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Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari posts tribute to late Bill Walton on social media

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Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari posts tribute to late Bill Walton on social media

Tributes to Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton continued to pour in Monday following his death at 71.

On Monday, Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari tweeted about the legendary basketball player, commentator and coach with a lengthy message about Walton on his X account (formerly Twitter). Walton died Monday after a battle with cancer.

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“I just got word my friend, and basketball great in every sense of the word, Bill Walton passed away. He gave more to the game of basketball than anyone I know, and his Coach Wooden stories were legendary. Bill was always great to me, and even spent time speaking to Oscar Tshibwe and gave him great insight,” Calipari tweeted Monday afternoon.

“He’s going to be missed tremendously by the basketball community. Thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

Walton was a star at UCLA and the No. 1 overall pick in the 1974 NBA Draft. He won the 1978 NBA MVP honors, starred for the Portland Trail Blazers and was the key sixth man off the bench for the Boston Celtics in 1986. Walton dealt with injuries throughout his career.

With the Bruins, Walton won three consecutive National Player of the Year awards, leading the Bruins to back-to-back national titles. He earned Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament in both seasons.

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