Bill Walton Was the Nikola Jokic of the 80s? NBA Insider Weighs In With Shocking Kareem Abdul Jabbar Claim

NBA icon Bill Walton’s death on Tuesday left the NBA community mourning over one of the great legends of basketball after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Walton held accolades like the Hall of Fame and was a former NBA MVP, who then cast his career on the path of broadcasting. The 71-year-old died from Cancer, as announced by the league. Being a legend of the court, Walton’s demise resulted in mourning by bigwigs from the basketball community. However, when everyone was grieving such a big loss, sports media personality Colin Cowherd remembered the greatness of Walton on his YouTube show, ‘The Colin Cowherd Podcast.’

While remembering different memories of the late Walton, Cowherd made a bold statement, “He[Bill Walton] was pre-Jokic. That’s what he really played like.” Cowherd was talking of Walton’s amazing career as a center first at UCLA and then at the NBA. Even playing in an era quite before Jokic, Bill’s stats were second to only NBA legend Kareem-Abdul Jabbar. Though injuries obstructed his first three years in the NBA, Bill never gave up and earned a championship for the Portland Trail Blazers in 1977. Just like Jokic, he had a big impact on games yet could only average 13.3 points and 10.5 rebounds in those games.

Injuries were the main haunting feature of Walton’s poor stats during his NBA career. Even Cowhered admitted in his podcast as he claimed, “If Walton did not have injuries, I think…he would be in the debate for the second-best center to Kareem of all time. He wouldn’t have been the scorer of Kareem.” Consistent with facts, Colin only praised Walton’s abilities as a center because he further made a reference that Walton was a consensus three-time Player of the Year in college basketball. However, it was not on the All-American level. Yet, it was a big feat considering Walton’s history.

More than a basketballer, Bill Walton was a legendary broadcaster

Walton was one of the pioneers of redefining the center position for basketball players. His unique all-around skills and enthusiasm were introduced to the audience when he entered the broadcasting industry. His entertaining insights and commentary made him so popular that basketball fans became crazy about his exaggerated on-court reactions. As an NBA analyst, Walton debuted with ESPN and NBC in 2002. However, later he shifted to college basketball in the year 2012.

But Walton was destined to emerge exceptional, whatever place it was. In 2009, he was named one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all time by the American Sportscasters Association. Moreover, he also did commentary for other prestigious channels like NBC and CBS. It was Walton’s “on-air tangents” that used to charm people and get in love with his lively nature. As a person who initially used to stutter sometimes in his life, it was unbelievable how Walton journeyed as a broadcaster and won an Emmy Award for it.

Even Adam Silver could not fathom the loss of such a multi-faceted person. “Bill Walton was truly one of a kind, ” the NBA Commissioner commented on the HOFer’s death. Maybe Walton could not match what Kareem achieved in his life, but the former juiced the best from his life. Hope he is at peace now wherever he is. Let us know about your favorite memory from his life or games. After that, make sure to watch what Shaq’s agent, Leonard Armato, said about the marketing genius of the Big Man.