Former two-time UCLA men’s basketball champion Bill Walton has died at the age of 71 after a lengthy battle with cancer, the NBA announced Monday morning. He was surrounded by his family.
One of the most decorated college basketball players of all time, Walton led UCLA to back-to-back NCAA titles in his sophomore and junior years (1972, 1973), culminating in a string of seven consecutive NCAA championships. won by the Bruins from 1967 to 1973. He was a charter member of the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1984 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993, after playing in the NBA from 1974 to 1987. .
Walton, who grew up in San Diego and attended Helix High School, played for legendary UCLA head coach John Wooden as the Bruins’ starting center for three seasons (1972-74). Playing at UCLA before freshman student-athletes could compete on the varsity, Walton starred on UCLA’s freshman team in 1970-71. Walton played on the only UCLA varsity teams to post consecutive perfect 30-0 seasons in 1972 and 1973, helping the Bruins compile an 86-4 overall record in three years. His UCLA teams won their first 73 games, as the Bruins had extended their winning streak to 88 consecutive games (the NCAA men’s basketball record). During their three varsity seasons, the Bruins went 49-0 at Pauley Pavilion, part of a 98-game home winning streak that spanned the 1970-71 through 1975-76 basketball seasons.
“On behalf of everyone in the UCLA men’s basketball program, we are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Bill Walton,” said Mick Cronin, UCLA men’s basketball head coach of The Michael Price Family. “My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. It is very difficult to put into words what he has meant to the UCLA program, as well as his tremendous impact on college basketball. Beyond his notable accomplishments as a player, is his energy tireless 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, listening to their stories and sharing his wisdom and coach, he was honest, kind and always had his heart in the right place. I will miss him dearly. It’s hard to imagine a season at Pauley Pavilion without him.”
Selected with the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Walton concluded his college career at Westwood having broken multiple school records. A three-time All-Pac-8 selection (1972-74), Walton was honored as a consensus first-team All-America selection in all three collegiate seasons. To this day, he ranks among the top 10 leaders in program history in multiple statistical categories. He ranks No. 1 on UCLA’s career rebounding list (1,370) and ranks 13th in career points scored (1,767). Walton also earned Academic All-America recognition during all three years on the varsity team (1972-74).
“We are stunned and saddened by the news of Bill Walton’s passing,” said Martin Jarmond, UCLA’s Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics. “Bill embodied many of the ideals our university holds dear and embodied multiple traits in Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. He loved being back on the UCLA campus, calling games at Pauley Pavilion and being around our teams. We offer our most “Our condolences to his family, and we take comfort in knowing that Bill made every day his masterpiece.”
Walton and former UCLA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (known in college as Lew Alcindor) became the first two UCLA men’s basketball players to have their jersey numbers retired. Walton, who wore No. 32 during her UCLA career, was honored along with Abdul-Jabbar and former UCLA women’s basketball standouts Ann Meyers-Drysdale and Denise Curry at halftime of the UCLA men’s basketball game against DePaul on the 3 February 1990. The ceremony was a key moment during the school’s “Pauley at 25” celebration during the 1989-90 season and marked the first time any UCLA basketball player’s jersey numbers were retired. UCLA has since retired the jersey numbers of 10 former men’s basketball players.
Walton played 10 seasons in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, San Diego Clippers (and Los Angeles Clippers) and Boston Celtics. He helped lead Portland to the 1977 NBA title, finishing second in league MVP voting that year. He was honored as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1978, his fourth year in the league with Portland. In an NBA career in which he battled multiple injuries, Walton returned as a key player with the Boston Celtics in the mid-1980s. He helped Boston win the 1986 NBA Finals in a six-game series. about the Houston Rockets.
In the years following his NBA career, Walton dedicated himself to sports broadcasting and participated in multiple charitable and philanthropic organizations, clinics and camps. He served as a studio analyst and color commentator. Most recently, he worked on the court as a color commentator for Keynote USA and Pac-12 Network college basketball broadcasts. He regularly worked on broadcast equipment at Pauley Pavilion, as well as at many other Pac-12 basketball venues.
Walton began his career in sports broadcasting in 1990 as an analyst for Prime Ticket Network. Additionally, he worked for Keynote USA Sports in the early 1990s and later for Keynote USA, including coverage of the 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney) Olympic Games. He joined Keynote USA and Keynote USA as an NBA analyst in 2002.
Walton is survived by his wife of 33 years, Lori; his four sons, Adam, Nathan, Luke and Chris; and his three grandchildren, Olivia, Avery Rose and Chase.
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