Bill Walton's passing & defense was insane! | Greatest Peaks, Ep. 2

[@ThinkingBasketball]

Patreon Insiders & Deluxe subscribers get early access to each episode before it is released: www.patreon.com/posts/44458948 They will also able to vote at the end of the series on their top-10 after seeing all of profiles -- I'll include those results in the series finale when stacking up the top peaks.

[@joshnic6639]

I just don’t see how or why you don’t think Wilt Chamberlain is one of the greatest of all time. You give Russell a lot of credit for getting his team involved, but that was because he had to...Russell didn’t have an offensive game. Switch Wilt and Bill ‘s teams and you’ll see Wilt with more rings and Russell with less. All that being said...I do love this series you’re doing. You are one of the few people who understand basketball as well as I do, it’s refreshing to see! 😊👍🏻

[@joshnic6639]

By the way....the elite 11 are: 1.)Jordan-6 of 6(6) 2.)Magic-3 of 9(5) 3.)Wilt-2* of 6(2) 4.)LeBron-4 of 10(4) 5.)Bird-2 of 5(3) 6.)Abdul-Jabbar-2 of 10(6) 7.)Shaq-3 of 6 (4) 8.)Russell-4* of 12 (11) 9.)Kobe-2 of 7 (5) 10.)Olajuwon-2 of 3(2) 11.)Duncan-3 of 6(5) Finals MVP’s/appearances & (Rings) * look at stats for finals mvp’s If Kareem and magic were truly top five of all time then they would have more rings. Go back and look to see what magic did without kareem and then what Kareem did without Magic.

[@sebpalacio6310]

p

[@sebpalacio6310]

y

[@sebpalacio6310]

haha

[@coulsonthurgood2840]

Came back here today because this video made me understand and appreciate the greatness of Bill Walton. A great tribute

[@jpickup6]

“Bill Walton hit cutters like no other” Bobby just erases the shot

[@starfyre59]

if only you could've finished your film study on him

[@forbiddenDRAIN]

Hey I talked to you about old players on discord one time

[@pedromdcc13]

He did hit the cutter tho

[@ThinkingBasketball]

That was my homage to Bobby.

[@Hazztech]

Bobby?

[@Maal7432]

R.I.P. Bill Walton. What a legend.

[@lamer1k_920]

I knew he was great, but I didn't know that he deserves a "best peak" argument, excited to watch

[@dusk6159]

Him and Wes Unseld are probably the two overlooked beasts that we'll have in this era.

[@abduugas]

Same

[@Amick44]

Well it says much that wilt has him very high on his list of top centers. Wilt said that Walton was the one other Center besides himself, who did it all. Obviously, he meant who did it all at a high-level like himself. Russell was a decent but never a great scorer. Kareem was well-rounded too, but his rebounding fell off greatly in the 2nd portion of his career.

[@Amick44]

Bill is great and in the Hall, in spite of short term greatness/dominance. Grant Hill too, was great a for a bit longer, though a still relative short time. Though Grant came back as a serviceable player afterward. I would say their short term greatness put them in the Hall. Then u have other's with long term good, solid play. A Jack Sikma, for instance. Maybe Robert Parish. But they weren't as high as impact players as Bill or Grant in their primes.

[@Amick44]

@LoSLakaFan28 it can when someone leads their team to a title & is unquestionably the top dog. And one of the league's best as well.

[@samuelyuan291]

aight. Bill Walton? Ty for having so much insight on these older players that I don't really know about. Really appreciate it! 👍

[@iamkailong]

Bill Walton that year is the only one who can makes Kareem look like a 2nd Best player in 70s. It happened only once for 70s Kareem.

[@evanrichards1576]

Bob Pettit is fr criminally underrated you should look into him

[@obed8960]

Normally when people say someone is underrated they're capping but this dude is severely underrated. Videos like this should be getting millions of views regularly

[@jojo539]

@@evanrichards1576 petit did not play during the 70s

[@obed8960]

This guy deserves his own tv show or KZbin premium exclusive like he's that talented and good

[@iwantaoctosteponmyneckbut3545]

He has a Patreon, which is even better

[@taegotkash]

⁠@@iwantaoctosteponmyneckbut3545no

[@richkurl]

Peak NBA Walton '76-'78 was so brief, and yet he ranks among the top 10 greatest players I've followed. Walton played in a small market of Portland, and growing up in the 70's, the big markets for tough teams were Boston, Philly, NY and even Baltimore. In the rare times that we'd get Blazers' games, they were usually at 11 PM. The '76-'77 team was making a lot of noise. The world got to see just how good that team was, and how GREAT Walton was when they steamrolled a heavily favored, star-studded Sixers squad. We can argue who the best passing center was/is, but in that time, with no 3 point shooters to spread the court, the style of play was Walton as traditional low post and mid post center, with lots of pick & roll and back door cutting. In that style, there's never been a better interior passer or rim protector (outside of Russell's D) in the game.

[@psiclops521]

You can say that again. I've always called the 77-78 Blazers the best TEAM basketball I ever saw. They all completed one another and played together so perfectly.

[@natureboy1313]

​@@psiclops521They were def a great time. When Walton swept Jabbar in 4 straight I realized just how special he was. He and Bird became very good friends. It was a thrill watching him in 86. He brought so much enthusiasm to the game. Arvydas Sabonis was also a very good passer. And he also played for Portland.

[@jingqi9106]

I loved watching prime Bill Walton so much because not only was he supremely skilled on offense and defense, Big Bill was a TEAM player. Why? Walton had a very high basketball IQ and on offense he was like Larry Bird in that his game encouraged total team basketball and pin point passing. Even though he wasn't tremendously mobile he was effective in the paint and could score in multiple ways within the parameters of his skill set and mobility. Maybe he wasn't very mobile, he was extremely quick, had a soft touch, his footwork on offense and defense was high level, and he was the perfect big man for a team to play off of like in Portland. His rebounding and outlet passing were some of the greatest of all time and his quick shot blocking was great. On offense he could have scored a lot more points but he realized team basketball won more. His half court vision and passing skills were some of the best in history at the center position and was so quick when he looked to score either to his right or to his left. Prime Bill Walton was a GREAT player.

[@Amick44]

He was quite mobile before the injuries got so severe.

[@jingqi9106]

@@Amick44 Walton's best mobility was at UCLA but after he became a pro, the injuries started piling up and he was less mobile. Compared to centers like Russell, Hakeem, Willis Reed, David Robinson, etc... he wasn't as mobile and pretty much stayed around the paint. Even in his prime NBA years, he seldom ventured away from the basket too far.

[@brandenjh]

As a young nuggets fan who hasn’t seen much bill walton footage before this, much of his game, especially passing, is very reminiscent of jokic, or perhaps the other way around

[@jwpdsrp693]

He was pretty much a a more athletic and defensive jokic honestly.

[@Amick44]

@@jwpdsrp693 much more.

[@demonkingbadger6689]

Jokic is probably the best i have got to see. But, i would consider walton, wilt, russell, and unseld better passers. We will see how things go for Jokic as time goes on.

[@filipbabovic5914]

@@demonkingbadger6689 better passers than Jokic?

[@demonkingbadger6689]

@@filipbabovic5914 wilt did lead the league in assists one year. I cant say they were as flashy, but as effective, yes.

[@wvu05]

"The glory might go to the preening pretty boys on the perimeter, but this is a game that is still decided by men who make their living in the paint." Bill Walton

[@scottstewart5784]

He joined the Celts in 86 as 6th man and they won the chip and a spot in the debate of best teams ever. Watching him and Larry Bird dance was magic.

[@sensam6155]

no, Magic was the black guy

[@TRJ2241987]

Walton's back to back alley oops in the 1977 Finals is still one of the greatest sequences in NBA Finals history, as well as Brent Musburger's best calls, and had gone completely forgotten in the modern era

[@dusk6159]

All time franchise player/mania and top Blazers all time franchise player to this day.

[@coreygolphenee9633]

I'm pretty young and Brent musburger calling a basketball game sounds joyous

[@elwin38]

I will never forget that series. My 1st time watching basketball on TV('77 playoffs)and my 1st NBA finals.🏀🏀

[@markallendor6237]

@@coreygolphenee9633 Musburger was awesome with that series. . . He called Bill Walton. . ."The Mountain Man"

[@patfromamboy]

I was watching that sequence with my dad at home. I remember yelling

[@madsandersen2741]

Dude, how is this content actually freely available on KZbin? It is honestly amazing quality with the research, the graphs, and also the narration - brilliant work, Ben. Looking forward to future episodes in the series.

[@BossKing1243]

Fr

[@JOHNDOE99663]

THANK YOU!!! Bill Walton is so underrated and underappreciated, glad I can recc this video to ppl who don't know

[@Bshue123]

Don't pause at 2:49. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist thinks that form is bad.

[@bepe4279]

looks like my 8th grade teacher's shot

[@michaelmarrs1867]

All that matters is that It goes in

[@benw7367]

I think it's useful. You never know which basket he's aiming for.

[@alonedownthere47]

he does it again at 0:28. if it works it's actually kinda cool

[@ianmodglin2744]

I’m loving this new series. It’s way more interesting because we often forget that some of the best peaks belong to kinda middling HOF type players rather than the GOAT argument most of us are familiar with. Great stuff!

[@Tehcheesemaster]

I LOVE Bill Walton, thank you for this video! And for the Wes Unseld mention. Two of my all time favorite players and they arent much talked about.

[@thedagothexperience]

The '77 Blazers were the youngest Championship team in history! Imagine if Walton had stayed healthy & they had battled the Lakers in the early '80s

[@tomdowns8411]

I think Bill's best skill was that of an unselfish teammate who just wanted to win and was just as happy when someone else scored.Team chemistry.

[@brum23]

A healthy Bill Walton’s game would translate pretty well to today. Sort of like a more athletic version of Jokic. He would have easily been First Team All-NBA from 2012-2016.

[@dusk6159]

Indeed

[@student99bg]

Jokić vindicates him. If he was even more athletic than Jokić then no questions asked he would be great today.

[@TRIBEY92]

This old footage is so dope to watch. Didn’t know Walton had such a beautiful and well rounded game.

[@Amick44]

He did. As well rounded as any C who has played. Though not as dominant offensively as some.

[@rossdigitalfire]

Nice, I’m too young to have seen Bill in Portland, but him coming off the bench in Boston is one of my early basketball memories. I remember the fans going absolutely nuts for him when he came into the game. Years ago I got UCLA basketball season tickets through a friend. It was the season before they redid Pauley Pavillion, so there were occasional presentations about Pualey’s history. I remember someone saying UCLA won 150 of their first 151 home games at Pauley during a halftime presentation. Unbelievable until you remember they had two of the greatest college (and professional) centers of all time between 1965 and 1975 (not to mention Sydney Wicks and Jamaal Wilkes).

[@nabisco0523]

I love how you take the grainy footage & actually break everything down in layman's terms rather than sensationalize it; gives great perspective on exactly who the players are instead of knowing them just for the "legend" so to speak. The older analytic darlings from the early days should get love too, and the stuff that doesn't show up un the box score (i.e contests, motor) should get the focus and attention since we nerds have been studying the numbers for decades. This opens a door to a whole new way of watching basketball, just like sabremetrics is shifting the way us baseball nerds look at baseball & player value now. Thank you for this FREE content & I'm excited to see how this Big Data Basketball progresses in the 20's!

[@ranielle9271]

I always love bigs that find cutters at ease like Duncan and Jokic. Maximizing their height not only on defense but to the overall game of basketball. Would love to back in time and experience a whole nba season with bigs like this.

[@dburpeau]

Nice job! I have known Bill since high school. Quality man and certainly the best of all time in my opinion. Bill had given me a bunch of pic's before leaving San Diego last year...one clearly shows him blocking Kareem's Sky Hook!

[@kamalab2332]

Seeing a thinking basketball notification always puts a smile on my face Thank you for blessing us with quality content Ben 😊😊

[@lloydkline6946]

❤ Bill walton master rebounder, outlet passing, defender, passer, good score etcetc

[@casualfandestroyer2503]

Walton averaged 5.5 assists per game in the ’77 Playoffs. Russell averaged five assists or more in seven different playoffs,20 PPG in 7 different playoff/finals including 6.3 a game in the ’65 Playoffs (when it was much tougher to get credited for an assist). For his career, Russell averaged playoff (4.7) than any center (except jokic) who ever played more than 30 playoff games.

[@TheHOMGninja]

Didn’t know much about Walton as he played in an era far before my time. But I have gained a new respect for this man and the impact he had on his teams. I’m hoping the rest of the series can shine some light on older, maybe under appreciated greats of the game.

[@tomwilsonkeys]

RIP Bill Walton

[@hubertsumlin9697]

My Daddy always said Walton was unreal before he got hurt. His prime was just so damn short.

[@ricardoveromariguez7318]

Congrats on the episode and the series, excellent work. There are so many good stories about Big Bill (most of them told by him!), one of my favorites since your video touched on it...The story on Walton's controversial height goes that Bill walked into UCLA, and first day/first thing the coaching staff did was weigh and measure every player...as soon as Bill stepped up to get measured, coach Wooden interrupted and told the assistant coach --Walton is 6'9" put that on your clipboard. Of course Wooden wanted the advantage of having other teams be surprised by a 6'9" center...that was actually 7'2"

[@SethKasso]

Woah, ok Ben. This is exactly how I wanted to start my day!

[@therealjaymoh]

The first basketball KZbinr to recognize how similar basketball passing is to water polo 😤🐐😤🐐

[@krisharkleroad8]

Bill had hops in college. He started having foot problems his very first pro season. There are pictures of him with his hand close to the top of the backboard while at UCLA.

[@joeyboikly]

Grant hill, and Derek rose should make this list too if you’re going to just imagine what could’ve been.

[@basementmadetapes]

My pops was always geekin on this dude. Said he was the best passing centre ever. Maybe pops knew what he was talking about

[@Amick44]

As well as being as a good a rebounder & defender as any C in his era in his prime. Though some were better scorers.

[@Cam101077]

This is gonna be an incredible series. Awesome job!

[@gabrielc8266]

Please do add the other greats so people would know them like Gervin, Isiah Thomas, Barry, and etc. Your channel is really great with the analysis.

[@galaxyvita2045]

I was kind of worried that you would only talk about the more famous ones. But man no this is amazing.

[@ebrown112]

great thumbnail and a FTW viddy on bill walton. he certainly is a unique figure in the history of basketball.

[@moses2442]

I really enjoy this videos man! Thanks you!

[@brianholmes8894]

I saw him speak back in 1994, and he talked about how he asked (demanded?) to be listed at 6'11" because he felt there was a stigma against people 7-feet tall or greater.

[@Amick44]

He never wanted to admit to being a 7 footer. He was, easily.

[@BrixSnBs]

I think Ben's video material is going to peak during this series.

[@elowe5937]

Starting this series off with big men I see coach! Love to watch it. Are you going to keep it post centric before moving onto other positions? If so, I'd love to see you create a mashup of all their best skills to create your all time big man as a fun aside. Love the content man, cant wait for the next one!

[@pedromdcc13]

Probably. It's going to be chronological and initially it was a big man's game.

[@brooksandrew3505]

Thanks for making this, I'm trying to learn more about all the basketball greats. Your content is above any other basketball youtuber's content

[@yd856]

Can’t wait for the Kareem episode.

[@jebbennett4619]

This might be the best content on the internet

[@soooslaaal8204]

God I love this channel so much

[@matthewnuhfer6851]

Unreal content! please keep up the in depth, knowledgeable, and exceptional work!

[@shaq98nl]

I was not this high in Walton, he has moved in my list, great video

[@hEaDShoT2934]

In your all-time list maybe Walton shouldn't move while his peak was high. His peak only lasted two years lmao. Two great years but still two years.

[@shaq98nl]

@@hEaDShoT2934 yes I came to the same conclusion later in the day

[@doxazo5512]

I only really know Walton from the Big Book of Basketball so thanks for this!

[@sugarnads]

He was a fantastic TEAM player too. Great player.

[@wisertimes]

As a Deadhead this is amazing, having seen him at a couple of dead and co shows in the crowd. He is pretty easy to spot haha

[@dannewth7149]

Bill Walton had a huge impact as a kid growing up in Portland.😊

[@dyloiris8876]

The first greatest peaks got my subscription, love your insight of the game

[@greatwhitesufi]

Just coming back to say RIP to Bill Walton

[@nathanielmartinez6801]

When healthy, Walton was as good as anyone who ever played the center position. Pretty much like Sabonis. Too bad we didn't get to see more of these two.

[@student99bg]

Walton and Jokić are evergreen players and talents, they would thrive in any era

[@Chairsium]

2:49 Bill Walton was a GREAT player, but that form is horrific.

[@theretrosavage]

Reminds me of bill Cartwright

[@nicmagtaan1132]

@@theretrosavage the man's shot is so high that he stretches his entire arm for a shot

[@theretrosavage]

@@nicmagtaan1132 brutal

[@miguelbraz2629]

Really love this series. Always heard how great Big Redwas but never got the opportunity to see it on film until now. Kareem will be the next one but I would like to see guys like Moses Malone,Wes Unseld or Dave Cowens

[@pputnam100]

Been watching highlights of Jokic and I have to admit he's the first center I've seen that can give Walton a true run for his money in terms of greatest passing centers; in fact, I'd say no one else is even close to those two guys. The absolute best. Ooops, I forgot Arvydas Sabonis was right there also with those guys

[@pedroaugustocosta2533]

Yeah, but Jokic clears Walton, it's not a fight,

[@rollotomasi4045]

At least top 7....arguably top true 5 center at his peak. Russell, Kareem, Wilt and Shaq definitely had better peaks. Hakeem had a better peak but I could see someone arguing for Walton. And the Admiral had an all-time peak in the regular season but faded in the post season.

[@thedarkfrost2351]

RIP Legend

[@kenneths.perlman1112]

He was awesome.

[@timindale]

Kind of a early day Jokic

[@albertlemming4344]

Exactly. Walton was a magnificent passer. Jokic is the current version.

[@Dillingham-]

Nearly 45 years after graduating from Helix in 1970, Walton still holds the national all-time high school record for FG% at 79%. 🤯

[@des0163]

I know this sounds a bit weird but I'd be really interested to hear your opinion on how good you think Arvydas Sabonis would have been in his peak even though he wasn't in the NBA at the time

[@BrixSnBs]

He talks about it in the podcast episode with Kyle Mann :)

[@dusk6159]

I was exactly about to comment that the Blazers all time big men are heavily overlooked, and especially compared to what they could've been

[@peteyoung6213]

I always admired how explosive he was. Even though he couldn't jump super high, he got off the floor as fast as a much smaller guy, and since he was giant he could influence a lot of shots.

[@crablord7934]

Oh man this was perfect timing

[@cameronbernardo]

So excited for this whole series

[@christopherliu3981]

Most ppl born after 1990 just know him as Luke’s dad

[@JohnDeWill]

Please make a video about D-Wade's prime! Love your stuff!

[@fredkruse9444]

14:32 Note #23 inbounding the ball. That's Kobe's dad, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant.

[@theXknight1]

Bill Walton was so Op that he had to ber nerfed at his prime :(

[@mathieudebergh9535]

Thanks for this. This video cleared up some misconceptions I had about him as a Blazers fan. Are these only NBA peaks? Because Sabonis would be a great one.

[@alexcamp9320]

Ahhhhhh i just noticed Blazers and he also blazed mad weed, what a good pick

[@jaystarrio7629]

Walton is big man version of Derrick Rose- a brilliant player whose prime was wrecked by injuries.

[@RMGCBG]

His college career was bananas

[@adonisosorio776]

Ben, you're the GOAT. That is all.

[@smoothALOE]

Bill Walton is so repeatedly labeled as overrated that he has become underrated. For a guy who only had a handful of healthy seasons, he accomplished a great deal and when he wasn’t around, you could see how much his teams were hurting without him.

[@pgd3938]

Rip💔

[@justinmichaelknox]

I hope at some point this channel talks about potential all-time starting fives. The comparisons of one great versus another would be really interesting

[@radar0412]

I remember Differently why Walton's body broke down. Walton played at both a Cringeworthy and Thrilling high level intensity. Walton pushed his body to the limit all the time. When he was on his game there was no matchup for Walton. Not even Kareem! And his Basketball IQ was off the charts. But if Walton didn't play at that high level of intensity he wouldn't have been Walton. Still I wish Walton never came back for the 1978 season, and I wish they had better shoes for him back then. Cheers for the upload.

[@TheyCallHimMarvelous]

I think bill would be the ideal Princeton offense center

[@VoltaDoMar]

Absolutely are not 10 centers in history I would take over healthy prime Walton. Probably not 5 I would take over him.

[@pkmk3010]

8:55 "He wasn't a skywalker" Yeah but his son is.. ... Theres a good joke in there somewhere..

[@kannanraheem9898]

There definitely is a great joke that was hilarious

[@mbmotsoeneng8646]

How old is this channel? Just discovered it and this content is AMAZING 😃!!!

[@randythemitoman]

The point seems to be that the two years Walton was healthy, he won the championship.

[@frederickkabauteitu8781]

R.I.P Legend

[@joshgoodloe4830]

Another banger

[@mralowen]

He was a beautiful human being.

[@danhanlon1621]

What a marvel this channel is! Best b ball channel on the tube EASY!

[@mphrdldn]

Regarding his injuries, Walton probably played outside on cement courts for years before breaking down. Sneakers weren't as advanced as now.

[@t-god2439]

The art of the block is all you need to know about bill and you will learn how great he was

[@Amick44]

Yeah, like Russell, he was adept at keeping most of his blocks in play.

[@sabbywins]

"runs into a wall, here" A ton of wall, you might say.

[@mc76]

Walton was great, but my vote goes to the Bulls center of the 1970s, Tom Boerwinkle, a man Brent Musberger once described as "a giant with a watchmaker's hands." He was not much of an offensive force, but he was a solid rebounder who could thread the needle. He was the king of the "hockey assist," dishing from the high or low post with precision. He was disparaged in The Last Dance---basically for being pre-Jordan--but I would take him over Longley, Wennington, Perdue, or King any day of the week.

[@Felixthecat888]

RIP big man. You will be missed.

[@ianrhodes8786]

i love this series so much

[@leecaryer2569]

With 33 points and 30 rebounds against Kentucky in the 1961 regionals, the only double 30 in NCAA history, Jerry Lucas has an argument for best game in NCAA tournament.