Mateo

Could you please break down his game? ESPN has a top centers of all time and has Walton at #7. Ahead of David Robinson. Based purely on his stats (since I haven't seen him play), I have a really tough time placing him ahead of Dikembe Mutombo, let alone Robinson, who was a great defensive play and led the league in scoring one year.

So, was Walton just the ultimate "little things" guy or what? I understand his injury limited his ability to be productive for a long time (though, I think longevity should count), but even during his best year it was good enough to win an MVP.

Any explanations offered? Specifically a comparison to David Robinson would be nice.

Dre™

BadBaronRudigor

Walton came into the league with more hype than any center since, including Shaq and Patrick Ewing. In the only relatively full season and a half he played, he led a collection or fairly weak talent (starters Maurice Lucas - - very good player, Bobby Gross/Lionel Hollins/Dave Twardzik-- all marginal starters/good reserves/roleplayers) to an NBA championship and was voted by his peers ahead of Kareem as top defensive center and one season ahead of him as All-NBA and MVP, the other as just behind him despite playing only about 60 games and scoring about 10 less points each game. He dominated play in a very slow paced offense as a passing/scoring hub center (like Shaq now that Wade is out) and as a defensive intimidator and was generally considered to have the greatest court vision of any center ever/ think Larry Bird level. Of course a season and a half as a full time player was all he ever managed as his feet broke down again and again until he finally managed to come back as a top quality 6th man. If he had been healthy for 8-10 seasons, he would probably be considered one of the top 5 centers ever to play ahead of Moses and the Admiral and competitive with Shaq and Hakeem. If...

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rainman

I guess the stereotype would be that he was a marginal athlete, hardly. When he was at UCLA you werent allowed to dunk(think that was put in because of Alcindor) Walton would catch lobs from Greg Lee about 2 feet above the rim and drop them in, i kid you not. Personally i dont think he took as good a care of himself as he probably should have over the years(weed isnt one of the basic food groups) so his career was limited at the nba level but he showed in Portland for a time how great he really was. Probably had a stretch from 73-77 when he was the best player in the world, not too many players can lay claim to that sort of stuff.

¹²³

He also was a pretty good chess player, that should count some points too.

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Mr.Montross

Bill Walton, during his short healthy stint in the NBA, was certainly one of the most talented and smartest players in NBA history. He was the center of Blazers offense, the anchor of their defense, and the best passing Center ever.

We the fans were robbed of watching a true basketball genius play a healthy NBA career due to his injuries.

And I'm not a Blazer fan.

And I think they should reinstate the No-Dunk rule in college ball. It forces players to develop a more well-rounded game.

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white360

If he would have stayed healthy and keept up his game level from college he would have been in the top 5

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PauloCatarino

No. And no.

How come?

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Mateo

Why couldn't he score?

BadBaronRudigor

Walton could score, he certainly had the shots but his ego was wrapped into the 60's hippie trip and he probably thought of big scorers as selfish people who didn't smoke enough dope. Also, he played for a coach that was probably the closest thing to "Hoosiers" the NBA has seen in Dr. Jack Ramsey who believed in the concept of the center as a passing hub taking advantage of Walton's passing and in a slow-down pattern offense.

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Minstrel

How come?

Because only Sabonis has rivaled his passing skill from the center position. Both Sabonis and Walton were legitimately great passers, not just "great for their position."

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