"Yeah, I found that out once I bought my first suit," the 6-foot-5 McMillan, a 12-year pro now coaching the Pacers, said with a chuckle, realizing his arms stretched more than 3 feet each. He led the league in both rebounding and blocked shots, averaging 14.4 and 3.25, respectively. If somebodys short, hopefully theyre quick. The wingspan sure helps a lot of people, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said . He was disruptive as hell, registering a block on more than 5 percent of his opponents 2-point tries and logging a steal on more than 2 percent of their offensive possessions; only six other players who have played at least 5,000 career minutes have done both. (Nearly.) Portland fell to the bottom of the Pacific Division in 1975-76, though Walton started to come into his own, scoring 16.1 ppg, pulling down 13.4 rpg and demonstrating excellent passing skills from the low- or high-post in 51 contests. When he was healthy, Walton had few peers. You guessed it: The one who turned the 1984 draft into prom night. Coaches marvel at players with long arms, figuring they will more easily grab rebounds, block shots, steal passes and shoot over defenders. Position C/PF. And theyre able to get their hands on balls or shots or loose balls. This would still play: At 7-foot-1 with a reported 7-foot-8 wingspan and 9-foot-6 standing reach, having starred at both 250 pounds as a lithe rookie and a muscular 300-plus pounds during his latter years with the Lakers, Chamberlain had more than enough size, length, and strength to challenge even the burliest modern bigs. Basketball was a sport where under optimal conditions a great player with considerable ego disciplined himself and became unselfish. (Walton had his share of ego too. Praise came quickly. Youre able to deflect the pass or block shots.. 1 to play a stretch-5 against him to try to draw him out of the middle and keep him from walling off the paint, or run dozens of pick-and-rolls aimed at getting him switched onto guards and forcing him to defend in space. (Walton had played drums with the Dead at a show in Egypt, and he sometimes took teammates to shows and brought band members to team practices.). Washington Bullets, with his ability to grab rebounds and find open outlets under the floor, or the non-selfish ways of Bill Walton when playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. He stayed in shape by playing beach volleyball and tennis and by cycling sometimes with Grateful Dead drummer and close friend Mickey Hart. Paolo Banchero leads the way as the Kia Rookie of the Year chase begins to head for the finish line. Weve seen him block guys at the rim and also get his hands on some basketballs off the dribble.. Bill Walton III. Its possible. Glass Onion Brought Knives Out to the Next Level. Happy Birthday Bill Walton: An Ode to the Tallest Deadhead. In recent seasons, Warriors high-scoring All-Star Kevin Durant has become more determined to use his 7-5 wingspan to make more of an impact on defense. Im not as fast laterally, Im not as athletic, Im not as quick as guys up and down but I think I make up for it with my length, said Durant, a defensive player of the year candidate. Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey also react to the announcement that the fourth season of HBOs Succession will be the final one, Justin and Micah return to discuss some of the things theyve caught up with over the past few weeks, including You, Tr, and Hogwarts Legacy, Jason also discusses Brandon Miller and Alabama NFL draft prospects with Charlie Potter, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Time Machine All-Stars: Five Centers Who Would Have Dominated 2020. And he was cocky, even to the Trail Blazers coaching staff. Plus, a Salt Lake City Recap. A half-century ago, Pink Floyd unleashed a classic that still lingers on the Billboard charts and in college dorms to this day. But several NBA players pop off the chart because of their long arms. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? He acquired Walton by sending popular forward Cedric Maxwell to the Clippers along with a first-round draft pick. He didnt often hear the term wingspan, finally understanding how special his measurement is when he got to the NBA. After the playoffs Walton demanded to be traded and accused Portland management with providing him poor medical treatment. Im a different person now than I was when I came into the NBA, he said in an interview with Sport magazine. Portland rose from fifth to second place in the Pacific Division and stunned the league by gliding past the talent-rich Denver Nuggets in six games, and sweeping the Abdul-Jabbar-led Los Angeles Lakers to reach the Finals. The Trail Blazers lost the series in six games and the services of Walton forever. During the season he was hampered only by a broken nose, the 13th of his 13-year career. But a version of Perkins who starts spreading his wings a bit earlier, when he still had the athleticism to be a problem on the offensive glass and explode for tip dunks, and even the quickness to be a threat running off of pindown screens for catch-and-shoot looks, might have been more than a role playerand maybe even quite a bit more. One of the benefits is his ability to corral and slam home lob passes that are high and might be off target. You look at size of hands, wingspans. So, before you say, Shaq cant play in this era today, Im already playing. Wellat the risk of disrespecting a stand-up dude for the second time in the space of one columnlets ask David Robinson, against whom Sabonis held his own when the Soviet Union nearly knocked off Team USA in the gold-medal game of the 1986 FIBA World Championship, and when the USSR did defeat the Americans in the semifinals of the 1988 Summer Olympics (despite Sabonis playing shortly after recovering from his first Achilles rupture): Legendary big-man coach and talent evaluator Pete Newell told Sam Toperoff of The Atlantic Monthly in 1986 that he thought Sabonis could conceivably become the greatest player in the game and he would have taken the Lithuanian over Patrick Ewing in the 1985 draft if he had played for an American team. Its much more important than your height, Kerr said. It is as if Agony and Ecstasy are Bill's Scylla and Charybdys, with his 7'+ wingspan wide enough to touch both simultaneously. He won the NBA Most Valuable Player award while playing for the defending NBA champion Trail Blazers in 1977-78. Thats kind of a rule of thumb. Wingspan is one detail Warriors coach Steve Kerr takes seriously and might consider when deciding on lineups and rotations for the defending champions. His career averages were 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 468 regular season games. The Walton-led Blazers rampaged through their first 60 games with a 50-10 record. maybe one of the few cases of someone being around that 7ft mark and just saying 6ft 11. With the arrival of Ramsay from the Buffalo Braves, the Blazers built a precision offense around playmaker Lionel Hollins and the awesome frontcourt of Walton and intimidating Maurice Lucas. In The Breaks of the Gamean all-time great sports book not about the triumphs of the 1976-77 Trail Blazers team that Walton led to a championship, but rather about how things fell apart, for Walton and for the organizationthe great David Halberstam described a truly great basketball player as not necessarily someone who scored a lot of points; a truly great basketball player is someone of exceptional talent and self-discipline who could make his teammates better. The Sixth Man award almost always goes to the NBAs highest-scoring bench player. Browsing: bill walton wingspan How Tall Is Bill Walton? Off the floor I worried. Im not as fast laterally, Im not as athletic, Im not as quick as guys up and down but I think I make up for it with my length, said Durant, a defensive player of the year candidate. Yet each visit he made, among the first things measured was his wingspan, 7-6. I was born tall, he said. But when you have the great game of basketball with all the ultimate winners of the genetic lottery its not how high you jump, its where you are and when you jump.. That is not the case for young players. "A wingspan always helps people, whether it's blocking shots or deflections on defense.". Durant, the reigning NBA Finals MVP , is quick to point out that his length allows him to make up for other areas, including being far leaner than most NBA players. Jones keyed several championship runs in Boston, both as one of its players and later as its coach. I am not even joking; he did this during a Michigan State vs. North Carolina basketball game back in 2017. Walton received a minute-long standing ovation from the Boston Garden crowd after walking onto the parquet floor at his first exhibition game. Wingspan is one detail Warriors coach Steve Kerr takes seriously and might consider when deciding on lineups and rotations for the defending champions. Outside of a select few scorers who still get a bunch of low-block touches, like Joel Embiid or LaMarcus Aldridge, post-ups these days are more often a vehicle for creating catch-and-shoot 3s, or a way to attack mismatches when defenses switch themselves into a mouse in the house situation, than a main feature of an attack. Yet each visit he made, among the first things measured was his wingspan, 7-6. . Bill Walton. After years of trying and failing to conquer his free throw shooting demons, Chamberlain found success with underhand, granny-style shootinghe went 28-for-32 from the line that way in his 100-point gameonly to give it up because he felt like a sissy. He wanted to be cool, tall, vulnerable, and luscious, and he couldnt hide it. At one time, they were long enough, and I can still put my own shoes and socks on, he quipped. Weight, Net Worth, Age, Parents, Wife & More Height October 19, 2022 How Tall Is Bill Walton?- Bill Walton is an American sportscaster and former professional retired basketball player. The irony was not lost on many in the media, who 15 years earlier had grown to dislike the ornery version of the man who was now their compatriot. Walton is in the Hall of Fame, but he never had his arms measured end to end. In the midst of those broadcasting days, Walton was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. Later, he admitted much of his aloofness or unwillingness to talk was due to a speech impediment, which he would later receive successful therapy for. In an ESPN feature published earlier this year about the evolution of NBA big men, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said that if his notorious envelope-pushing team had ONeal on the roster, I would give him the ball 1,000 times, is my guess. Once he got it, keeping him from getting to the rimand from putting his man inside itwould be an awfully tall order, and would likely result in even more trips to the line for someone who averaged nearly 10 attempts per 36 minutes for his career. Portland won 11 more games in 1974-75 than in the previous year but failed to live up to its potential, largely because of Waltons health troubles. Barton joins the Raptors after he was waived by the Wizards on Feb. 21. His foot deadened by a painkilling injection, Walton attempted a comeback in the playoffs against the Seattle SuperSonics. For one: Decades before Shut up and dribble became a sociopolitical flashpoint, Walton was telling The New York Times In this society, they dont expect an athlete to speak for himself or to be able to lead his own life. He has been going with a center by committee based on matchups. (Walton later sued the team; the case was settled out of court.). Walton, 29 years old, returned to the court for the 1982-83 season, playing about one game a week as many as his doctor would permit. But when you have the great game of basketball with all the ultimate winners of the genetic lottery its not how high you jump, its where you are and when you jump.. I think its something that makes a big difference, especially defensively, he said. People followed him on Twitter. In terms of his style of play, he was a rich man's Marc Gasol. In todays NBA, the best offenses weaponize the threat of the 3-point shot to spread the floor; the best defenses scheme ways for long, smart ber-athletes to erase that space; and the best players tilt that spatial battle in their teams favor. If your wingspan is more than your height, thats kind of abnormal. 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