Chet Walker spent just under half of his 13 seasons as an NBA Hall of Famer with the Chicago Bulls.
But the durability and scoring reliability he displayed during those six seasons, during one of the franchise's most memorable eras, cemented his status as one of the Bulls' greatest players of all time.
Walker, who missed just 18 games during his time with Chicago, was named to the All-Star team four times and averaged 20.6 points, has passed away, the Bulls confirmed to the Tribune on Saturday night. He was 84 years old.
Nicknamed “The Jet” for his agility, Walker teamed up with fellow forward Bob Love to form a powerful scoring duo. With a hot-blooded backcourt of Norm Van Lier and Jerry Sloan and an anchor in center Tom Boerwinkle, the Bulls recorded four straight 50-win seasons under Dick Motta and reached two straight Western Conference finals. Around this time, the Bulls were becoming more recognized as an up-and-coming franchise in a working-class, hard-working city.
“That laid the foundation for Chicago basketball,” Walker said during his 2012 Hall of Fame induction speech in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Bulls acquired Walker from the Philadelphia 76ers in September 1969. Walker was a starter on the 76ers, considered one of the greatest teams of all time. Led by Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain, Hal Grier and Billy Cunningham, the 76ers went 68-13 in 1966-67 and defeated the San Francisco Warriors in the NBA Finals before disbanding two years later.
Walker's strong face-up play, devastating pump fakes and ability to score in key situations quickly dispelled rumors that the 76ers were trading him because his game was declining, as he averaged 21.5 points in his first season with Chicago and helped the Bulls reach the playoffs.
All 13 of Walker's teams have made the postseason.
“He was a really dependable guy,” Bowinkle once told the Tribune.
Walker was elected as an inaugural member of the Bulls Ring of Honor in January.
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Born the youngest of 10 children in rural Mississippi on Feb. 22, 1940, Chester “Chet” Walker was raised by a strong single mother who relocated the family to Benton Harbor, Mich. Walker overcame poverty to earn a scholarship to Bradley University in Peoria, where he was two-time All-American nominee and won NIT titles in 1957 and 1960.
The Syracuse Nationals, who moved to Philadelphia to become the 76ers, drafted Walker in the second round. He was named to the All-Rookie Team and ultimately appeared in seven All-Star games.
Walker averaged 19.2 points in his final season in 1974-1975 and was finally inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 through the Veterans Affairs Committee. In several interviews, Walker has said that his leadership role with the players' union, including lawsuits against the Bulls and the NBA, was the reason he delayed his induction.
“I think I've been blacklisted,” Walker told the Tribune in 2007, alluding to the end of his career and awaiting induction into the Hall of Fame.
Motta, who never got along well with the quiet Walker, rejected the starting forward's contract demands before that season. Motta and Bulls management also rejected Walker's requests to be traded or released.
Walker then sued the Bulls and the NBA for violating federal antitrust laws. Walker reached a settlement, but never played again. Along with union president Larry Fleischer and prominent player representatives Oscar Robertson and Bob Cousy, Walker played a leading role in preventing NBA owners from limiting competition for players by merging with the emerging American Basketball Association.
The merger finally happened in 1976, but the free agency clause was granted, and a financial recovery began for the players, but not for Walker, and the Bulls' golden age came to an end. In Walker's absence, the team fell from 47 wins to 24.
After his playing career ended, Walker moved to Hollywood and began his career as a film producer. He won an Emmy for the made-for-TV film Mother Courage: The Mary Thomas Story, which focuses on the strength of Isaiah Thomas' mother as a single mother raising nine children on Chicago's west side.
Walker has said in many interviews that Mary Thomas reminded him of the sacrifices of his own mother. Isaiah Thomas was onstage as one of the presenters for Walker's Hall of Fame speech.
“When people came to the old Chicago Stadium, it was so loud you couldn't hear yourself think,” Walker said at the induction ceremony. “I love Chicago. Great city, great town, great people.”
KC Johnson is a former Chicago Tribune sports writer.
