Chet Walker Explained

Chet Walker
Height Ft:6
Height In:7
Weight Lb:212
Birth Date:22 February 1940
Birth Place:Bethlehem, Mississippi, U.S.
Death Place:Long Beach, California, U.S.
High School:Benton Harbor
(Benton Harbor, Michigan)
College:Bradley (1959–1962)
Draft Year:1962
Draft Round:2
Draft Pick:12
Draft Team:Syracuse Nationals
Career Number:25
Career Position:Small forward
Career Start:1962
Career End:1975
Years1:
Team1:Syracuse Nationals / Philadelphia 76ers
Years2:
Team2:Chicago Bulls
Highlights:
Stat1label:Points
Stat1value:18,831 (18.2 ppg)
Stat2label:Rebounds
Stat2value:7,314 (7.1 rpg)
Stat3label:Assists
Stat3value:2,126 (2.1 apg)
Bbr:walkech01
Hof Player:Chet-Walker

Chester "Chet" Walker (February 22, 1940 – June 8, 2024) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). 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.

Early life

Born in Bethlehem, Mississippi,[1] Walker played high school basketball for the Benton Harbor High School boys basketball team.[2] He graduated from Bradley University in 1962 as the school's all-time leading scorer.[3] The Bradley Braves[4] won the National Invitation Tournament championship in 1960. Walker's speed and agility on the court earned him the nickname "Chet the Jet."[5]

NBA career

Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers (1962–1969)

Walker was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals in the 1962 NBA draft,[6] and was named to the NBA's first All-Rookie Team in 1963.[7] 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] 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.[9]

Chicago Bulls (1969–1975)

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.[10] The 6–6 forward was an outstanding free-throw shooter, especially in his later years with the Bulls.[11] 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.[12]

Walker was a seven-time participant in the NBA All-Star Game.[13]

Post playing career

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).[14] 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).[15]

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.[16] He was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts, on September 7, 2012.[1] [17]

Death

Walker died in Long Beach, California, on June 8, 2024, at the age of 84.[13] [18] The NBA stated Walker's death is a result of a long-term illness.[15]

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"|| style="text-align:left;"|Syracuse| 78 || – || 25.5 || .469 || – || .699 || 7.2 || 1.1 || – || – || 12.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia| 76 || – || 36.5 || .440 || – || .711 || 10.3 || 1.6 || – || – || 17.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia| 79 || – || 27.7 || .403 || – || .742 || 6.7 || 1.7 || – || – || 13.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia| 80 || – || 32.5 || .451 || – || .716 || 8.0 || 2.5 || – || – || 15.3|-| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †| style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia| 81 || – || 33.2 || .488 || – || .766 || 8.1 || 2.3 || – || – || 19.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia| 82 || – || 32.0 || .460 || – || .726 || 7.4 || 1.9 || – || – || 17.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia| 82 || – || 33.6 || .484 || – || .804 || 7.8 || 1.8 || – || – || 18.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago| 78 || – || 34.9 || .477 || – || .850 || 7.7 || 2.5 || – || – || 21.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago| 81 || – || 36.1 || .465 || – || style="background:#cfecec;"|.859*|| 7.3 || 2.2 || – || – || 22.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago| 78 || – || 33.2 || .505 || – || .847 || 6.1 || 2.3 || – || – || 22.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago| 79 || – || 31.1 || .478 || – || .832 || 5.0 || 2.3 || – || – || 19.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago| 82 || – || 32.5 || .486 || – || .875 || 5.0 || 2.4 || 0.8 || 0.0 || 19.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago| 76 || – || 32.3 || .487 || – || .860 || 5.7 || 2.2 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 19.2|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 1,032 || – || 32.4 || .470 || – || .796 || 7.1 || 2.1 || 0.7 || 0.1 || 18.2|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| All-Star| 7 || 1 || 17.9 || .435 || – || .850 || 2.6 || 1.3 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 8.1|-!scope=row colspan=13 style="text-align: center;" | Source:[19]

Playoffs

|-|style="text-align:left;"|1963|style="text-align:left;"|Syracuse|5||–||26.0||.509||–||.733||9.4||1.8||–||–||15.2|-|style="text-align:left;"|1964|style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia|5||–||38.0||.390||–||.739||10.4||2.6||–||–||18.8|-|style="text-align:left;"|1965|style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia|11||–||42.6||.480||–||.760||7.2||1.6||–||–||20.3|-|style="text-align:left;"|1966|style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia|5||–||36.2||.375||–||.806||7.4||3.0||–||–||14.6|-| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"|1967†|style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia|15||–||36.7||.467||–||.807||7.6||2.1||–||–||21.7|-|style="text-align:left;"|1968|style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia|13||–||37.3||.410||–||.679||7.4||1.8||–||–||19.1|-|style="text-align:left;"|1969|style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia|4||–||27.3||.535||–||.667||5.8||2.0||–||–||13.5|-|style="text-align:left;"|1970|style="text-align:left;"|Chicago|5||–||35.6||.422||–||.818||8.4||2.2||–||–||19.4|-|style="text-align:left;"|1971|style="text-align:left;"|Chicago|7||–||33.4||.440||–||.708||7.1||3.1||–||–||15.0|-|style="text-align:left;"|1972|style="text-align:left;"|Chicago|4||–||24.3||.421||–||.813||3.5||1.0||–||–||11.3|-|style="text-align:left;"|1973|style="text-align:left;"|Chicago|7||–||32.7||.347||–||.892||8.9||2.0||–||–||16.7|-|style="text-align:left;"|1974|style="text-align:left;"|Chicago|11||–||36.6||.509||–||.861||5.5||1.6||0.9||0.1||20.9|-|style="text-align:left;"|1975|style="text-align:left;"|Chicago|13||–||33.2||.494||–||.880||4.6||1.8||1.0||0.1||17.5|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 105 || – || 35.1 || .449 || – || .787 || 7.0 || 2.0 || 1.0 || 0.1 || 18.2|-!scope=row colspan=13 style="text-align: center;" | Source:[19]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: September 5, 2012 . Chet the Jet joins basketball greats in the Hall of Fame . December 5, 2015 . NBA.com.
  2. Web site: Maloney . Jack . June 9, 2024 . Chet Walker dies at 84: Basketball Hall of Famer was seven-time NBA All-Star with 76ers, Bulls . June 10, 2024 . CBSSports.com . en.
  3. Web site: Bradley Athletics Mourns the Passing of Basketball Legend Chet "The Jet" Walker . June 10, 2024 . Bradley University Athletics . en.
  4. Book: ESPN . ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game . Bradley . Bill . Bill Bradley . October 6, 2009 . Random House Digital, Inc. . 978-0-345-51392-2 . 11– . September 29, 2011.
  5. Web site: June 9, 2024 . Former Bulls star Chet 'The Jet' Walker dies at 84 . June 10, 2024 . Chicago Sun-Times . en.
  6. Web site: June 9, 2024 . Chet Walker, Hall of Fame forward whose NBA career started in Syracuse, dies at 84 . June 10, 2024 . syracuse.com . en.
  7. Web site: Johnson . K. C.. June 9, 2024 . Chet Walker, a Chicago Bulls Hall of Famer who helped initiate change in the NBA, dies at 84 . June 10, 2024 . Chicago Tribune . en-US.
  8. Web site: September 13, 2021 . Season Review: 1966–67 . June 10, 2024 . NBA.com . en.
  9. Web site: September 14, 2021 . Legends profile: Chet Walker . June 10, 2024 . NBA.com . en.
  10. Web site: Taylor . Ryan . June 9, 2024 . Chicago Bulls release statement after death of Hall of Famer Chet Walker . June 10, 2024 . NBC Sports Chicago . en-US.
  11. Web site: October 15, 2001 . Q&A with Chet Walker . June 10, 2024 . NBA.com . en.
  12. News: Walker Scores 56 Points (Published 1972) . The New York Times . February 7, 1972 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230529024341/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/02/07/archives/walker-scores-56-points.html . May 29, 2023 . live .
  13. Web site: June 9, 2024 . Basketball HOF forward Walker dies at age of 84 . June 10, 2024 . ESPN.com . en.
  14. Web site: Long Time Coming: A Black Athlete's Coming-Of-Age in America by Chet Walker . June 10, 2024 . publishersweekly.com.
  15. Web site: Smith . Sam . Sam Smith (sportswriter) . June 9, 2024 . Hall of Famer and Bulls legend Chet Walker, one of the greatest to grace the Chicago sports world, dies at 84 . June 10, 2024 . NBA.com.
  16. Web site: February 24, 2012 . Chet Walker among five direct-elects for Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame . June 10, 2024 . NBA.com . en.
  17. Web site: Hayes . Patrick . September 7, 2012 . Chet Walker NBA Hall Of Fame Speech: Benton Harbor Great Inducted . June 10, 2024 . SB Nation Detroit . en.
  18. Web site: Araton . Harvey . June 9, 2024 . Chet Walker, N.B.A. Champion and Movie Producer, Dies at 84 . June 9, 2024 . The New York Times.
  19. Web site: Chet Walker Stats . June 10, 2024 . Basketball-Reference.com . en.