Bill Walton dies at 71: Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, sports world react to Hall of Famer's passing (2024)

I am sad today hearing that my comrade & one of the sports worlds most beloved champions & characters has passed. Bill Walton enjoyed life in every way. To compete against him & to work with him was a blessing in my life. Sorry for your loss Walton family. We’ll miss him too. Doc pic.twitter.com/GAEt1DRH8N

— Julius Dr J Erving (@JuliusErving) May 27, 2024

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

— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) May 27, 2024

Rest in peace to a friend, 2X NBA Champion, Hall of Famer, and one of the most skilled centers we’ve ever seen Bill Walton! His NCAA Championship performance as a UCLA Bruin against Memphis is by far the most dominate NCAA Championship performance ever - he shot 21 for 22 and had…

— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 27, 2024

Shocked and saddened by the loss of a friend and terrific human being, #BillWalton. We had a kinship on so many levels brought on by competition and mutual respect. A genuine one-of-a-kind personality.
To quote his boys, The Dead: Life is,
“…just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for…

— Len Elmore (@LenElmore) May 27, 2024

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 prayers Walton Family. Great energy, and always positive. Rest In Paradise Bill Walton

— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) May 27, 2024

R.I.P. Bill Walton. Way too soon! We did so many events together over the last 20 years and he was always positive and fun to be around. My heart goes out to Lori and his whole family. 🙏🏼

— Detlef Schrempf (@Dschrempf) May 27, 2024

RIP Bill Walton💔
No one loved basketball or living life to its fullest more than Bill. Not only has the sport lost a giant; the whole world has as well. pic.twitter.com/VgQCzjd5hs

— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) May 27, 2024

UCLA mourns the passing of two-time NCAA champion Bill Walton, a Naismith Hall of Fame inductee (1993) and charter member of the @UCLAAthletics Hall of Fame (1984).

𝑰𝑵 𝑴𝑬𝑴𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑨𝑴: https://t.co/VwZwd9uVDs pic.twitter.com/6GrCWvplK7

— UCLA Men’s Basketball (@UCLAMBB) May 27, 2024

RIP Bill Walton - my favorite example of his endless commitment to helping others is when he stepped in to assist the Lithuanian national basketball team as they broke away from the Soviet Union before facing the original Dream Team in 1992 pic.twitter.com/eZVtBZMOBX

— Daryl Morey 🗽🏀 (@dmorey) May 27, 2024

Heartbroken. Bill Walton was 1 of 1. What a life. Rest easy, Big Red Head… pic.twitter.com/eRZmIGn3MS

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) May 27, 2024

You sent me an email in 2020 that said:

————-

PUT THE MUSIC ON,

as soon as it doesn’t seem right,

change the music/station,

but don’t turn it off

—————

I promise, the music will always be on.

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I’ll miss you dearly, you marvelous, vivid, wonderful pic.twitter.com/aNMaAzRS6D

— Jason Benetti (@jasonbenetti) May 27, 2024

Rip City icon & basketball legend.

Rest in Peace, Bill 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/czZ4IiX6m2

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) May 27, 2024

Bill Walton was one of the most consequential players of his era.A Hall of Famer, Most Valuable Player, and two-time NBA Champion, Waltoncould do it all, possessing great timing, complete vision of the floor, excellent fundamentals, and was of one of the greatest passing big… pic.twitter.com/AW1PIUxALk

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 27, 2024

We have lost one of the greatest players and personalities that this franchise, this sport and this region have ever known. Bill Walton is synonymous with Southern California basketball: a San Diego native, a UCLA phenom, a Clipper icon.

He defined the game as a player, a… pic.twitter.com/KAXvnG8Mkk

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) May 27, 2024