Although the two were never teammates, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton were linked for much of their lives.
The two men, both centers, achieved national stardom at UCLA, where they helped sustain the Bruins’ basketball dynasty in the 1960s and 1970s. From there, they were first overall NBA draft picks who went on to win multiple titles. at the professional level and were enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
On Monday, Walton died at age 71 after a long fight with cancer. Hours after the news of Walton’s death was announced by the NBA on behalf of Walton’s family, Abdul-Jabbar paid tribute for your friend and fellow basketball legend.
REQUIRED READING: Bill Walton College: UCLA Center Hall of Fame Stats, Highlights and Career Records
“My very close friend, fellow Bruin and NBA rival Bill Walton died today. And the world feels so much heavier now,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote in a statement posted Monday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “On the court, Bill was a fierce player, but off the court he wasn’t happy unless he did everything he could to make everyone around him happy. He was the best of us.”
The post included a photo of the two side by side, with their arms crossed.
Abdul-Jabbar is among the many on Monday – including Julius Erving — who paid tribute to Walton as a gentle, gregarious soul whose exploits on the court were matched by his likability off it.
Abdul-Jabbar and Walton, however, had a deeper bond than most. They combined to win five NCAA championships at UCLA, with the former responsible for three. Although both played for coach John Wooden, they never played together for the Bruins, as Abdul-Jabbar graduated in 1969, about a year before Walton arrived at the school’s Westwood campus.
They are universally considered two of the greatest college basketball players of all time.
REQUIRED READING: Social media reacts to news of Bill Walton’s passing: “One of a kind. Rest in peace.”
Once Walton’s NBA career began in 1974 – and he, like Abdul-Jabbar, established himself as one of the league’s best big players – the two faced each other regularly.
They met in the 1977 Western Conference Finals, with Walton’s Portland Trail Blazers beating Abdul-Jabbar’s Los Angeles Lakers on their way to the NBA title. They would meet again in the playoffs, this time in the 1987 NBA Finals, with Walton playing for the Boston Celtics. Walton and the Celtics won the 1986 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets before Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers defeated them the following year.
Away from basketball, Walton was mentioned by Abdul-Jabbar in the 1980 film “Airplane,” when Abdul-Jabbar, playing himself, told a questioning young fan, “Tell your old man to drag Walton and (Bob) Lanier to the court for 48 minutes. minutes.”
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pays tribute to Bill Walton in moving statement
