2. Bill Walton‘s Health
Bill Walton checks in at number 2 here. Big Red joined the San Diego Clippers in 1979 after a tumultuous departure from the Portland Trail Blazers.
After bringing a championship to Portland in 1976-’77, Walton had the Blazers rolling in ’77-’78, winning 50 of their first 60 games before a foot injury took him out for the rest of the season.
He was brought back to play in the playoffs with painkilling injections, and he re-injured his foot, breaking the navicular bone below his left ankle. He then sat out the following season while demanding a trade and signed with the Clippers.
Unfortunately, the health issues followed Walton from Portland to San Diego. He would play 169 games in 6 seasons with the team, including missing two years straight from 1980-1982.
In the relatively few minutes he did see on the court, the old Bill Walton could be seen. With the Clips, Walton averaged 11.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 blocks, shooting 53.2%, while only topping 27 minutes per game during one season.
In his last two seasons with the Clippers, Walton’s body started to hold up better, letting him play 55 and 67 games in ’83-’84 and ’84-85, respectively.
Despite the fact that Walton had probably left his prime by then (those were his age 31 and 32 seasons), there were still flashes of what Walton could do.
In ’83-’84, Walton’s per 36 stats were 16 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.1 blocks. In ’84-’85, those were 14.8 points, 13.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 3.1 blocks. Despite only seeing 27 and 25 minutes per game in those seasons, he managed to make an impact.
Unfortunately for both parties, it was too little, too late. The Clippers never had a winning season with Walton on the roster, and by this point, he didn’t have it in him to carry a team like when he was in Portland.
Walton would request a trade to a winning team, and the Clippers acquiesced by sending him to Boston for a first-round pick (which would ultimately be sent to Portland, who would select Arvydas Sabonis – a what-if of its own!).
With Boston, Walton would win a title as a sixth man, while the newly moved Los Angeles Clippers (along with their relatively new owner, Donald Sterling) would wait decades for relevance.