William Theodore Walton, III (Bill) was born on November 5th, 1952, in San Diego, California.
He was introduced to the game of basketball while in the fourth grade at Blessed Sacrament Elementary School by Coach Frank "Rocky" Graciano. After a successful high school basketball career, Walton enrolled at UCLA in 1970 where he played center for John Wooden's Varsity team for three seasons (1972-1974) after a year with the freshman team. He was a member of two NCAA championship teams compiling an NCAA record 88 consecutive-game winning streak. 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's professional career began when he was the number one overall pick in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. He played with the Trailblazers from 1974-1979, winning the league title in 1977. He then went on to play for the San Diego Clippers from 1979-1984, the relocated Los Angeles Clippers in 1985, and then the Boston Celtics from 1985-1988, where he captured another league title in 1986.
Additional honors include: NBA's Most Valuable Player, 1978; all-NBA First Team, 1978; NBA All-Star Team, 1977 and 1978; NBA Playoff MVP, 1977; all-NBA second team, 1977, and winner of the NBA Sixth Man Award, 1986. 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.
Walton remains active in basketball through clinics, camps, coaching, and television commentary. He began his broadcasting career in 1990 as an analyst for the then Prime Ticket Network, moved to CBS Sports in the early 90's, and has since worked for NBC for many years. He is also a regular contributor to ESPN.com, NBA.com, ESPN The Magazine, and ESPN Radio, and has been the lead subject of his own reality TV show: Bill Walton's Long Strange Trip, a dramatic saga that still gets air time.
Walton was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1993. For his broadcasting work, he has been nominated for several Emmy awards and in 2001 won an Emmy for best live sports television broadcast. In 1997 Walton was selected as one of the NBA's fifty greatest players of all time and was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame, making him the first male basketball player honoree from the state of California.
In 1979 Walton received an Emmy for his work on an environmental documentary filmed on location in the Philippines. He has also had roles in feature films such as: Little Nicky, He's Got Game, Forget Paris, Celtic Pride and Ghostbusters.
In 2007 Walton was named one of the top 10 pundits in America by Forbes magazine and in 2009 was named one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time by the American Sportscasters Association.
Walton and his third son Luke are only the third father/son pairing to have ever won NBA Championships. They are also the only father/son combination in history to have each won multiple NBA Championships.
Walton currently resides in his hometown of San Diego with his wife Lori. They are the proud parents of four sons: Adam, Nathan, Luke and Chris.
Bill Walton, NBA legend, is available through IMG Speakers bureau for speaking engagements. Bill Walton is also available for corporate hospitality appearances, meet and greets, and much more. Please contact IMG Speakers at 212-774-6735 or speakers@imgworld.com for more information on booking Bill Walton.
