Bill Walton was the epitome of being a team player according to his former teammates. The 2-time NBA champion, Finals MVP and regular season Most Valuable Player passed away on Monday at age 71 from cancer.
What didn't he do in his basketball life. Off the court, he was an activist and would later find his way to the broadcast booth after overcoming a speech impediment. Walton also became fast friends the with legendary rock band The Grateful Dead.
On the court, he was a 2-time national champion at UCLA for the great John Wooden. Walton's squads won 73 of the Bruins 88 game win streak that got snapped by Notre Dame in 1974. In the NBA, he led the Trailblazers to a title in 1977 and picked up a second with fellow Hall of Famer Larry Bird in 1986.
One person who saw Walton's greatness up close was Dave Twardzik. A former Old Dominion University great himself, they were teammates for two years that included a title. He was saddened by the loss of Walton.
"Bill was very private about most of that", he said. "I was just floored when I heard the news."
Walton was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 despite suffering through a rash of chronic injuries through portions of his professional career. He lasted only 468 games with stints at Portland, San Diego/Los Angeles and Boston. It's something Twardzik felt would say plenty about him as a player.
"Had he stayed healthy his entire career, I think Wilt Chamberlin was the best player to ever play, but Bill would have been by far the second best player to play", he said. "He just did everything with such an abbreviated career because of injuries. I was very fortunate to be around when he was healthy."