NoahAg said:
Stockton and Bird are definitely first teamers. Mullin and Love certainly in the rotation.
Walton was before my time.
A healthy Walton makes you reconsider the entire Top 5 elite centers of all time. He only managed 486 career games across 10 seasons and missed of his age 26, 28, 29 years hurt. Sort of the Joel Embiid of the 70s.
When he was healthy, he was all-League and led Portland to their title. His first 4 years in the league he averaged 12.6, 13.4, 14.4, and 13.2 rebounds.
In his third year, he averaged 18.6 points, 14.4 boards (led the league), 3.8 assists and 3.2 blocks (led the league) and was runner-up for MVP behind Kareem. But he missed 17 games.
In his fourth year he won MVP despite only playing 58 games. 18.9 points, 13.2 boards, 5 assists, 1 steal, 2.5 blocks per game. Averaged 18 and 15 plus 5.5 assists and 3.4 blocks in 19 playoff games and won Finals MVP.
Injuries destroyed him after that. He played 14 games total over the next 4 years. Got a second ring with the Celtics in 85/86 playing 80 games as their 6th man.
Had 37 orthopedic surgeries in his life.
Crazy fact from his high school days: Averaged 29 points and 25 rebounds a game as a senior and shot 78.3% from the field - a national record that still stands.
Crazy fact from his college days. Back then you played on the JV as a freshman. That team went 20-0. Then UCLA's varsity went 30-0 when was a soph and a junior. So he went into his senior years with an 80-0 record in college. Finally lost to Notre Dame in January 1974 after Walton had been involved in 94 straight wins.
