How Good Was Bill Walton’s Peak
Bill Walton’s prime didn’t last long. But for roughly a season and a half, he played basketball at a level that makes “top-15 peak” sound less like nostalgia and more like math.
Start with 1977. Walton was the center of a beautifully balanced Blazers team that ran, passed, and defended in sync. He won Finals MVP not by volume scoring, but by controlling every possession: erasing shots, swallowing rebounds, starting fast breaks with laser outlets, and quarterbacking the half-court from the high post. Portland didn’t just win the title—they looked inevitable doing it.
Then came 1977–78. With Walton healthy, the Blazers opened 50–10 and played like a juggernaut on pace for a historic record. He missed games late with a foot injury, yet still earned regular-season MVP because the on-court impact was undeniable: Portland’s defense shrank, their offense breathed, and the game’s tempo bent to his decisions whenever he stepped on the floor.
What made the peak so special wasn’t a single number—it was the total control. Walton blended a Gobert-like backline with Jokić-like orchestration (scaled to the 70s). He turned defensive stops into instant offense, punished traps with passing, and elevated role players by simplifying their reads. With him, Portland looked like the best team in the world; without him, they were merely good. That delta is the whole argument.
So is a top-15 peak legit?
#NBA #BillWalton #Blazers #MVP #FinalsMVP #BasketballHistory
