Basketball Hall of Famer and broadcasting icon Bill Walton died Monday after a long battle with cancer, the NBA announced. He was 71.
Walton played for 14 years in the NBA, and his list of accomplishments as a college and professional player is hard to match. He was a two-time national champion at UCLA, where he won three straight national college player of the year awards and earned three consensus first-team All-American nods from 1972-74.
After the Portland Trail Blazers selected Walton first overall in the 1974 NBA Draft, he won a title with them in 1977 and was named Finals MVP. He also won another title in 1986 with the Boston Celtics.
Walton’s playing career is only a part of the impact he had on the game of basketball and the world of sports. After it ended, the Hall of Fame player began an illustrious career as a sports broadcaster. Starting in 1990 and over the next 30 years, Walton became known for his use of catchphrases, seemingly unrelated tangents and relentless excitement while calling games.
These are some of his best moments from that broadcasting career.