How revolutionary was Bill Walton? (Basketball Mysteries of the 1970s #27) - a podcast by Over and Back NBA Podcast

We look at Bill Walton and how revolutionary he was in his politics, lifestyle and on the basketball floor in the latest episode of Over and Back's Basketball Mysteries of the 1970s.

The redheaded center was an amazing passer, defender, shotblocker, and crafty scorer with a range of smarts and skills whose Portland Trail Blazers seemed on the verge of a dynasty when Walton’s foot injury in 1978 led to a nasty divorce with the team. He took lots of media criticism for his anti-establishment politics and his counterculture lifestyle, especially before he won the championship in 1977.

We detail the reasons he was a revolutionary force in and out of basketball and talk about the 1977 Blazers, why he was linked to kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, being the first NBA player with a ponytail, his criticism of capitalism, his versatility, his simultaneous love but obsession with the game, how Portland came to embrace Blazermania, how Maurice Lucas ended up being the perfect complement, how Walton and Jack Ramsay saw the game in the same way, and the other major contributors to the Blazers (Lionel Hollins, Bob Gross, Dave Twardzik, Larry Steele and Johnny Davis).

We also discuss a playoff series against Artis Gilmore's Bulls, how Lucas intimidated a replacement ref, a tough matchup against the Nuggets with David Thompson and Dan Issel, a sweep over a hobbled Lakers team with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and finally a Finals win over Julius Erving's Sixers with a wild brawl, a huge turnaround from a 0-2 series deficit, and classic duel by Walton and Erving in Game 6. We also include part of a previous episode discussing "The Breaks of the Game" with Curtis Harris of Pro Hoops History and James of NBA Injury Report.

Original airdate: 9/29/16

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