Wikipedia

Chet Walker

Chester "Chet" Walker (February 22, 1940 – June 8, 2024) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was selected in 2012 to become a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star. He played 13 seasons in the NBA, seven with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he helped lead the 76ers to an NBA championship in 1967. He played his last six seasons for the Chicago Bulls from 1969 to 1975. He played college basketball for the Bradley Braves, twice earning first-team consensus All-American honors, and was famously "hijacked" to Bradley to keep him from attending the University of Nebraska instead. He also won an Emmy award as a television producer.

Chet Walker
Walker in 1975
Personal information
Born(1940-02-22)February 22, 1940
Bethlehem, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedJune 8, 2024(2024-06-08) (aged 84)
Long Beach, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight212 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High schoolBenton Harbor
(Benton Harbor, Michigan)
CollegeBradley (1959–1962)
NBA draft1962: 2nd round, 12th overall pick
Selected by the Syracuse Nationals
Playing career1962–1975
PositionSmall forward
Number25
Career history
1962–1969Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers
1969–1975Chicago Bulls
Career highlights and awards
Career statistics
Points18,831 (18.2 ppg)
Rebounds7,314 (7.1 rpg)
Assists2,126 (2.1 apg)
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference
Basketball Hall of Fame

Early life

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Walker was born in Bethlehem, Mississippi on February 22, 1940, the youngest of John and Regina Walker's ten children. He lived and worked on the family's small cotton farm, until his mother moved with her youngest children to Benton Harbor, MIchigan after the death of Walker's sister and to escape his abusive father.[1][2] Walker played high school basketball for the Benton Harbor High School boys basketball team, and earned a scholarship to Bradley University, where Walker was a two-time consensus All-America in 1961 and 1962, averaging 24.4 points per game and 12.8 rebounds over three years.[2][3][4]

However, prior to attending Bradley in Peoria, Illinois, he and his mother had agreed Walker would attend the University of Nebraska. In one version of events, disc jockey Al Benson went to Walker's home and agreed to take Walker to the airport in Chicago to head to Nebraska, but instead Walker wound up with Bradley's head coach and athletic director who flew him to Peoria to commit to Bradley.[5]

He is the only Bradley Braves player to be a two-time All-America player, and his number 31 was retired by the school in 1976.[6] He graduated from Bradley in 1962 as the school's all-time leading scorer, and is still its fourth all-time scorer (as of June 2024).[6][7] Bradley won the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1960.[8] They shared the Missouri Valley Conference title in 1962, Walker's senior year.[6] Walker's speed and agility on the court earned him the nickname "Chet the Jet."[9]

 
Chet Walker of Bradley University during the 1961–62 season

NBA career

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Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1962–1969)

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Walker was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1962 NBA draft,[10] and was named to the NBA's first All-Rookie Team in 1963.[11] He followed the team to Philadelphia after his rookie season. Walker averaged over 19 points and eight rebounds a game for the 1966–67 76ers, who won 68 games and lost just 13—the best record in NBA history at the time.[8][12] That Alex Hannum-coached team, which also featured center Wilt Chamberlain, guards Hal Greer and Wali Jones, and sixth man Billy Cunningham, ended the eight-year championship run of the Boston Celtics.[13][8]

Chicago Bulls (1969–1975)

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Chet Walker in the 1969–70 team photo of the Chicago Bulls

Walker played his final six seasons with the Chicago Bulls, and never averaged less than 19.2 points and 5.0 rebounds a game. In his 13-year career, Walker scored a total of 18,831 points.[14] The 6–6 forward was an outstanding free-throw shooter, especially in his later years with the Bulls.[15] He led the NBA with an accuracy rate of 85.9 percent in 1970–71, and ranked among the top-10 free-throw shooters five other times. On February 6, 1972, Walker scored a career-high and then-team-record 56 points during a Bulls win over the Cincinnati Royals.[16]

Walker was a seven-time participant in the NBA All-Star Game.[8]

Role in the player's union

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Walker was the Bulls representative to the NBA Players Association in 1970, and was a plaintiff in a federal antitrust lawsuit filed against the NBA. The case settled in 1976, but Walker refused to go along with the settlement. Walker had left the Bulls in the 1975–1976 season over a salary dispute, and continued to litigate individually. In a meeting with the Bulls owner, Walker was informed that if he chose to play again, the NBA took the position that Walker was the Bulls "property", a concept that repulsed Walker. He chose never to play again.[2]

Post playing career

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After his playing days, Walker became a moderately successful TV movie producer. He is the author of a memoir entitled Long Time Coming: A Black Athlete's Coming-of-Age in America (1995).[17] He was executive producer of the 1979 television miniseries, Freedom Road, that starred Muhammad Ali and Kris Kristofferson.[2] He co-produced the 1989 television series A Mother's Courage starring Alfre Woodard, based on the life of Mary Thomas, mother of NBA hall of famer Isiah Thomas, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program.[2] Walker also appeared in The White Shadow in season 3's "If Your Number's Up, Get it Down" as a former Chicago Bulls teammate of Coach Ken Reeves (Ken Howard).[18]

On February 24, 2012 (two days after his 72nd birthday), it was announced that Walker was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame by the veterans committee.[19] He was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on September 7, 2012.[1][20]

Death

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Walker died in Long Beach, California, on June 8, 2024, at the age of 84.[8][21] The NBA stated Walker's death is a result of a long-term illness.[18]

NBA career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
 †  Won an NBA championship  *  Led the league

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1962–63 Syracuse 78 – 25.5 .469 – .699 7.2 1.1 – – 12.3
1963–64 Philadelphia 76 – 36.5 .440 – .711 10.3 1.6 – – 17.3
1964–65 Philadelphia 79 – 27.7 .403 – .742 6.7 1.7 – – 13.2
1965–66 Philadelphia 80 – 32.5 .451 – .716 8.0 2.5 – – 15.3
1966–67† Philadelphia 81 – 33.2 .488 – .766 8.1 2.3 – – 19.3
1967–68 Philadelphia 82 – 32.0 .460 – .726 7.4 1.9 – – 17.9
1968–69 Philadelphia 82 – 33.6 .484 – .804 7.8 1.8 – – 18.0
1969–70 Chicago 78 – 34.9 .477 – .850 7.7 2.5 – – 21.5
1970–71 Chicago 81 – 36.1 .465 – .859* 7.3 2.2 – – 22.0
1971–72 Chicago 78 – 33.2 .505 – .847 6.1 2.3 – – 22.0
1972–73 Chicago 79 – 31.1 .478 – .832 5.0 2.3 – – 19.9
1973–74 Chicago 82 – 32.5 .486 – .875 5.0 2.4 0.8 0.0 19.3
1974–75 Chicago 76 – 32.3 .487 – .860 5.7 2.2 0.6 0.1 19.2
Career 1,032 – 32.4 .470 – .796 7.1 2.1 0.7 0.1 18.2
All-Star 7 1 17.9 .435 – .850 2.6 1.3 0.0 0.0 8.1
Source:[22]

Playoffs

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1963 Syracuse 5 – 26.0 .509 – .733 9.4 1.8 – – 15.2
1964 Philadelphia 5 – 38.0 .390 – .739 10.4 2.6 – – 18.8
1965 Philadelphia 11 – 42.6 .480 – .760 7.2 1.6 – – 20.3
1966 Philadelphia 5 – 36.2 .375 – .806 7.4 3.0 – – 14.6
1967† Philadelphia 15 – 36.7 .467 – .807 7.6 2.1 – – 21.7
1968 Philadelphia 13 – 37.3 .410 – .679 7.4 1.8 – – 19.1
1969 Philadelphia 4 – 27.3 .535 – .667 5.8 2.0 – – 13.5
1970 Chicago 5 – 35.6 .422 – .818 8.4 2.2 – – 19.4
1971 Chicago 7 – 33.4 .440 – .708 7.1 3.1 – – 15.0
1972 Chicago 4 – 24.3 .421 – .813 3.5 1.0 – – 11.3
1973 Chicago 7 – 32.7 .347 – .892 8.9 2.0 – – 16.7
1974 Chicago 11 – 36.6 .509 – .861 5.5 1.6 0.9 0.1 20.9
1975 Chicago 13 – 33.2 .494 – .880 4.6 1.8 1.0 0.1 17.5
Career 105 – 35.1 .449 – .787 7.0 2.0 1.0 0.1 18.2
Source:[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Chet the Jet joins basketball greats in the Hall of Fame". NBA.com. September 5, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e Araton, Harvey (June 9, 2024). "Chet Walker, N.B.A. Champion and Movie Producer, Dies at 84". New York Times.
  3. ^ Maloney, Jack (June 9, 2024). "Chet Walker dies at 84: Basketball Hall of Famer was seven-time NBA All-Star with 76ers, Bulls". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "Men's Consensus All-America Teams (1959-60 to 1968-69)". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  5. ^ Reynolds, Dave (September 2, 2012). "'Hijacked' to Peoria: The wild story behind Chet Walker becoming a Bradley basketball player". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Bradley Athletics Mourns the Passing of Basketball Legend Chet "The Jet" Walker". Bradley University Athletics. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  7. ^ "Bradley Athletics Mourns the Passing of Basketball Legend Chet "The Jet" Walker". Bradley University Athletics. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Basketball HOF forward Walker dies at age of 84". ESPN.com. June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "Former Bulls star Chet 'The Jet' Walker dies at 84". Chicago Sun-Times. June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  10. ^ "Chet Walker, Hall of Fame forward whose NBA career started in Syracuse, dies at 84". syracuse.com. June 9, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  11. ^ Johnson, K. C. (June 9, 2024). "Chet Walker, a Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer who helped initiate change in the NBA, dies at 84". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  12. ^ "Season Review: 1966–67". NBA.com. September 13, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  13. ^ "Legends profile: Chet Walker". NBA.com. September 14, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  14. ^ Taylor, Ryan (June 9, 2024). "Chicago Bulls release statement after death of Hall of Famer Chet Walker". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  15. ^ "Q&A with Chet Walker". NBA.com. October 15, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  16. ^ "Walker Scores 56 Points (Published 1972)". The New York Times. February 7, 1972. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023.
  17. ^ "Long Time Coming: A Black Athlete's Coming-Of-Age in America by Chet Walker". publishersweekly.com. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Smith, Sam (June 9, 2024). "Hall of Famer and Bulls legend Chet Walker, one of the greatest to grace the Chicago sports world, dies at 84". NBA.com. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  19. ^ "Chet Walker among five direct-elects for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame". NBA.com. February 24, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  20. ^ Hayes, Patrick (September 7, 2012). "Chet Walker NBA Hall Of Fame Speech: Benton Harbor Great Inducted". SB Nation Detroit. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  21. ^ Araton, Harvey (June 9, 2024). "Chet Walker, N.B.A. Champion and Movie Producer, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Chet Walker Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
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