Categories: Celebrity Speakers | Leadership | Motivation | Sports | Teamwork | NBA Basketball
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Bill Walton is a historical basketball legend. He was the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 1978 and is an outstanding sports broadcaster and public speaker.
Following a celebrated college basketball career, Bill Walton was the NBA’s Most Valuable Player, 1978; All-NBA First Team, 1978; NBA All-Star Team, 1977 and 1978; NBA Playoff’s MVP, 1977; All-NBA second team, 1977; winner of the NBA Sixth Man Award, 1986 and went on to have a Hall of Fame NBA career. After basketball, Walton pursued his dream job as a sports broadcaster. In 2001 he won an Emmy for Best Live Sports Television Broadcast and in 2009 he was named one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time by the American Sportscasters Association.
Bill Walton enrolled at UCLA in 1970. He played center for John Wooden’s varsity team for three seasons (1972-1974), after a year with the freshman team in 1971. He was a member of two NCAA championship teams compiling an NCAA record 88 consecutive game winning streak.
From 1972 to 1974, Bill Walton scored the NCAA Player of the Year Award. He is a three-time All-American College Player and winner of the Sullivan Award for the United States Best Amateur Athlete of 1973. He was named to the Pacific 8 All-Conference first team three times and was conference player of the year for three consecutive years. At UCLA, Walton was a scholar-athlete who also earned Academic All-American honors three years in a row. He graduated with honors with a B.A. in history. Walton also attended Stanford University Graduate School of Law in the early 1980s.
Bill Walton’s professional career began when he was the number one overall pick in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. He was a member of their championship team in 1977, and nine years later he earned another championship title, this time with the Boston Celtics in 1986. He played with the Trailblazers 1974-1979, the San Diego Clippers 1979-1984, the relocated Los Angeles Clippers in 1985, and The Boston Celtics 1985-1988.
Bill Walton is one of only four players in the history of basketball to have won multiple NCAA and multiple NBA Championships. Walton is also the second of only five players in the history of the NBA to lead the league in both blocked shots and rebounding in the same season. In 1991 Walton received the NBPA’s Oscar Robertson Leadership Award and in 1993 he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1997 Walton was selected as one of the NBA’s Fifty Greatest Players of All Time. Also, in 1997 Walton was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame, making him the first male basketball player from the state of California to be so honored.
After retiring from basketball, Bill Walton began his sports broadcasting career in 1990 as an analyst for the then Prime Ticket Network. Walton worked for CBS Sports in the early 90s and then for NBC for many years, including work on the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney Summer Olympic Games. Over his career, he has also done broadcasting work for ABC, ESPN, FOX, MSNBC, Turner Sports, KCAL, NESA and the NBA. Walton has been nominated for numerous Emmy Awards and in 2001 won an Emmy for Best Live Sports Television Broadcast. The southern California Sports Broadcasters Association has several times honored Walton with the Best Television Analyst/Commentator Award. In 2009, Walton was named one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time by the American Sportscasters Association.
Bill Walton is active with many organizations and charities. For his efforts, in 2002 he received the NBA Retired Players Association Humanitarian Award.
