Treasured Bill Walton items up for auction represent ‘huge part of Bill’s everyday life’

The process of selecting items belonging to Bill Walton,

who died last year at the age of 71

, for an auction wasn’t easy for his widow, Lori Walton.

Bill treasured these pieces, as they told the story of the former NBA great’s life. The items found on the

Hunt Auctions’ website

weren’t pulled from boxes tucked away in an attic, garage, or storage unit.

Therefore, they also meant a lot to Lori. However, the decision to part with hundreds of items was made necessary by the sheer volume of “stuff.”

Walton kept every meaningful item from his 71 years.

“I loved my husband,” Lori Walton said with a chuckle. “I was very happily married for 35 years. But my husband was basically a hoarder.”

Walton was also one who kept his most cherished items in plain sight. Their Southern California home, Lori Walton said, was essentially a museum packed with items Walton kept close to his heart.

“When I was looking through the catalog, I felt like I was looking at my house,” Lori Walton said. “So, anyone who gets a winning bid for any of the items in the catalog, I just want them to know that these are all items that were a huge part of Bill’s everyday life … He used them. They were displayed in our house.”

Bill’s penchant for keeping anything and everything is a boon for fans, who might be fortunate enough to snag an item this week.

A live auction of hundreds of items that belonged to the former Trail Blazers superstar began last month.

Bill Walton and Lori Matsuoka attend the “The Luckiest Guy in the World” world premiere during 2023 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Austin Convention Center on March 15, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW)

Getty Images for SXSW

The

online pre-bidding for lots one through 283

ends at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Then, the items move to the live auction, which starts at 11 a.m. Thursday. Bidders not in attendance can bid via telephone or online.

Online-only lots close at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Hunt Auctions president David Hunt said some 300 lots will be available only online.

For more information about registering, call 610-524-0822 or email

info@huntauctions.com

before Thursday.

WALTON TREASURES

The list of Walton memorabilia is extensive. Items include game-worn jerseys from his playing days with UCLA, the Blazers, Boston Celtics, and San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers, as well as warmups, jackets and shoes. His two championship rings are available, as well as the 1978 NBA MVP trophy he won with the Blazers.

“It’s almost like a scrapbook of Bill’s life,” Lori said.

Also included are personal items that reflected his personality, such as books, clothing, trinkets, record albums, and bicycles.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 25: Former NBA player Bill Walton rides his bike as part of the Inter-Galactic Bike for Humanity fund raiser to benefit victims of the COVID-19 virus and healthcare workers on April 25, 2020 in San Diego, California. Volunteers contributed to the fund and rode throughout their neighborhoods as part of the virtual ride. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Walton, Lori said, treated his bicycles as if they were alive. When he was out riding and Lori called to see where he was, Bill would respond, “We’re out for a ride.”

“He treated his bike like a friend,” she said.

Also included is a

large tipi where Walton once hosted Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Yao Ming

.

“It’s certainly the first tipi I have ever sold in my 36-year auction career, that is for sure,” Hunt said with a laugh.

The tipi has a special place in Lori’s heart.

“When they took down the tipi, that one just really cut me to my core,” Lori said. “We just had so many fond memories of it. When people came over, that was always the highlight of the tour of our garden.”

Lori, who moved into a smaller home following Walton’s death, said she doesn’t have room for all of Walton’s items and thought it best to give fans a chance to own them.

But first, Walton’s four sons were allowed to pick out items they wanted.

“I told the boys to take whatever they wanted,” Lori said. “There were a few things that I put aside for myself, but he just had so much stuff that there was plenty to go around.”

Three of the items toughest for Lori to part with were Walton’s Hall of Fame ring, NBA at 50 ring and NBA at 75 jacket.

Walton, Lori said, was proud of his place in NBA history. He had feared that because injuries limited his professional success, he wouldn’t be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, which happened in 1993.

“When that call did come, he was just ecstatic,” Lori said.

Other trophies, rings, uniforms, practice jerseys, warmups, lettermen’s jackets, autographed items, artwork, photos, press credentials, a bicycle, shoes, and much more are also available.

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of California San Diego, to help build a pavilion named after Dr. Steven R. Garfin.

He performed a spinal fusion on Walton in 2008 to help combat back issues he had been dealing with since his time at UCLA.

“His back always hurt,” Lori said.

According to Lori, the surgery relieved Walton of a lot of pain.

“He got his life back,” she said.

HUNT AUCTIONS

Lori Walton said she chose Hunt Auctions in part because former NBA legend Bill Russell and wife Jeannine had a good experience auctioning off his memorabilia in 2022, months before his death later that year.

Their auction reportedly generated $7.4 million.

Late NBA legend Bill Walton. (Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Hunt has also organized auctions for Babe Ruth’s family, Ted Williams’ family, Joe DiMaggio, Johnny Unitas, Johnny Bench and legendary announcer Vin Scully.

But Walton’s collection, Hunt said, differs from most, given that it’s not limited to sports memorabilia.

“He really had such an interesting and unique life, which I think the items in the auction mirror that life,” Hunt said.

Most catalogs, Hunt said, don’t include as many items from college as Walton’s.

“This is the most comprehensive group of college items that I’ve ever seen from a player at his level in all the years I’ve done this,” Hunt said.

There’s something in the auction for everybody, including items on the less expensive side

Walton had an extensive collection of books and Grateful Dead memorabilia, including tickets and backstage passes. Many hung in laminated holders around the house.

“Those were his absolute loves,” Lori said. “Those were the sources of so much joy in his life, and things that brought him nothing but happiness.”

GREAT TIMES IN PORTLAND

Walton, Lori said, loved his time in Portland where he guided the Blazers to the 1976-77 NBA championship and was named league MVP the following season.

Perhaps the two best outlet passers in basketball history: Wes Unseld of the Washington Bullets (left) and Bill Walton of the Portland Trail Blazers (right) in 1977.

“It was such a difficult time in his life, and he kind of was losing his confidence, and he wasn’t quite sure he was where he was meant to be,” Lori said. “Winning that championship helped him realize that it was something that he could do, and being in the NBA was the place for him and he really could succeed in the NBA.”

Injuries led to him being in Portland just five seasons and hindered him for the rest of his 13-year NBA career, which included stops with the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers and the Boston Celtics.

He made his biggest mark with the Blazers, where Lori said Bill had hoped would draft him in 1974 when he went No. 1 overall.

“I know that he had some very high highs and some very low lows,” she said. “He always would say that the people of Oregon treated him much better than he deserved.”

She recalled a time in the early 1990s when the couple came to Portland for a Blazers event and Bill was concerned with how he would be received.

“He was really nervous that the fans would be really mean to him,” she said.

The opposite proved to be true.

“People could not have been kinder and more loving and appreciative and supportive,” she said.

The experience solidified his love for the region and his time with the Blazers.

“He was very relieved,” she added.

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(FaceThere were also more personal items that reflected his personality, such as books, clothing, trinkets, record albums, and)

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