Trail Blazers News: Former Portland Finals MVP Bill Walton Passes Away Aged 71

The ex-Blazers superstar revolutionized the center position.

Nov 1977; unknown location, USA; Portland Trailblazers center (32) Bill Walton in action during the 1977 season. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports Copyright (c) Malcolm Emmons / Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Grateful Red has shuffled off his mortal coil.

Former Portland Trail Blazers MVP center Bill Walton has sadly passed away after a cancer battle, aged 71. Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report was first with the news.

The 6-foot-11 big man was a revolutionary force during his NBA tenure. Following a decorated run through John Wooden's UCLA program in college, during which he won consecutive titles in 1972 and '73 was thrice named the National College Player of the Year while losing just four times in his three seasons with the varsity, Walton was selected by the Blazers with the top pick in the 1974 draft, and quickly made his mark on the league.

Walton ascended to "Best Player Alive" status by the 1976-77 season, during which he finished second in league MVP voting and led Portland to its only league championship (for now, anyway). He was named MVP in 1978, despite being limited to just 58 contests due to a career-destabilizing foot injury. Walton missed the entire 1978-79 season with the ailment, and the next time fans saw him he was playing for his hometown San Diego Clippers in 1979-80.

But it cannot be understated how big an impact he had on Portland basketball. That 1977 team, coached by the legendary Jack Ramsey, went 49-33, then torched the Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Playoffs (the Bulls were in the West back then) before trouncing Julius Irving's Philadelphia 76ers in a six-game Finals encounter. During that subsequent MVP season (in which Portland was expected to repeat, prior to his injury), he averaged 18.9 points on 52.2 percent shooting from the floor, 13.2 rebounds, five assists, 25. blocks and a steal.

Walton wasn't just a great scorer, rebounder and defender — he was a stupendous passer for his position, perhaps the best prior to the arrival of three-time Denver Nuggets MVP center Nikola Jokic.

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