Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks to honor Bill Walton ahead of Game 1 of 2024 NBA Finals

The Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are set to honor Bill Walton before Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals.

Walton died last week at the age of 71 after battling cancer.

Both teams will be wearing warmups with his name on them while fans in the arena will also receive customized buttons donning Walton’s name in his patented tie dye color scheme.

Adam Silver says the players will warmup in a Bill Walton shirt in honor of the late Hall of Famer 🙏

Walton's family is in attendance for Game 1 of the NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/mdgYwCfxr3

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 6, 2024

Walton’s family is in attendance in Boston for Game 1 between the Celtics and Mavericks. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET and will air live on ABC.

Still, Walton spent his life entertaining multiple generations on the court and on the headset. To a younger generation, he was known as an over-the-top, entertaining personality that specialized in hyperbole. He also went viral on social media a time or two because of the stunts he would pull on air such as eating a candle on a cupcake while it was still lit or quaking at the Oregon mascot during Ducks games.

However, Walton’s basketball career is much more memorable. Former UCLA star and 1974 No. 1 overall draft pick won a pair of NBA championships during his playing career — in 1977 as the centerpiece of the Trail Blazers, and in 1986 as the sixth man for one of the great Celtics teams. Plus, he also won the 1978 MVP.

Unfortunately for Walton, he had to battle injuries throughout his career, resulting in more than 30 surgeries mostly on his ankles and feet. Such setbacks ultimately kept him from remaining in his late-70s form for very long, but at his peak, Walton was considered one of the best players in the NBA for a brief moment.

Before the NBA, Walton was also the best player for UCLA where he helped win three consecutive National Player of the Year awards while also leading the Bruins to back-to-back national titles. He was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player after both seasons.

Bill Walton ultimately played in the NBA from 1974-1988, ending his career with the Boston Celtics after he had helped them win the title in ’86. After ’88, though, he was forced to retire from basketball due to his overwhelming number of injury issues.

Despite a career marred by health problems, Walton is still on the NBA’s list of their 50 greatest players. Few players have ever been as successful as Bill Walton at both the college and professional level, and is being honored by one of his former teams on the grandest stage that basketball has to offer.