News! NBA superstar is dead! The first MVP+ best sixth man in history

Basketball Teaching Forum

2024-05-28 06:47Posted in Beijing Sports Creators

In the early morning of May 28, Beijing time, NBA official news that NBA celebrity and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member Bill Wharton passed away at the age of 71. The official statement of the league said: "Bill Wharton is unique. As a Hall of Famer, he redefined the center position. He is one of the 50 and 75 greats of all time......"

Bill Wharton is the greatest star in Trail Blazers history, probably not one of them. Portland is known as Rip City, a term coined in 1971 when the narrator blurted out "Rip City" as the Trail Blazers faced off against the mighty Lakers. In 1977, Wharton led the Trail Blazers to a championship, and fans shouted the slogan again during the championship celebration.

The Trail Blazers were founded in 1970 and have won only one championship in their 54-year history. Judging from the current rebuilding of the Trail Blazers, it is far away to win the championship again. Bill Wharton was born on November 5, 1952, is 2.11 meters tall and has an arm span of 2.21 meters. He is less than 2.20 meters tall, but Wharton has a very domineering nickname - the Red Giant!

Before entering the NBA, Wharton had already made a big splash in the NCAA. He spent four years at UCLA, where he was named "Most Outstanding Player in College" three years in a row and won two championships. In the 1973 NCAA finals, Wharton scored 44 points on 21-of-22 shooting, which is still the final scoring record. In his college career, he averaged 20.3 points, 15.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game!

Wharton's dominance and influence in the NCAA far exceeded his NBA career. He finished 86-4 at UCLA, the second-highest in NCAA history, behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's 88-2. If you were to rank the NCAA stars, Wharton could break into the top 10 all-time. Such an achievement in the NBA draft is undoubtedly the top pick.

In the 1974 NBA Draft, Wharton was selected by the Trail Blazers with the first pick in the first round. In his rookie season, Walton averaged 12.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, and in the second year of his career, he averaged 16.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. However, Wharton, who played only 86 regular-season games in two years, has been plagued by injuries and even injured his toe after being hit by a sprinkler.

In the third year of his career, in the 1976-77 season, Wharton played 65 regular season games, averaging 18.6 points, 14.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 3.2 blocks per game, and won the rebounding and blocking titles. In the 1977 Finals, Wharton averaged 18.5 points, 19 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.7 blocks per game, and eliminated the 76ers led by Dr. J 4-2 after losing two games first.

In 1977, Wharton won the MVP of the Finals, an award that can be said to be undisputed. But his next regular season MVP raised questions. In the 1977-78 season, Wharton played in only 58 regular season games, averaging 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5 assists and 2.5 blocks per game, making him the second-fewest regular season MVP in NBA history.

Over the next three seasons, Wharton played only 14 games and was completely reduced to a glass man. At his peak, he only stayed healthy for two years, won an MVP and an FMVP. Later in the 1985-86 season, Walton won the Sixth Man of the Year with the Celtics and the second championship of his career, and officially retired in the summer of 1987.

In the entire history of the NBA, only two people have won both the regular season MVP and the best sixth man, the first being Walton and the second being Harden, in reverse order. Throughout his NBA career, Wharton played 468 regular season games, averaging 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, and was elected as one of the top 50 superstars and 75 superstars in NBA history.

Bill Wharton became a commentator after retiring from the game, and his son is former Lakers championship member Luke Wharton. I don't know if you remember, Yao Ming's rookie season was ridiculed by many people, and Bill Wharton was the first NBA celebrity to stand up for Yao Ming. Not only that, Wharton also instructed Yao Ming at the training ground, and the two became friends.

Yao was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016 by Russell, Wharton, and Mutombo. In recent years, Wharton has struggled with cancer. But he is very optimistic, and when he meets his juniors, he always smiles and encourages him. Go all the way, may the departed rest in peace, and may Heaven be free from sickness......

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