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Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 5:36 pm EDTNBA legend. Named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Biography, honors and career statistics below.
Bill Walton
Career at a glance
Bill Walton played 10 NBA regular seasons between 1974 and 1987, appearing in 468 games and averaging 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. He played for 4 teams: Portland (1974–78, 209 games), San Diego (3 seasons between 1979 and 1984, 102 games), L.A. Clippers (1984–85, 67 games), Boston (1985–87, 90 games). His best scoring season was 1977–78 with Portland: 18.9 points per game over 58 games.
He rebounded best in 1976–77 at 14.4 per game. The season table marks him as the league leader in rebounding once, blocks once. Championship seasons: 1976–77 (Portland), 1985–86 (Boston).
In the playoffs he appeared in 4 postseason runs (49 games, 10.8 points per game). Multiplying each season’s games by its scoring average gives roughly 6,200 regular-season points (an estimate from per-game figures, not an official total).
whynba analysis of the season-by-season statistics below (Wikipedia revision, CC BY-SA 4.0). Totals are estimates from per-game averages.
About Bill Walton
William Theodore Walton III (November 5, 1952 – May 27, 2024) was an American basketball player and television sportscaster. He played collegiately for the UCLA Bruins and professionally in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Portland Trail Blazers, San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers, and Boston Celtics. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Walton rose to prominence in the early 1970s as UCLA's starting center for coach John Wooden. The 6-foot-11-inch (2.11m) Walton won three consecutive national college player of the year awards (1972–1974), while leading UCLA to NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973 and an 88-game winning streak. After being selected as the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft, Walton led the Portland Trail Blazers to the team's first and only NBA championshipin 1977, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. The following season, Walton was the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Walton's professional career, however, was significantly hampered by foot injuries, requiring numerous surgeries (Walton underwent 37 orthopedic surgeries in his lifetime). As a result, Walton only played in 468 out of 1,148 possible regular season games across his 14-year NBA career. After his MVP season, Walton sat out the 1978–79 season and was then signed by the Clippers, for whom he played four injury-plagued seasons. His career was rehabilitated during two seasons with the Celtics at the end of his career. Playing as a backup center behind Robert Parish, Walton earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award in the 1985–86 season and contributed significantly to the Celtics' playoff run that year, culminating in his second NBA championship. He was named to the NBA's 50th and 75th anniversary teams.
- Born
- November 5, 1952 La Mesa, California, U.S.
- Listed height
- 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
- Listed weight
- 210 lb (95 kg)
- Position
- Center
- High school
- Helix (La Mesa, California)
- College
- UCLA (1971–1974)
- NBA draft
- 1974: 1st round, 1st overall pick
- Playing career
- 1974–1988
Career highlights and awards
- 2× NBA champion (1977, 1986)
- NBA Finals MVP (1977)
- NBA Most Valuable Player (1978)
- 2× NBA All-Star (1977, 1978)
- All-NBA First Team (1978)
- All-NBA Second Team (1977)
- 2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (1977, 1978)
- NBA Sixth Man of the Year (1986)
- NBA rebounding leader (1977)
- NBA blocks leader (1977)
- No. 32 retired by Portland Trail Blazers
- NBA anniversary team (50th, 75th)
- 2× NCAA champion (1972, 1973)
- 2× NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player (1972, 1973)
- 3× National college player of the year (1972–1974)
- 3× Consensus first-team All-American (1972–1974)
- James E. Sullivan Award (1973)
- 3× First-team All-Pac-8 (1972–1974)
- No. 32 retired by UCLA Bruins
- First-team Parade All-American (1970)
- California Mr. Basketball (1970)
Career statistics
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–75 | Portland | 35 | — | 32.9 | .513 | — | .686 | 12.6 | 4.8 | .8 | 2.7 | 12.8 |
| 1975–76 | Portland | 51 | — | 33.1 | .471 | — | .583 | 13.4 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 16.1 |
| 1976–77† | Portland | 65 | — | 34.8 | .528 | — | .697 | 14.4* | 3.8 | 1.0 | 3.2* | 18.6 |
| 1977–78 | Portland | 58 | — | 33.3 | .522 | — | .720 | 13.2 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 18.9 |
| 1979–80 | San Diego | 14 | — | 24.1 | .503 | — | .593 | 9.0 | 2.4 | .6 | 2.7 | 13.9 |
| 1982–83 | San Diego | 33 | 32 | 33.3 | .528 | — | .556 | 9.8 | 3.6 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 14.1 |
| 1983–84 | San Diego | 55 | 46 | 26.8 | .556 | .000 | .597 | 8.7 | 3.3 | .8 | 1.6 | 12.1 |
| 1984–85 | L.A. Clippers | 67 | 37 | 24.6 | .521 | .000 | .680 | 9.0 | 2.3 | .7 | 2.1 | 10.1 |
| 1985–86† | Boston | 80 | 2 | 19.3 | .562 | — | .713 | 6.8 | 2.1 | .5 | 1.3 | 7.6 |
| 1986–87 | Boston | 10 | 0 | 11.2 | .385 | — | .533 | 3.1 | .9 | .1 | 1.0 | 2.8 |
| Career | 468 | 117 | 28.3 | .521 | .000 | .660 | 10.5 | 3.4 | .8 | 2.2 | 13.3 | |
| All-Star | 1 | 1 | 31.0 | .429 | — | 1.000 | 10.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 15.0 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977† | Portland | 19 | — | 39.7 | .507 | — | .684 | 15.2 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 3.4 | 18.2 |
| 1978 | Portland | 2 | — | 24.5 | .611 | — | .714 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 13.5 |
| 1986† | Boston | 16 | 0 | 18.2 | .581 | .000 | .826 | 6.4 | 1.7 | .4 | .8 | 7.9 |
| 1987 | Boston | 12 | 0 | 8.5 | .480 | — | .357 | 2.6 | .8 | .3 | .3 | 2.4 |
| Career | 49 | 0 | 24.4 | .525 | .000 | .673 | 9.1 | 3.0 | .7 | 1.7 | 10.8 |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971–72 | UCLA | 30 | — | — | .640 | — | .704 | 15.5 | — | — | — | 21.1 |
| 1972–73 | UCLA | 30 | — | — | .650 | — | .569 | 16.9 | — | — | — | 20.4 |
| 1973–74 | UCLA | 27 | — | — | .665 | — | .580 | 14.7 | 5.5 | — | — | 19.3 |
| Career | 87 | — | — | .651 | — | .642 | 15.7 | 5.5 | — | — | 20.3 |
Per-game averages. † won an NBA championship · * led the league · ‡ NBA record (as marked).
Profile observation date unavailable.
- Height
- 6′ 11″
- Weight
- 210 lb
- Position
- Center
- Jersey
- Not listed
- Country
- USA
- School / last affiliation
- Not listed
- Draft year
- 1974
- Draft pick
- Round 1 · Pick 1
Height, Weight, Position, Country, Draft year, Draft pick: blank in the NBA.com profile, filled from the Wikipedia infobox credited in the About section above.
Roster observations
These dates show when our saved NBA directory observations listed this player with a team. They are not signing, trade or contract dates, and this is not a complete career history.
No roster observations are stored for this player. Historical profile details above do not establish a current team assignment.
Profile source
Biographical fields reflect the saved official profile at the check time shown above. Team assignments use the dated directory evidence in Roster observations. Offseason rosters and jersey numbers can change.
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