The 50 greatest players in NBA history, ranked by win shares
By Cal Durrett
Greatest NBA Player #50: Chet Walker-117.35
Seven-time all-star and Hall of Famer Chet Walker sneaks in at #50 on this list. Walker split his 13-season career between the Syracuse/Philadelphia 76ers and Chicago Bulls, where he was an integral part of several great teams. While never a team’s primary scoring option, he was a heck of a second or third option.
In Philadelphia, Walker was a big part of a super-team of sorts that also featured several Hall of Famers, including Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, and Wilt Chamberlain. That core was a force to be reckoned with, particularly during the 1966–67 season when the Sixers took the NBA by storm. They set an NBA record with 68 wins, which has since been surpassed, and upset the 8-peat champion Boston Celtics.
With Walker’s help, the 76ers toppled the Celtics, giving Bill Russell just one of his two NBA Finals losses. After Chamberlain was traded, Walker was later moved to the Bulls, where he was a key player on four straight 50-win teams.
Although his career stats don’t immediately jump out, he still managed to score more than 18,000 points and was an above-average rebounder for a wing. He was also an effective shooter, with his 54% career true-shooting percentage being more in line with wings now than ones back in the 1960s and early 1970s.