 Walker in 1969 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1944-04-08)April 8, 1944 Amherst, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | July 2, 2007(2007-07-02) (aged 63) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Laurinburg Institute (Laurinburg, North Carolina) |
| College | Providence (1964–1967) |
| NBA draft | 1967: 1st round,1st overall pick |
| Drafted by | Detroit Pistons |
| Playing career | 1967–1976 |
| Position | Shooting guard |
| Number | 24, 11 |
| Career history | |
| 1967–1972 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1972–1973 | Houston Rockets |
| 1973–1976 | Kansas City-Omaha / Kansas City Kings |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 11,655 (16.7 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 1,860 (2.7 rpg) |
| Assists | 2,429 (3.5 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
| Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame | |
James Walker (April 8, 1944 – July 2, 2007) was an American professionalbasketball player. A 6-foot-3-inch (1.91 m)guard, he played nine seasons (1967–1976) in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of theDetroit Pistons,Houston Rockets, andKansas City-Omaha / Kansas City Kings.[1] Walker was a two-timeAll-Star who scored 11,655 points in his career. He was also the father of former NBA playerJalen Rose,[1] though he left Rose's mother prior to his birth and took no part in his child's upbringing.[2] Walker died on July 2, 2007, at the age of 63, from complications related tolung cancer.
Walker grew up inBoston'sRoxbury neighborhood.
Walker attendedLaurinburg Institute, a black preparatory school in North Carolina and later earned a scholarship to play atProvidence College.[3]
Walker attendedProvidence College, where he played under head coachJoe Mullaney.[3]
At Providence, Walker's game (much as that of Michigan starCazzie Russell) was compared to that of the premier player of the era,Cincinnati Royals superstarOscar Robertson. Walker averaged 23 points as a junior, and led the nation with 30 points per game as a senior. His career high of 50 points came in the 1965 Madison Square Garden Holiday Basketball Festival title game, when Providence defeatedBob Cousy'sBoston College Eagles team 91–86 to win the tournament. For his efforts, Walker was named MVP of the tournament. Walker was also named MVP of the 1966 Holiday Festival when Providence defeatedSaint Joseph's University andCliff Anderson in the title game. With the two awards, Walker was the first player to be named MVP in the Holiday Festival two consecutive seasons. He was considered to be the first college player to use the between-the-legs dribble as a cross-over move.
Walker led the nation in scoring in his senior year of 1966–67, averaging 30.4 points a game. He caught and passed UCLA'sLew Alcindor in the final weeks of the season. Walker's 2,000-plus career points led Providence for four decades, until his all-time scoring record was broken in 2005 byRyan Gomes.[1] Walker was able to accomplish this in only three seasons; at the time, freshmen were not allowed to play varsity basketball. Jimmy Walker ended his college career in the quarterfinals of the1967 NIT in the last basketball tournament held at the thirdMadison Square Garden, when he scored 36 points but missed a jump shot at the end of the game as Providence bowed toMarquette 81–80 in overtime. Walker later said that the missed shot was the only thing that went wrong for him in Madison Square Garden.
Overall, Walker averaged 25.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his three seasons (81 games) at Providence.[4] In 2003, he was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame.[5]
Walker was selected #1 overall pick in the1967 NBA draft by theDetroit Pistons. He was also drafted #1 overall in the inauguralAmerican Basketball Association Draft by theIndiana Pacers. 1967 was the first year the NBA had abandoned its territorial draft (under the old draft, which granted an extra first-round pick to be used on collegians within 100 miles of their professional team, Walker might have been selected by theCeltics and teamed with his mentorSam Jones). Walker was also the final pick in the1967 NFL draft by theNew Orleans Saints (the pick now known asMr. Irrelevant), despite never having playedcollege football;[3] this makes Walker the only athlete drafted first by one pro league (two in his case) and last by another.
In the middle of the 1968–69 season, Walker was nearly traded to theNew York Knicks forWalt Bellamy, but the firing ofDonnie Butcher forPaul Seymour meant that he nixed the trade and instead wantedDave DeBusschere traded to New York for Bellamy, which was accepted.[6]
Despite playing in two NBA All-Star games, Walker never reached his full potential as a pro, partly due to his weight gain. His game had been predicated on quickness. Nonetheless, he averaged 20.9 ppg in1969–70, 21.3 in1971–72, and 19.8 in1973–74, averaging almost 17 per game over a 9-year career. The numbers are all the more impressive when one considers that Walker teamed with star guards such asDave Bing in Detroit, andNate Archibald in Kansas City-Omaha.[citation needed]
Overall in 698 games with the Detroit Pistons (1967–1972), Houston Rockets (1972–1973), and Kansas City Kings (1973–1976), Walker averaged 16.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in his NBA career.[7]
| 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 anNBA championship |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967–68 | Detroit | 81 | — | 19.6 | .394 | — | .766 | 1.7 | 2.8 | — | — | 8.8 |
| 1968–69 | Detroit | 69 | — | 23.8 | .466 | — | .795 | 2.3 | 3.2 | — | — | 11.7 |
| 1969–70 | Detroit | 81 | — | 35.4 | .478 | — | .807 | 3.0 | 3.1 | — | — | 20.8 |
| 1970–71 | Detroit | 79 | — | 35.0 | .436 | — | .831 | 2.6 | 3.4 | — | — | 17.6 |
| 1971–72 | Detroit | 78 | — | 39.5 | .457 | — | .827 | 3.0 | 4.0 | — | — | 21.3 |
| 1972–73 | Houston | 81 | — | 38.0 | .465 | — | .884 | 3.3 | 5.5 | — | — | 18.0 |
| 1973–74 | Houston | 3 | — | 12.7 | .583 | — | .000 | .7 | 1.3 | .0 | .0 | 4.7 |
| Kansas City–Omaha | 72 | — | 40.6 | .468 | — | .822 | 2.8 | 4.2 | 1.1 | .1 | 19.8 | |
| 1974–75 | Kansas City–Omaha | 81 | — | 38.5 | .475 | — | .855 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 1.0 | .2 | 16.7 |
| 1975–76 | Kansas City | 73 | — | 34.1 | .483 | — | .865 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 1.2 | .2 | 15.7 |
| Career | 698 | — | 33.8 | .461 | — | .829 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 1.1 | .2 | 16.7 | |
| All-Star | 2 | 0 | 15.0 | .333 | — | .500 | 1.5 | .5 | — | — | 5.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Detroit | 6 | — | 20.2 | .463 | — | .824 | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | — | 12.7 |
| 1975 | Kansas City–Omaha | 6 | — | 37.5 | .464 | — | .778 | 1.7 | 2.8 | .8 | .2 | 15.3 |
| Career | 12 | — | 28.8 | .464 | — | .800 | 1.6 | 2.2 | .8 | .2 | 14.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964–65 | Providence | 26 | — | 37.5 | .475 | — | .769 | 6.1 | 5.2 | — | — | 20.5 |
| 1965–66 | Providence | 27 | — | 39.0 | .508 | — | .772 | 6.7 | 5.5 | — | — | 24.5 |
| 1966–67 | Providence | 28 | — | 39.7 | .490 | — | .801 | 6.0 | 5.1 | — | — | 30.4 |
| Career | 81 | — | 38.8 | .492 | — | .783 | 6.3 | 5.3 | — | — | 25.2 | |
Walker initially settled in Kansas City when his career ended before spending a few years inAmherst, Virginia andAtlanta, Georgia. He moved back to Kansas City in 1994 after his daughter, Jamesa Walker-Thompson, was diagnosed with cancer.
In the leadup to the NCAA Tournament in 1992, Walker sent a letter (addressed to Rose) toDetroit Free Press columnistMitch Albom, as he had been interviewed by him for a book on theFab Five. Rose wanted to wait until he was mature enough to read the letter and didn't read it for eight years. In that same time,Austin Croshere, a Providence graduate who won the school's MVP award that bore Walker's name, was drafted by theIndiana Pacers, who Rose was playing with at the time. He gave Rose a paper that had Walker's phone number on it. In 2000, Rose opened the letter and eventually decided to call the number. The two spoke a few times over the phone and by e-mail but never met. They made plans to meet in person in the month that Walker died. Rose attended the funeral of Walker, who was cremated.[8]
The basketball award at Providence is called the Jimmy Walker Most Valuable Player Award.[9]
In 2008, Providence honored Walker's number with The Friar Legends Forever Tradition.[10]
Jalen Rose hosted the Providence Late Night Event in 2014.[11]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |