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“Bill Walton only played on the weekends!”: Portland Trail Blazers’ only MVP, Finals MVP has had a chequered career history, especially with the San Diego Clippers

Hemanth Amar
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"Bill Walton only played on the weekends!": Portland Trail Blazers' only MVP, Finals MVP has had a chequered career history, especially with the San Diego Clippers

Bill Walton is a former American NBA player who was selected as the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Walton had a successful stint with the Trail Blazers winning the NBA Championship in 1977 as he led the NBA in both rebounds and blocks that season. The former Portland center guided the Trail Blazers to the title on the back of four straight wins and was named the finals’ most valuable player.

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Bill Walton is regarded as one the best passing centers in the league and often drew comparisons to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Russell. In 1977-78, he was named NBA Most Valuable Player while playing for the defending NBA champion Trail Blazers. Walton scored, passed, intimidated, hustled, and played the role of leader with the best centers of his era when he was at his best.

The Curious Case of Bill Walton: Former two time NBA Champion once played only on the weekends in the 1982-83 season

Bill Walton is considered to be one of the most gifted centers to have set foot in the NBA and is a two-time champion playing for the likes of the Portland Trail Blazers, Boston Celtics, and San Diego Clippers.

During the 1982-82 season, Walton was attempting to make a comeback after missing the previous two seasons due to injuries and had only played in 14 games since the 1979 season. The Clippers center suffered constant foot injuries and after extensive rehabilitation, he was adviced by doctors to play once a week during the 1982-83 season.

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Walton attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Law during the early 1980s while he was recovering from foot injuries and only played once a week for the Clippers. Bill Walton could do it all and often did so, in an injury-plagued career and won his second championship while playing for the Boston Celtics and also won the sixth man of the year in 1986.

During his broadcasting days after retiring from the NBA, Walton was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.

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