Bill Walton could have been the greatest player of all time. Unfortunately injuries took a toll on him.I my opinion 1978 Trailblazers were a better team.
Just what an all-around performance. Nothing like a center in basketball who can shoot from the outside, find other teammates with precise passes from the high-post and protect his own rim with blocks. Those passes to cutters at the start of the video are pure basketball beauty.
For sure...At the end of his career Vlade Divic did the same thing for the Kings, of course Webber was a great passer too from the 4 spot...Anyway Walton was great, it helped though that McGinnis shot a brick on that last shot though
This was what Basketball used to be. A most Beautiful Sport. There wasn't any of this BS Euro Step or Palming or Carrying of the Ball. No Double Dribble. The Refs called 3 Second violations and Traveling. No Preening or Chest thumping after making a great play. Look no further than the Great Dr. J. Nothing but Pure Class after Dunking on Walton. He didn't look around the arena as if to say, Hey, see what I did? And Portland. Playing the ultimate Team Game. None of this One on One crap. I miss this kind of game. Where guys were 2 Way players. IMO Basketball today is a Joke. I hate it. No respect on the court. Me Me Me out there. And all this Garbage about James being the GOAT. What nonsense. Watch Chamberlain or Robertson highlights from the 60s. I'd like to see James drive the lane against Jerry Sloan and Norm Van Lier. Those 2 would've put the "King" on his Ass.Or Shaq go up against the Dipper. Wilt would've Destroyed Shaq. Anyway, that's My Humble Opinion.
@@ne5863 It's quite obvious you never watched Bulls basketball in the Late 60s, Early to Mid 70s so I'll just leave it at that. Sloan and Van Lier didn't give a shit who the player was. Those Dudes played Defense.
@@ne5863 Not Me. I'll take a 4 Time All NBA Defensive 1st Team and a 2 Time All NBA Defensive 2nd Team Player any day. In addition to that, Sloan scored 1000 more pts. and had 3000 more rebounds than Hinrich in 2 fewer seasons played. The Great Jerry West once said, "Going Through Sloan and Van Lier Was Like Going Through Razor Blades."
Bill Walton : ncaa champion . Ncaa finals mvp . NBA season mvp . NBA Finals mvp . NBA champion . He ´s got every possible trophy in basket-ball . Just like Hakeem Olajuwon, Magic Johnson , Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain.
@@tstocker6926 i think his High school career had him 72-0 i know he didnt lose in HS. Didnt lose a game for 51/2 years. Being a Notre Dame fan seeing them break streak was unreal. The kast lose UCLA had was to Irish 3 years before. Austin Carr had 46 points. Digger Phelps was in his 3rd year as coach. Had kids that he recruited and had them not to be in awe of UCLA. Shumate was the first of many New Jersey kids Phelps recruited. Also had a freshman from DeMatha in DC. Adrian Dantley. It was only going to be televised as a regional game but Digger sold NBC on making it national. He did that by insisting Dick Enberg called game. Enberg was play by play guy for UCLA and he even was suprised at Phelps . Digger knew that with him calling game it would give irish credability and boost College game ratings which had fallen cause UCLA domanince. It worked.
That's exactly what if was. And the media expected the Sixers to win? Not the way the game was played by the "superior team." As opposed to a collection of talent.
Amazing day in Portland history. Walton and Co. were a beautiful team to watch. The 76ers almost put this one into overtime and that would have been a scary thing for Blazers fans. Unfortunately, the Kemper Open was up next and CBS was in a hurry to leave the scene. The uncomfortable lasting memory of a solemn Robin Jones walking with full camera on him from 6:25 to 6:34 was the extent of the locker room coverage from CBS. Rip City, anyway!
I WILL NEVER FORGET THIS GAME!!! I WAS 9yrs old and saw the full game in it's entirety. The Doc and George McGinnis you saw in this game is pretty much what they were like every night in the ABA.
Walton was excellent on the 1986 Celtics. I believe he was the reason they ended up champions that year. But I see that he was no where near the dominant force he was in 1977. When healthy, the greatest center of all time.
1:24 4:18 Julius Erving in transition was something else man ... there aren't 5 players in the league today who can make both of those plays: taking off that far away on the 1st and then dribbling through the whole team to jam on the best shot blocker in the league for the 2nd. Just crazy talent, Dr. J was awesome! Also RIP Bill Walton, the best player on the floor that night.
learn some nba history or check the stats,stats dont lie Bill averaged 5 assists per game and Wilt 4.5 for their career. Walton had 3.4 stats dont lie .
The reason he averaged less assists is the man was hurt so often and didn't average the mins per game others' did. Not just the games he missed, the way injuries limited his minutes, too.
Nah way he is better then shaq at best bill when healthy is a David Robinson level player but if he was healthy for his career he would be a top 10 Center
I'll bet the lone no vote must be someone from Philly. Jack Ramsey's "team ball" concept overwhelmed a group of talented individuals who couldn't win after the first 2 games. Crocodile tears, baby.
6:26 Who's that dejected Portland player walking to the locker room? His team just won the title! And then that's followed by coach Jack Ramsay praising Bill Walton who for one of the very few times in his life is just speechless, lol. What a great player when he as healthy, and what a great team the Trailblazers were. Would have repeated in 1978 (they started season 50-10) if they had kept healthy.
+LamarMatic Robin Jones is correct. He was ineffective and they used Lloyd Neal the entire series. He ended up getting cut the next year and they replaced him with Tom Owens. He later stated he was upset with the blazer brass and thought he was never given a fair chance from Jack Ramsay. He left very bitter after being cut. The Blazers have an alumni roster where they keep track of all the players who have ever worn a jersey and played in a game on the Blazers. I've read it a few times and it shows players who have passed away, moved overseas, where they work, etc. I would say 99.5 of all the players-they have an update from them. But Robin Jones is always listed as "lost contact", and that six second clip at 7:00 says it all. He just won an NBA championship ring that only 15 people a year get, and the guy looks like he just got off a bus. It's not his fault that this was Waltons best season and he played like a future HOF
Tom Johnson Dawkins was an incredible athlete, but only a fair or slightly better than average NBA center. He had no lateral ability, but was the best dunker I've ever seen in traffic. DR. J was amazing, but he sure didn't have Walton's perfect basketball I.Q. and fundamentals.
NBA basketball in the late 70's was a struggle league wide. Living in the NW, the Blazers and Sonics brought so much joy. A perfect time to be a kid, enjoying it all.
I remember getting Sport magazine with Walton on the cover as he led Portland toward the championship. I can still picture the cover in my head. It’s a shame that he never was able to have a full career because of the injuries, but when he was in his prime and able to play, he was the most complete big man I ever saw.
I have always thought that Bill Walton was a top five center all time. His defense was top tier. He could score on anyone. Completely unselfish and a great passer. So I look t him the way I looked at Gale Sayers, great player that got hurt and although he was limited because of his injuries, he was still one of the greatest.
He often did. He took care of the boards, moved the ball, protected the rim with the best of them. Good, not great scorer, but everything else was top notch.
Stats aren't everything. Intangibles are really important in basketball and often cannot be quantified. Sport, from a spiritual standpoint, is also qualitative.
i wish my BULLS would`ve beat the BLAZERS in that 3 gm set that yr. i`m an ERVING guy so i`m picking 76ers winning this one in 5 games!!! now i was 13 when this finals played.with that sixer squad? then i find out yrs later DR JACK was an assistant on the PHILLY `67 CHAMPIONSHIP squad 10yrs earlier!!! WALTON? great college player,not a great pro!! `78 season Walton breaks down & was never good again.rides Bird`s tail in`86 for a ring while Larry`s the man then fades to oblivion!!!