It’s hard to find many professional athletes who have spent more time in the operating room than Bill Walton.
The 7-foot NBA legend, who won two national titles at UCLA and two NBA championships with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics, has dealt with the pain, recovery and stress from 38 surgeries. Injuries forced Walton to retire after the 1986-87 season, 13 years after his NBA debut.
Walton recently told Sports Illustrated’s Maggie Gray that he contemplated suicide after one of his back surgeries.
“When I was lying on that floor — and I had nothing — I was going to kill myself if I had a gun,” Walton told Gray.
Suicide is among the several topics Walton addresses in his new book, titled “Back from the Dead,” which is now available.
Walton currently is a college basketball analyst for ESPN.
Thumbnail photo via Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports Images
