Bill Walton

Bill Walton's 1976-77 season is the greatest single season by a center not named Kareem, Wilt, or Russell. He led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA championship, won the Finals MVP with a dominant performance against the 76ers, and won the regular-season MVP the following year. His passing from the center position, shot-blocking, rebounding, and team-oriented play made him the ultimate winning big man — a 6'11" orchestra conductor who elevated everyone around him.

Walton's tragedy is injuries. Chronic foot problems limited him to just 468 career games — a fraction of what his talent deserved. His career scoring total of 6,215 points is minuscule compared to his peers, and entire seasons were lost to surgery and rehabilitation. When healthy, he was transcendent. When injured — which was most of the time — he was a ghost.

His 1986 championship with the Boston Celtics, coming off the bench to win Sixth Man of the Year, proved that even a diminished Walton could transform a team. His passing, screen-setting, and defensive intelligence gave that Celtics team — often considered the greatest of all time — a dimension that no other team could match. Two rings, an MVP, and one of the highest peaks in NBA history, compressed into tragically few games.