The late Bill Walton occupies a unique place in basketball history. He ranks with the greatest centers – Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Hakeem Olajuwon, among others – but injuries greatly limited his career.
But when he was healthy, he was indisputably great.
Boston Celtics teammate Robert Parish was speaking to former Celtic Cedric Maxwell recently and said as much. He talked about how much Walton pushed him in practice, how he made him a better player.
Keep in mind that this was quite late in his career. Walton won the title as a Portland Trail Blazer in 1977, but played in just 65 games.
He only topped 60 games three times in his NBA career, but made 80 in 1986 with Boston, where he helped the Celtics win the championship for his second ring.
In college, Walton was a massive success. He was probably the most fundamentally sound big man who ever played the game, and his best game came in the 1972 championship game against Memphis State.
In a legendary performance, Walton scored 44 points while shooting 21-22 from the floor. That’s 95.5%. He also had four shots waved off as offensive goaltending.
Toss in 13 rebounds, two assists, and a block, and it was the greatest performance in the Final Four, and it’s not particularly close.
The great shame about Walton’s career is that his bones just proved too fragile for him to play much. He had dozens of surgeries and at one point, seriously considered suicide to escape the constant pain. He found joy again and was a lively, if eccentric, presence on basketball broadcasts.
He found answers, though, and lived until 2024, passing away from colorectal cancer.
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