20 Iconic Athletes That Were Unfortunately Made of Glass

Bill Walton

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Walton enjoyed arguably the most impressive collegiate career for a basketball player ever. The skilled big man was a two-time NCAA Champion while at UCLA, and was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player in both years. He went first overall in the 1974 NBA Draft to the Trail Blazers, and helped guide the franchise to its first and only NBA Championship in 1977.

The following years of Walton’s career were filled with unfortunate and untimely injuries. He broke his foot prior to the 1978 NBA Playoffs, and sat out the 1979 season while demanding a trade.

Walton was shipped to San Diego and played in just 14 games in his first year with the team. He then proceeded to miss all of the 1981 and 1982 seasons due to multiple surgeries to repair his foot. He eventually made a nice run towards the end of his career — most notably as a member of the 1986 NBA Champion Boston Celtics team. At that time he was mostly just a supporting player. Given his perceived trajectory early on, Walton’s career left fans yearning for more.