Bill Walton passed away on May 27, 2024 at the age of 71; he would have turned 72 on November 5. When examining Walton’s basketball career, it is tempting to focus on what could have been, to focus on the years lost to injuries and his acrimonious departures from Portland and Los Angeles. But his accomplishments on the court should not be overlooked.
Walton’s truncated pro career included a few highlights (NBA title in 1977, NBA MVP award in 1978, Sixth Man of the Year award and a second NBA title in 1986) but paled in comparison with his basketball transcript at UCLA: two NCAA titles, three Final Four appearances, three-time consensus All-American, three-time UPI Player of the Year, two-time AP Player of the Year (losing out to David Thompson in 1974); averaged 20 points and 15 rebounds a game while playing under the watchful eye of the legendary John Wooden.
UCLA posted an 86-4 record during Walton’s three varsity seasons, including the majority of the Bruins’ record-setting 88-game winning streak. Walton played in 87 varsity games at UCLA, missing three during his senior season after a bad fall against Washington State. I was curious how UCLA fared during his absence, but was unable to find game logs or box scores online; the UCLA website contains box scores beginning with the 1974-75 season, too late to include Walton’s career.
So, I decided to find all of the box scores from Walton’s four years at UCLA, including his stint on the 1970-71 freshman team, plus that season’s varsity results in order to document the start of their 88-game streak. By the way, UCLA went 3-0 in Walton’s absence, and their winning streak came to an end when Walton returned to the lineup. You can read more about that in the game highlights that accompany each box score.
You can view the box scores by clicking here.