Remembering Walter Davis: Closer look at NBA legend's career and legacy

NBA legend and Phoenix Suns great Walter Davis died of natural causes at the age of 69 on Thursday. He was visiting his family in Charlotte.

Davis played 15 seasons in the NBA, having stops in Phoenix, Denver and Portland. He was a six-time All-Star who had career averages of 18.9 points, 3.8 assists, three rebounds and 1.2 steals. He was the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1978, where he had his best scoring and rebounding averages of 24.2 points and six rebounds.

Davis’ #6 jersey was retired by the Suns, and he is also part of the team’s Ring of Honor.

“We are heartbroken by the passing of Suns legend Walter Davis, the franchise’s all-time leading scorer and a member of our Ring of Honor,” the Suns said on a social media post following his death.

Walter Davis (R) with James Worthy and Michael Jordan

Before coming to the NBA, Davis was a member of the North Carolina Tar Heels where he played for four seasons until 1977, scoring 1863 points, tallying 670 rebounds and 409 assists. He is widely remembered for hitting a 25-foot jumper that sent the UNC-Duke game into OT during the 1974 season.

Davis was also a member of the United States Basketball Team that won the gold in 1976 when the country sent college players on international duty.

Walter Davis is the uncle of former New York Knicks player Hubert Davis

Walter Davis (L) and nephew Hubert Davis (R)

Walter Davis was not only the member of his family who made it to the NBA as his nephew Hubert Davis played 12 seasons (1992-2004) in the league, the first four with the New York Knicks.

Hubert Davis finished his NBA career with averages of 8.2 points, 1.7 assists and 1.5 rebounds.

His best scoring season was with the Dallas Mavericks in the 1997-98 season, where he posted 11.1 points in 81 games. It was one of five seasons where he cracked the double-digit scoring mark in his career.

Following his playing career, he began working for ESPN as a college basketball analyst.

Then, in the 2012-13 NCAA season, he joined as an assistant in the coaching staff of the University of North Carolina, where he and his uncle Walter starred during their collegiate careers.

In 2021, he was promoted as head coach of the Tar Heels, who he helped reach the Final Four last year.