Before anyone really knew who Luke Walton was, they knew his dad.
In 1997, when the San Diego high school star chose Arizona for college — over Bill’s alma mater, UCLA — the headlines read “Bill Walton’s son picks the Wildcats.”
By the end of his time at UA, and pro career, Luke certainly made a name for himself.
And not just because of his father’s wild commentary either — during one game, while Walton was playing for the Lakers, Bill told the viewers: “I told Luke, you’re young, you’re rich, and you’re living in Beverly Hills. If you’re not having the time of your life right now, I have failed you as a father.”
In the end, Luke did just fine for himself, playing 10 years in the NBA — the same number as his father — before becoming a coach.
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Here’s a look at Luke Walton’s path to the NBA draft.
At Arizona: Bill Walton was a basketball legend at UCLA, and so the general assumption was that Luke would — or should — play for the Bruins.
That was just the perception.
“My dad didn’t put any pressure on me to go to UCLA or anywhere else,” the younger Walton said after picking the Wildcats over USC, UCLA, Utah and Boston College in 1997. “He respects Coach (Lute) Olson very much, so he was very happy when I told him I was going to Arizona.
He came to the UA in the same recruiting class as Richard Jefferson and Rick Anderson but missed his true freshman season with an injury.
Walton played 25.5 minutes per game as a redshirt freshman, and 20.4 per game in the 2001 national title runner-up season. As a junior, Walton broke out, showing off some impressive all-around abilities for a 6-foot-8-inch forward. That year, he averaged 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
He fell off a bit as a senior — he dropped to 10.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists — but at that point he had already proved himself talented enough in the eyes of NBA scouts.
The draft: Walton’s college numbers were impressive, but some scouts believed his lack of a position — not quite athletic enough to be a three, not quite big enough to be a four — along with some health concerns stemming would hurt him in the draft.
After playing well at the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago, Walton worked out for the Phoenix Suns, who said Walton had a shot at becoming a late first-round pick.
Close enough: The Los Angeles Lakers selected Walton with the third pick in the second round.
From the archives: “I grew up when my dad was playing for the Celtics, and we used to root for the Celtics, but since I’ve gotten older, I’ve loved to watch the Lakers play. It’s just an amazing feeling right now. It’s hard to describe, but it’s what I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid.” — Walton to the Star after the draft.
As a pro: Walton became a key contributor off the bench for a couple of teams that made it to the NBA Finals.
He barely played as a rookie but received more playing time in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Lakers made three NBA Finals during that span, winning two of them.
His best season in the league came in 2006-07, when he averaged career-highs across the board: 11.4 points per game, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists.
Walton would play eight seasons with the Lakers before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he played in 2012 and part of 2013.
During the 2011 NBA lockout, Walton served as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis. Now, he’s an assistant on ex-Wildcat Steve Kerr’s staff with the Golden State Warriors — and once again has a courtside seat at the NBA Finals.
