid
Gold medalist Ashleigh Johnson, Flavor Flav seek to bring water polo to new audience
Eiffel Tower glows on rainy night, but many fans can't see opening ceremony
US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
From hating swimming to winning 10 medals, Allison Schmitt uses life story to give advice
Serena Williams' Husband Alexis Ohanian Aces Role as Her Personal Umbrella Holder
Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz put tennis in limelight, captivate fans at Paris Olympics