One year to the day after the passing of basketball legend Bill Walton, San Diego Sport Innovators on Tuesday announced that it will expand mentorship programs in his name.
The Walton Innovation Network (WIN) is the first part of the organization’s planned Bill Walton Legacy Project. Walton was chairman of the San Diego-based nonprofit, which focuses on boosting businesses “dedicated to the San Diego lifestyle industry.”
The nonprofit’s executive director, Bob Rief, called the mentorship programs “dear to Bill’s heart” and “dedicated to his legacy of uplifting others, hard work and giveback.”
“WIN will support the entrepreneurs, innovators, athletes, and dreamers – in all stages of business from ideation, scale, through funding – who are changing the future of our industry,” Rief said.
Walton died May 27, 2024, at his home in San Diego following a prolonged battle with cancer, prompting salutes from across the region and the sports world. He was 71.
“Bill’s inherent curiosity about people is what made him such a natural helper. And with the announcement of WIN, we are just getting started and when it comes to preserving Bill’s legacy, the future is full of possibilities,” said San Diego Sport Innovators board member Mike Irwin.
According to the nonprofit, its business mentoring programs have helped to scale more than 150 businesses, 78% of which are still active or have been acquired. More than 100 volunteers serve as executive mentors.
Walton was born in 1952 in La Mesa, where he grew up and played basketball at Helix High School, leading the Highlanders to San Diego Section championships in 1969 and 1970.
He was selected as Player of the Year in all three of his varsity seasons at UCLA and led the Bruins to NCAA championships in 1972 and 1973.
He was the first player selected in the 1974 NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, but had an injury-plagued professional career, playing at least 60 games in only three seasons. He missed three entire seasons because of a foot injury.
However, he did lead Portland to the NBA championship in 1977 and was selected as the NBA Finals MVP and the league’s MVP in the 1977-78 season, despite playing only 58 of 82 regular-season games.
After retiring from the NBA, Walton overcame a stutter to become an Emmy-winning broadcaster. He was an analyst for CBS, ESPN, ABC and the Pac-12 Networks, winning a Sports Emmy for best live television sports telecast in 1991. The American Sportscasters Association in 2009 named him one of the top 50 sports broadcasters of all-time.
Walton, a devoted San Diegan, had lived in the same home near Balboa Park for more than 40 years.
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