To recognize the 75th anniversary of the NBA, the league named 75 of the best players to a random, unranked list. By contrast, the Athletic is giving players a number, and now Portland Trail Blazers’ legendary center Bill Walton has been named as the 64th best. According to Jason Quick of the Athletic, Walton was not interviewed for the rankings piece, as he viewed himself a “team guy.” However, Quick was able to talk with Walton’s teammate on the 1977 NBA Championship team, Dave Twardzik.
“Bill not wanting to do that because of his idea of team, that pretty much sums him up, to a T,” said Dave Twardzik, who played guard alongside Walton on the Trail Blazers’ 1977 title team.