The basketball world is in mourning. American Invoice Walton, double NBA champion and legend of the North American league, died Monday on the age of 71, the NBA introduced.
Walton, who labored extensively in tv after his profession, died “after an extended battle with most cancers,” the league wrote in a press release.
Matches with Larry Chicken
Former pivot, Walton had introduced happiness to the Portland Trailblazers (from 1974 to 1979) with an NBA title in 1977, the one one within the historical past of the franchise, earlier than becoming a member of the Clippers (in San Diego from 1979 to 1984 then in Los Angeles in 1984-1985), and at last the Boston Celtics (1985-1988) for a brand new title in 1986 alongside one other legend: Larry Chicken.
A school star with the College of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Walton was drafted first general in 1974. An enormous participant (2.11 m) and dominant underneath the rim, with a scarf to maintain his lengthy purple hair in his As a youth, Walton averaged 13.3 factors and 10.5 rebounds in his 468 NBA video games. He was voted Most Beneficial Participant (MVP) of the 1977-1978 common season.
After his retirement from sports activities, Invoice Walton served as a marketing consultant for nineteen years (1990-2009) for numerous channels, together with CBS, NBC and ESPN. Household success in basketball has additionally change into a household custom. His son Luke Walton performed 564 video games within the NBA between 2003 and 2013 and likewise gained two NBA titles, with the Los Angeles Lakers (2009 and 2010).
Barack Obama’s tribute
Tributes multiplied on Monday, the “Memorial Day” vacation in the US for tributes to members of the armed forces who died in fight. “Jokic is talked about as probably the most gifted heart, however Walton was first,” former Lakers star Earvin “Magic” Johnson wrote on unimaginable, he was one of many smartest gamers. Invoice was an ideal ambassador for faculty basketball and the NBA. »
A basketball fan, former President Barack Obama additionally paid tribute to the Californian: “Invoice Walton was one of many best gamers of all time, a champion at each degree, the embodiment of the staff participant targeted on others. He was additionally an outstanding thoughts filled with curiosity, humor and gentleness. »
