Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Hall of Fame center for his NBA career and one of the biggest stars in basketball broadcasting, died Monday, the league announced. Walton, who had a prolonged fight with cancer, was 71.
He was the NBA’s MVP in the 1977-78 season, a two-time champion and a member of the league’s 50th anniversary and 75th anniversary teams. That followed a college career in which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time national player of the year.
“Bill Walton,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said, “was truly one of a kind.