Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Moving Tribute to Fellow UCLA Great Bill Walton

Former Los Angeles Lakers champion center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar took to X once the news came out that his fellow UCLA alum-turned-longtime on-court nemesis Bill Walton had passed away following a lengthy cancer battle.

Today I had to say goodbye to
a great friend that I will always miss….@UCLAAthletics @UCLAMBB @NBA pic.twitter.com/JIA3sORJgY

The 7-foot-2 Abdul-Jabbar, while still Lew Alcindor, won three consecutive NCAA championships from 1967-69 under John Wooden at UCLA, being named the National College Player of the Year and a three-time consensus All-American First Teamer in the process. His success beget Walton's, who arrived in 1970-71 but didn't start playing varsity ball until his sophomore year. Walton won titles from 1972-73 for the Bruins, and was himself a three-time consensus All-American and three-time National College Player of the Year from 1972-74 before declaring for the NBA draft where he, like Abdul-Jabbar, was the No. 1 pick.

Walton quickly established himself as the second-best center in the league, behind only Abdul-Jabbar, and guided the Portland Trail Blazers to a 49-33 record and the 1977 championship. A series of debilitating foot injuries changed the course of the 6-foot-11 Walton's career going forward, but he still won the MVP the next season before eventually remaking himself into a key reserve for the Lakers' great rivals in the 1980s, the Boston Celtics. Walton was named the Sixth Man of the Year on the 1985-86 Boston club that won 67 games en route to the title over the Houston Rockets.

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ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Basketball is Alex's favorite sport, he likes the way they dribble up and down the court.