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Basketball legend Bill Walton has passed away. The National Basketball Association announced on May 27 that he was fighting a long-term battle with cancer.
Walton, 71, played center for UCLA, where he won two NCAA titles, then played in the NBA, winning two championships each with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics. He was the NBA MVP for the 1977-78 season and was named one of the top 50 players in sports in 1997. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
“Bill Walton was truly one of a kind,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “As a Hall of Fame player, he redefined the center position. His unique all-around skills made him a dominant force at UCLA and led to NBA regular season and Finals MVP awards, two NBA championships and a spot on the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary Teams.”
After retiring from basketball, he began his career in sports broadcasting in 1990. As a basketball announcer and analyst, he covered college and NBA games, as well as NBA Los Angeles Clippers games for stations such as ESPN, CBS and NBC.
His sports commentary was entertaining and colorful. I devoured the cupcakes. He would still light candles on live television, and he often appeared on air wearing Grateful Dead T-shirts or other colorful clothing.
Martin Jarmond, UCLA’s Alice and Nahum Reiner Family Dean of Athletics, said in a statement that Walton “embodied many of the ideals our university holds dear.”
“He loved being back on UCLA’s campus, doing live game commentary at Pauley Pavilion and being with the team,” Jarmond said. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and we take comfort in knowing that Bill brought his best touch to his job every day.”