Walton in 2008 Personal information Born ( 1952-11-05) November 5, 1952 (age 65) Nationality American Listed height 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) Listed weight 210 lb (95 kg) Career information High school (La Mesa, California) College (1971–1974) / Round: 1 / Pick: overall Selected by the Playing career 1974–1987 Position Number 32, 5 Career history – – – Career highlights and awards • 2× (, ) • (1977) • () • 2× (, ) • () • (1977) • 2× (1977, 1978) • () • () • () • No. 32 • • 2× (, ) • 2× (1972, 1973) • 3× (1972–1974) • 3× Consensus first-team (–) • No.
WNBA superstar Candace Parker has just been hit with divorce papers from her husband, a former NBA player, who's demanding spousal support.
32 • Career NBA statistics 6,215 (13.3 ppg) 4,923 (10.5 rpg) 1,034 (2.2 bpg) at Basketball-Reference.com Inducted in 2006 William Theodore Walton III (born November 5, 1952) is an American retired player and television. Walton became known playing for 's powerhouse in the early 1970s, winning three successive College Player of the Year Awards, while leading the Bruins to two. He then went on to have a prominent career in the (NBA) where he was a (MVP) and won two. His professional career was significantly hampered by multiple foot injuries. Walton was inducted into the on May 10, 1993 and the that same year. Walton during the 1974 collegiate season Walton was born in, the son of Gloria Anne ( Hickey) and William Theodore 'Ted' Walton.
His listed adult playing height was 6 feet 11 inches; it has been reported that Walton is actually taller (7 feet 2 inches, or more) but does not like being categorized as a seven-footer. He played high school basketball. At age 17, Walton played for the at the. He played college basketball for at the (UCLA) from 1971 to 1974, winning the national title in 1972 over and again in 1973 with an 87–66 win over in which Walton made 21 of 22 field goal attempts and scored 44 points, representing more than half his team's total points. The Walton-led 1971–72 UCLA basketball team had a record of 30–0, in the process winning its games by an average margin of more than 30 points.
He was the backbone of two consecutive 30–0 seasons and was also part of UCLA's NCAA men's basketball record 88-game winning streak. The UCLA streak contributed to a personal winning streak that lasted almost five years, in which Walton's high school, UCLA freshman (freshmen were ineligible for the varsity at that time) and UCLA varsity teams did not lose a game from the middle of his junior year of high school to the middle of his senior year in college. Walton was the 1973 recipient of the as the top amateur athlete in the United States. Walton also received the and as the top college basketball player in the country three years in a row while attending UCLA, at the same time earning Academic All-American honors three times. Some college basketball historians rate Walton as the greatest who ever played the game at the college level. In Walton's senior year during the 1973–74 season, the school's 88-game winning streak ended with a 71–70 loss to. During the same season, UCLA's record seven consecutive national titles was broken when defeated the Bruins 80–77 in double overtime in the NCAA semi-finals.
With Walton's graduation in 1974 and legendary Bruin coach John Wooden's retirement after UCLA's, the UCLA dynasty came to an end. Prior to joining the varsity team, Walton (18.1, 68.6 percent), along with (17.9 ppg) and (20.0 ppg), was a member of the 20–0 UCLA Freshman team. NBA career [ ] Portland Trail Blazers [ ]. Walton and holding the 1977 NBA Championship Trophy It was not until the that he was healthy enough to play 65 games and, spurred by new head coach, the Trail Blazers became the Cinderella team of the NBA. Walton led the NBA in both rebounds per game and blocked shots per game that season, and he was selected to the, but did not participate due to an injury. Walton was named to the NBA's First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA Second Team for his regular season accomplishments.
In the postseason, Walton led Portland to a sweep of the in the conference finals (arguably holding his own against during the series) and went on to help the Trail Blazers to the title over the favored despite losing the first two games of the series. Walton was named the Finals MVP.
The following year, the Blazers won 50 of their first 60 games before Walton suffered a broken foot in what turned out to be the first in a string of foot and ankle injuries that cut short his career. He nonetheless won the league MVP that season (1978) and the NBA MVP, as well. He played in his only All-Star Game in 1978 and was named to both the NBA's First All-Defensive Team and the All-NBA First Team. Walton returned to action for the playoffs, but was reinjured in the second game of a series against the. Without Walton to lead them, Portland lost the series to Seattle in six games. As it turned out, Walton would never play for the Trail Blazers again. During the offseason, Walton demanded to be traded, citing unethical and incompetent treatment of his and other players' injuries by the Blazers' front office.
He did not get his wish and sat out the 1978–79 season in protest, signing with the when he became a free agent in 1979. San Diego Clippers [ ] Walton spent more time on the disabled list than on the with his hometown.
He only played 14 games for the Clippers during the 1979–80 season before missing all of the next two seasons, undergoing several reconstructive surgeries on his injured foot. Following extensive rehabilitation, Walton's foot began to improve; after playing only 14 games from 1979–82, he played 33 games in 1982–83, 55 games in 1983–84, and a then-career high 67 in 1984–85 by which time the Clippers had moved to Los Angeles. Boston Celtics [ ]. Watches as Walton grabs a rebound during the 1987 NBA Finals. After the 1984–85 campaign, Walton called on two of the league's premier teams, the and the.
After several players on the Celtics said they liked the idea of having Walton as a teammate backing up and, made the deal happen. One anecdote that particularly illustrates Walton's decision to choose the Celtics over the Lakers involves, who happened to be in Auerbach's office when Walton called.
Bird said that if Walton felt healthy enough to play that it was good enough for him, as opposed to Lakers GM, who was hedging his interest in Walton pending a doctor's report. Boston acquired Walton by sending popular forward to the Clippers along with a first-round draft pick. Providing a reliable backup to McHale and Parish, Walton played in a career-high 80 games and received the that season en route to the NBA Championship, becoming the only player to have ever won an NBA Finals MVP, Sixth Man Award, and regular season MVP. Walton injured himself again the following season, but returned for the 1987 playoffs. He spent the 1987–88 season on the injured list. He attempted a comeback in February 1990, but injury intervened and he from the game.
Bill Walton guarding the Pistons' Curtis Rowe in 1976 • 2× (, ) • (1977) • () • 2× (–) • () • (1977) • 2× (1977–1978) • () • • No. 32 • 2× (–) • 2× (1972–1973) • 3× (1972–1974) • 3× (1972–1974) • 3× (1972–1974) • 2× (1972–1973) • 3× (1972–1974) • 2× (1972–1973) • 3× Consensus first-team (–) • 3× First-team (1972–1974) • No. 32 Broadcasting [ ] After his retirement as a player, Walton overcame a problem to become a successful and controversial NBA color commentator for (1990–2002), the (1990–2002) and / (2002–2009). After nineteen years working in broadcasting, he left ESPN in November 2009, as the result of back problems dating back to an injury suffered while playing at UCLA. Following surgery on his back, Walton returned to broadcasting as a part-time commentator for the for and.
In July 2012, and the announced that he would return to full-time broadcasting as a game analyst for Pac-12 basketball coverage, starting with the 2012–13 season. Walton's trademark catchphrases have included: • 'That's a terrible call!
• 'Where in the world is [x]?' (for a player who has disappeared from a game) • 'What is a foul?'
• 'Dial a violation.' • 'He couldn't even inbound the ball!' • 'Throw it down, big man! • 'Player [X] is right-handed and will continue to be right-handed for the remainder of the game.'
• 'It's Dave, right?' • 'One of the eight worst possessions in the history of [x] basketball history.' In addition, his commentary has been noted for his frequent use of. Walton typically was paired with for national NBA games because he and Jones had a point-counterpoint banter during games.
Despite their frequent on-air argumentative banter they are friends, as was shown in Walton's short lived 2003 TV series 'Bill Walton's Long Strange Trip.' While broadcasting games of the, he frequently calls Ducks forward Dwayne Benjamin, because of his resemblance to the rapper. Books [ ] His memoir, Back from the Dead: Searching for the Sound, Shining the Light and Throwing It Down, was released by in March 2016. It remained on bestseller list for two weeks in April 2016.
Walton, who has a service dog, wrote the foreword to the 2015 book by author. Personal life [ ] Walton currently resides in his hometown of with his wife Lori.
He and his first wife, Susie, had four sons: Adam, Nathan, Luke, and Chris. Played from 2003 to 2012 for the, won both the and, making Bill and Luke the first to have both won multiple NBA championships. Luke was named head coach of the Lakers on April 29, 2016, after two years as an assistant for the. Another of Walton's sons, Chris, played for. Nate, his middle son, played basketball at but then entered the corporate world and earned his from 's. (Bill Walton attended for two years but never graduated.) Nate was on the ballot for the Election, receiving 1,697 votes.
Walton's other son, Adam, also played NCAA basketball. Walton is a well-known fan of the,,,, and. He attended more than 850 Grateful Dead concerts, including traveling with the band to for its before the (joining the band on drums), and quotes Dead in TV and radio interviews. To fellow, Walton is fondly known as 'Grateful Red' and the 'Big Red Deadhead' and 'World's Tallest Deadhead'. [ ] In the video for ', Grateful Dead drummer is wearing a Celtics jacket that was given to him by Walton.
[ ] In 2001, Bill Walton was inducted into The Grateful Dead Hall of Honor. [ ] While broadcasting a game between the and, Walton talked about a speech Dylan gave at MusiCares, and actually had prepared graphics about Dylan's career highlights. Walton also considers himself a fan and friend of the late writer. In 2015, he made a visit to the Ken Kesey Collection while on a stop at the. Walton expounds upon his music interests on his own satellite radio show, One More Saturday Night (named after the Dead song ), heard during late prime time on 's and 's channel. Walton has stated in his online introduction to his radio show column that he enjoys going to concerts alone because then he has fewer things in between him and reaching the omega point that all concert goers seek at shows. Walton still has a committed relationship with the Celtics, if not professionally, as a fan.
Despite the area where he grew up, and the team his son Luke played for, Walton is careful to point out, 'Even though I grew up in the heart of Laker country, the Celtics were always MY team'. He keeps a picture of the floor of the old in his kitchen.
Walton joined the Celtics broadcast crew for a West Coast road trip in 2011. In 1990, Walton was inducted by the into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.
In popular culture [ ] Walton has cameo appearances in the films,, and, and appeared as Sven the Wise in the 2011 Capital One Visigoth SportsNet commercials. He is also mentioned by in the 1980 comedy ('Tell your old man to drag Walton and up and down the court for 48 minutes!' ) Bill Walton is a playable character in the video games (), (), (), (), (), (), (2015) and (), and lent his voice to and. Walton appeared in an episode of the reality TV show on January 20, 2012, where he helped to sell the 'Clean Bottle', a water bottle that unscrews at both ends for easier cleaning. See also [ ]. Archived from on December 5, 2006. Retrieved December 16, 2006.
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Archived from on August 24, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2007. Missing or empty|title= () •. Archived from on February 24, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2007.
Missing or empty|title= () • 1972 Official Collegiate Basketball Guide, College Athletics Publishing Service, 1971 • ^. Archived from on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-25. May 23, 1977.
Archived from on May 30, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2010. • Love, Matt (2007). Red Hot and Rollin': A Retrospection of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1976–77 NBA Championship Season. Pacific City, Oregon: Nestucca Spit Press.
Archived from on June 13, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010. • Jordan, Pat (October 28, 2001)... Retrieved 2010-05-27. • Rodger Sherman (12 February 2015)..
25 March 2016. • Edgers, Geoff (12 June 2015). – via washingtonpost.com.
• Hilton, Lisette (2000-09-25).. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
• Rodger Sherman (12 February 2015).. Retrieved 5 February 2015. Archived from on January 3, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2009. Missing or empty|title= () External links [ ] Wikimedia Commons has media related to.
• Career statistics and player information from • • • on.