Bill Walton is a former American basketball player and sportscaster who currently serves as the Executive Chairman of Connect SD Sports Innovators (SDSI), a non-profit organization. He played for Portland Trail Blazers, San Diego / Los Angeles Clippers, and Boston Celtics during his playing career. He later served as a game analyst at ESPN. Let’s know more about him through this article.
Where is Bill Walton famous for?
- A former Basketball superstar, television sportscaster, and actor.
Where is Bill Walton’s form?
Recalling his early life, Walton was born in La Mesa, California, USA. His birth name is Willam Theodore Walton III. He is currently 67 years old. His father’s name is William Theodore Walton and his mother’s name is Gloria Walton. He has got an older brother named Bruce Edward Walton, who was also a professional athlete. He holds American citizenship but his ethnicity is mixed.
Where is Bill Walton go for education?
Concerning his education details, Walton attended Helix High School and graduated from there in 1974. He played for the United States men’s national basketball team at the age of 17 at the 1970 FIBA World Championship.
From 1971 to 1974, he played basketball for John Wooden at the University of California, L.A. and won the national title over Florida State in 1972.
When did Bil Walton begin his basketball career?
- Moving towards his career, Walton led the 1971-72 UCLA basketball team with a record of 30-0 and won by an average margin of 30 points. He was the main player in the win of two consecutive 30-0 seasons and he was also part of UCLA’s NCAA men’s basketball record 88 game winning streak.
- In the 1973-74 season, the school lost with 71-70 to Notre Dame after the school’s 88 game winning streak. After his graduation in 1974 and the retirement of Bruin coach John Wooden’s retirement after UCLA’s 1975 national title, the future of UCLA came to the end.
- He was immediately picked into the NBA Draft following his graduation and was selected as the number one overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. Bill has tagged the savior of the franchise and was highly anticipated but he got several injuries to his nose, wrist, and foot and ruined the first two seasons.
- Similarly, he became physically fit in the 76-77 season and he played around 65 games and led the NBA rebounds blocked shots per game.
- Again, he had foot injuries and he decided to quit the Blazers. He requested to be traded during the 77-78 offseason, but he was not offered and he had to sit out of the 78-79 season in protest. He joined the San Diego Clippers as a free agent after he released it.
- He played just 14 games in two seasons at the Clippers and he went on several reconstructive surgeries on his foot. He had to be traded to the Boston Celtics after the 84-85 campaign after he was a marked improvement in his foot.
- Despite his injury, he made the effort to return for the playoffs in 1987 but the injury occurred again causing him to sit out of the entire 87-88 season and he decided to retire in 1990 citing recurring injuries.
- He gave his foot and ankle the chance to heal but it got worse and he had to have his ankles surgically fused. He was an amazing talent but he had to miss most of the games during his NBA career.
When did Bill Walton pursue his broadcasting career?
- After his retirement as a player, Walton has become a successful and controversial basketball color commentator. He worked for CBS (1990), NBC (1990-2002), the Los Angeles Clippers (1990-2002) and ABC/ESPN (2002-2009).
- After nineteen years working in broadcasting, he left ESPN in November 2009, as the result of back problems, which dated back to an injury he suffered in college at UCLA.
- Following surgery on his back, He returned to broadcasting as a part-time commentator for the Sacramento Kings for 2010-11 and 2011-12.
- In July 2012, ESPN and the Pac-12 Network announced that Walton would return to full-time broadcasting as a game analyst for Pac-12 conference basketball coverage.
- While broadcasting a Washington-Oregon January 2019 game with Dave Pasch, He mentioned he had appeared in the motion picture Ghostbusters.
- He has his satellite radio show, One More Saturday Night, heard on Sirius Radio’s Jam On and XM Radio’s Grateful Dead channel.
Who is Bill Walton married to?
Reflecting on his personal life, Walton is married to his longtime girlfriend, Lori Matsuoka. She is a blogger and writes in BdaKiNE.com. The couple tied the knot in the year 1990. They do not have any children yet.
Similarly, He was previously married to Susan Guth in 1979. They welcomed four sons and maned them as Adam, Chris, Nathan, and Luke. All of them became athletes but Luke had the most success with the game as he is the only to have played in the NBA. However, after ten years of their marital relationship, i.e., in 1989, the couple separated.
How much is Bill Walton’s worth?
Being a retired professional basketball player and television sportscaster, Walton earns the sum of a good amount of money and fame through his profession in the field of the sports industry. Based on some online reports, his estimated net worth said to be $20 million at present. However, his salary is yet to be disclosed.
How tall is Bill Walton?
Observing his body statistics, Walton stands a height of 6 feet 11 inches and weighs around 95 kg. Similarly, He has dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Further, his other body information is yet to be disclosed.
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