50 Greatest NBA Players ever - 41 to 50 on our Best NBA Players list

#46 Bill Walton

Portland Trailblazers v Washington Bullets

Career per-36 averages: 16.9 points, 13.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.8 blocks

Shooting splits: 52.1% from the field (never attempted a 3-pointer), 66% on free throws

Career accolades: 2-time NBA champion (1977, 1986) NBA MVP (1977-78), Finals MVP (1977), 2-time All-Star (1977, 78), All-NBA First Teamer (1978), All-NBA Second Teamer (1977), Sixth Man of the Year (1985-86), 2-time All Defensive First Teamer (1977, 78)

Records: NBA rebounding and blocks leader (1976-77)

The key to understanding Bill Walton's legacy is to look beyond his per-game numbers and dive into the story of a career, which ranks right up there among the biggest what-ifs in NBA history. Walton came into the league as one of the best-prepared rookies in NBA history, on the back of a college career with the UCLA Bruins that many basketball historians have deemed to be the greatest in history alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Before a foot injury derailed his 1977-78 campaign, Walton was already an All-Defensive First Teamer, a Finals MVP, and the NBA's rebounding leader, as well as the blocks per game leader for the 1976-77 season.

The Blazers had won 50 of their first 60 games, and Walton's impact in those games was enough to warrant the MVP trophy he received that year. A case could be made that Walton's run with the Blazers is among the best playoff runs by any player in the history of the game.

Having moved to the San Diego Clippers as a free agent in 1978, Walton had to sit out two entire seasons with recurring foot injuries, the bane of every injury-prone big man in the history of the game.

He never got back to his dominant best, but in 67 games as a bench player playing 19.3 minutes per game, his impact was enough to be voted as the Sixth Man of the Year for the Celtics in the 1985-86 season. He won a second championship with the Cs then, but injury spelt disaster for his career as he retired in 1987.

His ankle problems became so severe years later that he had to get both of his ankles surgically fused. His saga of injury and failed rehabs was connected to the use of painkillers by the doctor who was assigned to his case. Walton has said repeatedly in his broadcasts that he is just as much to blame for taking the medication as the doctor was for giving it to him.

Walton admitted to contemplating suicide for a time due to the constant pain resulting from injuries sustained during his NBA career. Walton's injuries, along with his 1978–1979 year-long protest, gave him the unenviable record of missing the most games during an NBA playing career.

Nevertheless, Walton forged a successful career as a broadcaster after his retirement with CBS, NBC and ESPN - despite having a stuttering problem that he overcame from his playing days. Walton's monologues behind the microphone are the stuff of legends, as is his Hall of Fame career.