Basketball legend Invoice Walton, who led the UCLA Bruins to 2 nationwide titles earlier than successful two championships throughout his NBA profession, has died on the age of 71 after a protracted battle with most cancers.
Walton died Monday whereas surrounded by his family members, his household stated in an announcement launched by the NBA.
“Invoice Walton was really one among a sort,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver stated in an announcement.
He was the NBA’s MVP within the 1977-78 season and a member of the league’s fiftieth and seventy fifth anniversary groups. That each one adopted a school profession through which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time nationwide participant of the yr beneath iconic coach John Picket.
“What I’ll keep in mind most about him was his zest for all times,” Silver stated in his assertion. “He was an everyday presence at league occasions — all the time 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 individual he encountered.
“As a cherished member of the NBA household for 50 years, Invoice will likely be deeply missed by all those that got here to know and love him.”
Walton, who was enshrined within the Corridor of Fame in 1993, was bigger than life on the court docket, off the court docket and through his broadcasting profession.
His NBA profession — disrupted by persistent foot accidents — lasted solely 468 video games with the Portland Path Blazers, LA (and previously San Diego) Clippers and Boston Celtics. He averaged a double-double in these video games — 13.3 factors and 10.5 rebounds.
Although neither of these numbers is close to record-setting, his impression on the sport was large.
His most well-known sport was the 1973 NCAA title matchup, UCLA towards Memphis State, through which he shot an unbelievable 21-for-22 from the sphere and led the Bruins to a different nationwide championship.
The Bruins saved giving the ball to Walton, and he saved delivering in a efficiency for the ages.
Walton grew to become a constitution member of the UCLA Athletics Corridor of Fame in 1984, and his No. 32 was joined by the No. 33 of former UCLA nice Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (identified in faculty as Lew Alcindor) as the primary two males’s basketball jersey numbers to be retired by the Bruins in 1990.
“It’s totally laborious to place into phrases what he has meant to UCLA’s program, in addition to his super impression on faculty basketball,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin stated Monday. “Past his exceptional accomplishments as a participant, it is his relentless vitality, enthusiasm for the sport and unwavering candor which have been the hallmarks of his bigger than life character.
“As a passionate UCLA alumnus and broadcaster, he liked being round our gamers, listening to their tales and sharing his knowledge and recommendation. For me as a coach, he was sincere, type and all the time had his coronary heart in the appropriate place. I’ll miss him very a lot. It is laborious to think about a season in Pauley Pavilion with out him.”
Walton retired from the NBA and turned to broadcasting, one thing he by no means thought he may very well be good at — and an avenue he typically wasn’t certain could be attainable for him — as a result of he had a pronounced stutter at occasions in his life.
Seems, he was glorious at that, too: Walton was an Emmy winner.
“As a Corridor of Fame participant, he redefined the middle place,” Silver stated. “Invoice then translated his infectious enthusiasm and love for the sport to broadcasting, the place he delivered insightful and colourful commentary which entertained generations of basketball followers.”
There’ll by no means be one other fairly like Invoice Walton.
His ESPN household will miss him dearly ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mvS0Sh5iWZ
— ESPN (@espn) Might 27, 2024
Walton initially joined ESPN and ABC in 2002 as a lead analyst for NBA video games earlier than shifting to school basketball in 2012. He additionally labored for CBS and NBC and was named one of many prime 50 sports activities broadcasters of all time by the American Sportscasters Affiliation in 2009.
“Invoice Walton was a legendary participant and a singular character who genuinely cherished each expertise all through the journey of his extraordinary life,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro stated in an announcement. “Invoice typically described himself as ‘the luckiest man on the planet,’ however anybody who had the chance to work together with Invoice was the fortunate one. He was a really particular, giving one that all the time made time for others.
“Invoice’s one-of-a-kind spirit captivated and impressed audiences throughout his second profession as a profitable broadcaster. We at ESPN lengthen our deepest condolences to Invoice’s family members, together with the whole Walton household.”
Walton was beloved for his on-air tangents. He typically appeared on-air in Grateful Lifeless T-shirts; Walton was an enormous fan of the band and referenced it typically, even typically recording satellite tv for pc radio specials celebrating what it meant to be a “Deadhead.”
“In life, being so self-conscious, pink hair, huge nostril, freckles and goofy, nerdy-looking face and may’t discuss in any respect. I used to be extremely shy and by no means stated a phrase,” Walton advised The Oregonian in 2017. “Then, after I was 28, I realized methods to communicate. It is turn into my best accomplishment of my life and everyone else’s greatest nightmare.”
The Pac-12 Convention, which has principally evaporated in some ways now due to faculty realignment, was one other of his many loves. He all the time referred to it because the “Convention of Champions” and liked all of it the best way to the tip.
“It would not get any higher than this,” he as soon as stated on an ESPN broadcast, tie-dyed T-shirt on, a Hawaiian lei round his neck.
No, Invoice. Thanks on your life. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/3LCRvs4XlJ
— Pac-12 Convention (@pac12) Might 27, 2024
The primary total choose of the 1974 NBA draft by the Path Blazers, the 6-foot-11 Walton performed 10 seasons within the NBA, successful championships with the Blazers (1977) and Celtics (1986). He totaled 6,215 factors, 4,923 rebounds, 1,034 blocks and 1,590 assists.
A two-time All-Star, he led the NBA in rebounding and blocks in 1977 and was the league’s Sixth Man of the 12 months in 1986 — the one participant aside from James Harden to have gained each MVP and the Sixth Man award.
“They speak about [Nikola] Jokic being probably the most expert heart however Invoice Walton was first!” Corridor of Famer Magic Johnson posted to X. “From taking pictures soar pictures to creating unbelievable passes, he was one of many smartest basketball gamers to ever dwell. Invoice was an important ambassador for school basketball and the NBA, and he will likely be sorely missed.”
The Related Press contributed to this report.
