Bill Walton blames himself for San Diego losing Clippers
There hasn't been a NBA team in San Diego in 32 years, and that long absence irks Hall of Famer Bill Walton. In fact, he holds himself responsible for the city losing the team it had, the Clippers.
"I wish we had NBA basketball here," Walton told ESPN's Arash Markazi. "And we don't because of me."
Walton retired as a player in 1987. He resides in San Diego, the city where he grew up and also raised his own children - including son Luke, now head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
"It's my greatest failure as a professional in my entire life," the elder Walton said of his tenure with the Clippers. "I could not get the job done in my hometown. It is a stain and stigma on my soul that is indelible. I'll never be able to wash that off, and I carry it with me forever."
Now known for his often-verbose hyperbole as a college basketball broadcaster, Walton signed as a free agent in his hometown in 1979. Severe foot injuries cost him two full seasons over the next five years before the team moved up the coast to L.A. in 1984. He believes that, if he was healthy, the Clippers would have won and the franchise wouldn't have moved.
"If I could have played we would still have NBA basketball in San Diego. ... If I was any kind of a man I would have just quit on the spot when the team moved to Los Angeles and said, 'I'm staying here,'" Walton continued. "But I wasn't in a good place. ... I was not strong enough to stand up for what was right. I should have stayed in San Diego and done something else. I was very sad."
Donald Sterling purchased the team in 1981. He'd run into financial problems in San Diego and, true to form, was overseeing a fiasco on the court and off. While Walton blames himself, he did concede that the owner's questionable stewardship was also a significant factor in the team's fate.
"The checks bounced higher than the basketballs when Donald Sterling took over," the 63-year-old said. "The basketball was awful, and the business side was immoral, dishonest, corrupt, and illegal.
"Other than that, it was all fine."