RIP Chet "the Jet" Walker

Hall of Famer best known for his time with the Bulls, but he helped the 76ers end the Celtics' eight-year title run in 1967.

Basketball HOF forward Walker dies at age of 84

 

The Bulls misfired big-time not drafting Nate Archibald in 1970, instead of Jimmy Collins. Tiny would have rocked Chicago Stadium.
Even without him, that 74-75 team was outstanding. Was rooting for Golden State in the Finals, but that could've been the Bulls' year.
RIP, Chet.

 

Chet Walker was one of the leaders when the Bulls had a really good team, and the Pistons their first competitive team, in the early 1970s, but they were roadblocked by the Bucks with prime time Kareem.

They played a terrific playoff series in 1974 that went down to a 96-94 Bulls win in Game 7 at Chicago Stadium.

The Bulls were pretty much the prehistoric Bad Boys under Dick Motta. Walker was the offensive workhorse of that team along with Bob Love. Norm Van Lier and Bob Weiss were defensive demons.

It turned out just to be a brief flash of glory; the Bulls could never break past the Bucks and they started falling apart from age in another year or so. The Pistons window closed when Dave Bing started slipping the next season. It would be another decade before both teams became playoff perennials.

Music trivia note: Elton John's "Benny and the Jets" became a hit in large part due to its huge popularity among fans when it was played as an anthem in NBA games that year, often by arena organists.

 

Hopefully one-time poster Chet the Jet still alive and kicking.

 

Motta and Krause (then scout) absolutely abhorred each other. Pat Williams had to deal with two egomaniacs.
Years later, Jerry pulled off a MacArthur ... After Rod Thorn made the big call.

 

Bob Love had another awesome nickname: "Butter Bean."

 

Was there any colleague of Jerry Krause who did not abhor him? Krause was a guy who in many admirable, working his way up to Bulls GM. But he appeared to be so insecure that only sycophants could work successfully with him? And he was also a guy who really cared if someone else got the credit for his self perceived genius, like Phil Jackson.

 

The Bulls were up 3-2 in the Western conference finals in 1975 against the eventual champions, the Warriors. Jerry Sloan was still starting at guard and he and Van Lier are still perhaps the greatest defensive backcourt in NBA history. And when I looked up the Bulls 74-75 roster I was reminded Nate Thurmond was on that team.

 

The 1975 Warriors were Rick Barry, Silk Wilkes, Clifford Ray and a bunch of guys whose names all sounded the same. Beard, Bridges, Dickey, Dudley, two Johnsons and a Smith. I can still remember Bill King trying to tell them all apart: "G.J. off to C.J., dribbles to the top of the key, passes to Beard ... Barry ... GOOD!"

Sweeping the Bullets was sort of anticlimatic.

 

Is it just me or does anytime you hear the name Chet you think of the movie Weird Science?