NBA Photos
Never Enough
by John Maxwell
Prior to the 1967 NBA Draft, teams were allowed to take advantage of what were called territorial draft picks. These picks permitted teams to jump to the front of the draft and use their first-round selection on a local college player in an effort to build on that player’s already existing fan base.
Territorial draft picks ceased to exist in 1966, and it was this fortuitous rule change that allowed the Detroit Pistons to select Massachusetts native Jimmy Walker with the first overall pick in the 1967 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-3 guard grew up in Roxbury, Mass. - less than four miles from Boston Garden - and for three years attended nearby Providence College, where he led the nation in scoring as a senior, averaging 30 points per game. Had territorial picks still been the norm, Walker would have in all likelihood dressed in Celtics green on opening day of the 1967-68 season.
Instead, Walker joined a Pistons squad that finished the previous season fifth in the Western Division with a 30-51 mark. Dave Bing, Dave DeBusschere and Eddie Miles were the top returnees for Detroit that season, and Walker was limited to 19.6 minutes per game as a rookie, averaging 8.8 points and 2.8 assists per game. The team improved to 40-42 that year, but that was still only good enough for fourth place in the Eastern Division, where the Pistons moved prior to the season. The Pistons advanced to the postseason for the first time in five years with Walker averaging 12.7 points in a 4-2 series loss to the Celtics in the Eastern Division Semifinals.
The following year, DeBusschere played in just 29 games for Detroit before being traded to the New York Knicks. Head coach Donnis Butcher was fired on Dec. 2, and the team struggled to a 30-52 finish. Walker’s playing time and production slightly increased as he averaged 11.7 points and 3.2 assists in 23.8 minutes per game while he improved his shooting from 39.4 percent to 46.6 percent.
Walker’s breakout season came during the 1969-70 season as he almost doubled his scoring output (20.8 points per game). For his efforts, he was rewarded with his first All-Star berth. Team success was still elusive, however. Despite the hiring of head coach Bill van Breda Kolff, who was coming off of two consecutive NBA Finals appearances as the head tactician of the Los Angeles Lakers, the Pistons suffered through their 14th consecutive losing season at 31-51.
That streak was finally broken the following year thanks in large part to the drafting of Bob Lanier. The first overall pick in the 1970 NBA Draft, Lanier chipped in with 15.6 points and 8.1 points per game. Walker was the team’s second-leading scorer at 17.6 points per game, behind Bing’s 27.0 points. Unfortunately, due to a change in the division format, Detroit’s 45-37 mark still left them short of the postseason as they finished fourth in the Western Conference’s four-team Midwest Division.
Coming off the team’s first winning season since moving Detroit, hopes were high heading into the 1971-72 campaign. It didn’t take long for those hopes to be dashed. Bing saw action in just 45 games that year after suffering an eye injury in the preseason and Van Breda Kolff resigned after just 10 games. No longer sharing shots with Bing, Walker’s scoring prowess was allowed to flourish. He averaged a career-high 21.6 points, including a career-high 44 points on Dec. 7, 1971, against the Portland Trail Blazers. Typical of the season’s fortunes, the Pistons lost, 131-130. Walker was named to his second All-Star team, along with Lanier.
Detroit limped to the finish line losing 14 of 17 to close out the year with a 26-56 record - the team’s lowest win total in seven seasons. A short two years later the Pistons would reach the postseason, but Walker wasn’t around to see it. Following the 1971-72 season, Walker made his way to the Houston Rockets. In five seasons as a Piston, Walker averaged 16.1 points per game.
Walker continued to be a double-digit scorer for the remainder of his career, which included one-plus season with the Houston Rockets and nearly three years with the Kansas City/Omaha Kings. Walker finally made a return trip to the playoffs in 1975 with the Kings. He averaged 15.3 points in Kansas City’s 4-2 series loss in the Western Conference Semis.
Walker played his last game in the NBA at the conclusion of the 1975-76 season. He averaged 15.7 points that year for the Kings, and retired with career averages of 16.7 points and 3.5 assists.
Following his playing career, Walker remained in Kansas City and lived his life in almost complete anonymity. Two decades after he played his last game, Walker’s name resurfaced in the basketball world as his son, Jalen Rose, made his way through the collegiate and professional ranks. The two never met, however, as the former Pistons star was estranged from both Rose and his mother. He passed away after battling lung cancer on July 3, 2007 at the age of 63.
