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46. Bill Walton

A tragic injury plagued career made it so that Bill Walton never could fulfill his promise of becoming a great NBA legend, but in his short career he made a vast impact. Though he is mostly known for his college career, which was one of the best ever, he had a great NBA career which saw him win multiple awards and championships.

Walton attended the historic UCLA program and helped add to its luster. Walton was there from 71-74 and helped the Bruins win 3 national titles. He averaged double figure scoring and rebounding in all four season as well. In 87 career games Walton averaged 20 points and 16 rebounds.

The Blazers made Walton the first pick of the 1974 draft. He had a solid rookie season but an injury limited him to just 35 games. Still, in those 35 games he managed to average 13 points and 13 rebounds. Unfortunately, injuries limited Walton in his second year and every year of his career. But Walton was able to play 51 games his second year and average 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Walton’s two best seasons came in from 76-78. In the 76-77 campaign he averaged 19 points and a league leading 14 rebounds and 3 blocks and helped guide the Portland Trailblazers to their only NBA championship. He put up similar numbers the following year and was named league MVP.

Injuries would cause Walton to miss the whole of the 78-79 season. Walton would than sign a deal with the San Diego Clippers in what the Clippers hoped would revitalize their franchise, instead Walton played 14 games his first year before missing the next two seasons entirely with injuries. Walton would get healthy towards the end of his contract with the Clippers but was never the same player again. He lost his athleticism and was mostly a role player.

The Clippers traded Walton to the Boston Celtics in 1985. The 1985-86 season would be unique for Walton in that for the only time in his NBA career he was not injured. He played 80 games that season for the Celtics averaging 8 points and 7 rebounds and was named the NBA sixth man of the year. He would also be a key role player in the Celtics bid for the 86 NBA title. Injuries once again hit Walton the following year limiting him to just 10 games before he retired.

Walton played in 468 games in a 14 year career, that’s an average of just 33 games per season. But he was a two time NBA champion, MVP, and sixth man. He was inducted into the hall of fame in 1993.

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