Today Bill Walton passed away at the age of 71 due to cancer in which the NBA announced. The Hall of Fame center had a career that was colorful and controversial.
Walton was a versatile center in which he became one of the greats at Helix High in La Mesa, California. He helped UCLA win two national championships under the legendary John Wooden. Also he was a three time national player of the year. He played in the NBA and helped lead the Portland to the 1977 NBA Championship. Then he played with the San Diego Clippers and Boston Celtics in which became a role player on the 1986 Boston Celtics championship squad. He averaged 13.3 points and 10.5 rebounds during his NBA playing career.
In 1993, Walton was elected into the Naismith basketball Hall of Fame. Then in 1997, he was named one of the Top 50 NBA players of all time.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, “was truly one of a kind.” “Bill then translated his infectious enthusiasm and love for the game to broadcasting, where he delivered insightful and colorful commentary which entertained generations of basketball fans.”
Walton started his sports broadcasting career in 1990 as an analyst for the Prime Ticket Network. He worked for NBC as a NBA in then analyst Sports in the early 1990s and later for NBC. He covered the Olympic Games in 1996 in Atlanta and the 2000 Games in Sydney. Also he covered the NBA Finals and All Star Game. He joined ESPN and ABC as an NBA analyst in 2002. Then he covered college basketball mainly the Pac-12 region with ESPN.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Walton family. He is survived by his wife Lori; his four sons, Adam, Nathan, Luke and Chris; and his three grandchildren, Olivia, Avery Rose and Chase.
