page_title: Bill Walton
section_title: Junior (1972–1973)
hierarchical_section_title: Bill Walton / College career (1970–1974) / Junior (1972–1973)
caption_attribution_description: English: 1972–73 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team team photo after 1973 NCAA Championship
context_page_description: William Theodore Walton III is an American former basketball player who is a television sportscaster.
  Walton played for John Wooden and the UCLA Bruins, winning three successive National college player of the year awards, while leading UCLA to NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973 and an 88-game winning streak. After being selected as the first overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft, Walton led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Championship in 1977, earning the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award that season. Walton won another NBA title, playing with the Boston Celtics in 1986. Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993.
  His early career in the National Basketball Association was very successful, winning the 1978 NBA Most Valuable Player and an NBA championship with the Portland Trail Blazers, for which he was also named Finals MVP. However, his professional career began to be significantly hampered by multiple foot injuries requiring numerous surgeries. Walton sat out the 1978–79 season and was then signed by the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers, for whom he played four injury-plagued seasons.
context_section_description: UCLA again finished 30–0 overall and 14–0 in the Pac 8 conference in 1972–73. The Bruins averaged winning by over 20 points, averaging 81.3 points to their opponents' 60.1.
  In the 25-team 1973 NCAA Tournament, UCLA defeated Arizona State 98–81 and then San Francisco in the West Regional Final 54–39 to reach the Final Four. Walton had 28 points and 14 rebounds against Arizona State, on 13 of 18 shooting, and 9 points and 14 rebounds against San Francisco, taking only 7 shots.
  In the 1973 Final Four, the Bruins Won the National Semifinal 70–59 over Indiana and Coach Bob Knight. Walton had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists against Indiana.
caption: 1973 UCLA yearbook, Southern Campus. 1973 UCLA basketball NCAA champions, Walton in back middle.
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