Larry O’Brien Legends, Part 2: A Hippy and a Team
The Trailblazers had a couple obvious options and their names were Damian Lillard and Clyde Drexler. I strongly considered Drexler’s 90s squads and Lillard’s playoff heroics in 2019 and the 2020s. Then, I got a better idea. The Blazers only have 1 championship and that team has become massively overlooked in NBA history.
By the time the 1974 draft was approaching, it was well-known an imposing UCLA big man could completely change the fortunes of a team. Kareem had done exactly that for the Bucks and Bill Walton was expected to do the same for whoever earned his services. At this time, the 1st overall pick was decided in a coin flip between the worst team in each conference.
In 1974, that was the Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers. The coin flipped and the Blazers won the chance to draft Bill Walton.
Walton had been easily the best player in college basketball for the last 3 years. He won 2 National Championships, 2 AP Player of the Year awards, 3 Naismith awards and named a consensus All-American each season. He did all this while AVERAGING 20 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists.
Walton shares more similarities to Kareem besides UCLA dominance, he also was an activist. He famously was one of 52 demonstrators arrested on UCLA’s campus for protesting the Vietnam war. He was a true hippy that loved the Grateful Dead which made him stand out in the buttoned up world of college, and eventually, professional basketball.
On the court is where the two UCLA bigs differed. While Kareem was a ball dominant scoring freak with incredible defense, Walton was more of a playmaker. In some ways, he’s like Nikola Jokic without a jump shot, but with tremendous defense. The Blazers realized what they had and got to work building a team around him.
Unfortunately, Walton had injury issues from the get-go which caused him to miss games in his first 2 seasons, but in 1977, Walton was finally healthy. He finished 2nd in MVP voting and was on the All-NBA 2nd team. The only reason he wasn’t on the 1st team was because of Kareem who was also the reason why Walton finished 2nd in MVP voting on a team that finished with the 49 wins and a playoff spot.
Heading into the playoffs, the Blazers were easily the youngest and most inexperienced team. Only 1 player was 30 or older, Herm Gilliam, who was 30 exactly. That lack of experience was expected to cost them dearly despite a wonderful season.
That inexperience seemingly came into play in round 1 against Chicago when they struggled to take care of the vastly inferior Bulls. In round 2, Walton met an old nemesis, David Thompson.
Thompson had ended Walton’s UCLA career when he led NC State to a National Championship. Now Walton had a chance at revenge, which is exactly what he got when the Blazers won in 6 to set up a Western Conference Finals matchup with the Lakers and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Kareem was the best player on Earth, full stop. Walton knew he had his toughest challenge of the season trying to defend and score in Kareem. Kareem was magnificent, averaging 30 and 16 on 60% shooting. Yet, Portland swept the Lakers and made it to the Finals in their first ever playoff experience.
Waiting for them was the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers were the most exciting team in basketball thanks to their new stars. In the very first season of the NBA-ABA merger, Julius Erving, Dr. J, the best ABA player, joined Philly and instantly turned an okay team into a great one.
Alongside fellow ABA-alumni George McGinnis, the 76ers were HEAVY favourites to win the finals. That consensus only got more definitive when Philly went up 2-0 in the series. The Blazers proceeded to win the next 4 and clinch the championship.
Bill Walton averaged 19, 19 and 5 in the series along with 4 blocks as the Blazers became just the 2nd team ever to win a championship after going down 2-0 in the finals. Only 3 other teams have done it since. Portland also became the youngest team ever to win a championship and remain so to this day.
The 2025 OKC Thunder are the 2nd youngest at 25.56, the 77 Blazers had an average age of 25.03. Considering they did this in the era where players didn’t enter the draft until their 20s, it is insane that Walton led this team to a championship. He was deservedly awarded Finals MVP for his efforts.
If you know Bill Walton, you know how the rest of his career plays out. Injuries tore him down before he was revived in Boston and won another championship. His career may not have lived up to the hype, but for 1 year, he became what he was expected to be, a Larry O’Brien Legend.
