Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said goodbye to his long time friend Bill Walton after the basketball legend’s death Monday.
The two shared their love of UCLA basketball and were fierce rivals on the NBA court. Two legends battling it out was quite the sight for basketball fans.
The Hall of Famer wrote a thoughtful tribute to Walton after his passing.
“My very close friend, fellow Bruin, and NBA rival Bill Walton died today,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote on Twitter. “And the world feels so much heavier now. 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 former UCLA star and 1974 No. 1 overall draft pick won a pair of NBA championships during his playing career — in 1977 as the centerpiece of the Trail Blazers, and in 1986 as the sixth man for one of the great Celtics teams. Plus, he also won the 1978 MVP.
Unfortunately, he battled injuries throughout his career, resulting in more than 30 surgeries mostly on his ankles and feet. Such setbacks ultimately kept him from remaining in his late-70s form for very long, but at his peak, Walton was the very best player in the NBA for a brief moment.
At UCLA, Walton was also the best player for a time and won three consecutive National Player of the Year awards while also leading the Bruins to back-to-back national titles. He was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player after both seasons.
Bill Walton played in the NBA from 1974-1988, ending his career with the Boston Celtics after he had helped them win the title in ’86. After ’88, though, he was forced to retire from basketball due to his overwhelming number of injury issues.
Despite a career marred by health problems, Walton is still on the NBA’s list of their 50 greatest players. Few players have ever been as successful as Walton at both the college and professional level.
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