Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA Draft: 30 greatest No. 1 overall picks in league history

By Josh Cornelissen

25 Jun 1997: Center Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs speaks with a reporter during the NBA Draft at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /Allsport
25 Jun 1997: Center Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs speaks with a reporter during the NBA Draft at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mandatory Credit: Craig Jones /Allsport /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
18 of 31
Next
Bill Walton
Bill Walton (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

NBA Draft: 30 greatest No. 1 overall picks in league history: 14. Bill Walton

A part of one of the greatest college basketball dynasties of all time under John Wooden at UCLA, center Bill Walton entered the NBA with two NCAA titles already under his belt. From that point, Walton’s dominance as a scorer, passer and rim protector were setting the table for one of the greatest careers in NBA history.

Unfortunately for Walton and basketball fans, injuries struck again and again to deny him that chance. Walton was in the league from 1974-75 to 1987-88, a total of 14 seasons and a maximum possibility of 1,148 games. Due to back, knee and especially foot injuries he played in just 468 games in his career, or 40.7 percent of the available games. He missed four entire seasons due to injury, and played 14 or fewer games in another two.

When he did play, however, Walton was every bit the transcendent talent he looked to be upon entering the league. Taken first overall in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, Walton raised that team nearly overnight into a contender. By the 1976-77 season the Blazers made a run to the NBA Finals and won the title, with Walton taking home the Finals MVP award. The following season he won the MVP despite appearing in just 58 games.

The middle of Walton’s career is marked by missed seasons as he joined his hometown San Diego Clippers team but was unable to reach the court enough to make a lasting impact. The Clippers traded him to the Boston Celtics in 1985 after he played in just 102 games across five seasons. In Boston he filled in as the team’s Sixth Man behind Robert Parrish and Kevin McHale, winning Sixth Man of the Year in 1985-86, the same year Walton won his second title with the Celtics.

By the end of his career Walton had accrued one of the more interesting collections of awards and honors. He was just a two-time All-Star, but also had two All-NBA nods, two All-Defense team selections, a Sixth Man of the Year award, a Finals MVP and a league MVP. Walton’s affable nature and quirky sense of humor are still a fixture in basketball thanks to his announcing career, and it’s good to know an injury-plagued career didn’t keep his spirits down.