Bill Walton, Hall of Fame player who became a star broadcaster, dies at 71

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer

Bill Walton, who starred for John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins before becoming a Basketball Hall of Famer and one of the biggest stars of basketball broadcasting, has died. The league announced on behalf of his family that Walton died Monday after a prolonged fight with cancer. He was the NBA’s MVP in the 1977-78 season, a two-time champion as a player and a member of both the NBA’s 50th anniversary and 75th anniversary teams. That followed a college career in which he was a two-time champion at UCLA and a three-time national player of the year.