Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton Died in May 2024 — He Is Survived by His Wife and Kids
Basketball star Bill Walton passed away on May 27, 2024. He is survived by his wife and adult children.
May 28 2024, Published 10:42 a.m. ET
On May 27, 2024, Bill Walton passed away. Bill was a professional basketball player with several notable accomplishments. During his college career between 1972 and 1974, he won three consecutive awards for national college player of the year. After being selected as the first pick in the 1974 NBA draft, he led the Portland Trail Blazers to NBA championship dominance in 1977, earning him a title for the NBA Finals MVP. He is also known for overcoming several speech impediments and becoming a sportscaster after retiring from the NBA.
Despite Bill's physical challenges, he also remained close to the sport that he loved and became known as one of the best players of the Portland Trail Blazers in history. His loss is mourned by basketball fans everywhere, with the official ESPN Twitter having posted upon news of his death stating, "His ESPN family will miss him dearly."
Bill's family will feel his absence the most. He is also survived by his wife and kids.
Bill Walton lived with his wife, Lori, in San Diego.
At the time of his death, Bill had been married to his wife Lori Matsuoka, with whom he tied the knot back in 1991. According to her Instagram account (which hasn't posted anything new since August of 2023), she was once an editor for the Philanthropy section at site called GBMag. She also most prominently works with a nonprofit organization called Freedom Dogs, which provides aid to wounded military members by providing them with service and support dogs.
Bill got married back in 1979 to a woman named Susan, but they divorced in 1989. However, he did have four sons from his previous marriage and he kept in contact with them during his second marriage.
According to his website bio, Bill has four sons named Adam, Nathan, Luke, and Chris. Luke followed in his father's footsteps as a professional basketball player. And similar to his father, Luke won two NBA championships in 2009 and 2010.
Bill Walton accumulated a sizeable net worth prior to his death from cancer.
It's fair to assume that Bill and his family were rather well off. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Bill's net worth stood at over $20 million, which was earned throughout his career as an NBA star and a sports commentator.
Bill Walton
NBA player, sports commentator
Net worth: $20 million
Bill Walton was a professional NBA player with two championship titles under his belt from 1977 and 1986. He went on to become a sportscaster before passing away in 2024.
Birth Name: William Theodore Walton III
Birthdate: Nov. 5, 1952
Date of Death: May 27, 2024
Birthplace: La Mesa, Calif.
Education: UCLA
The news of Bill's death came suddenly over the 2024 Memorial Day weekend. ESPN reported at the time that he passed away "after a prolonged battle with cancer." He was 71 at the time of his death.
Our thoughts go out to Bill Walton's family during this difficult time.
