Photo: Bill Walton is honored by Blazers with uniform band for 2024-25 NBA season | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton will be honored by the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2024-2025 season.

The Blazers announced Thursday that they will wear a band with Walton’s No. 32 on their jersey throughout the upcoming season and that there will be a special Walton tribute night as part of the festivities before their March 9 game against the Detroit Pistons.

Walton died on May 27 at the age of 71 after previously being diagnosed with cancer.

The NBA held a moment of silence for Walton before Game 1 of the Finals between the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

The Blazers selected Walton with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1974 NBA draft. He entered the league after a legendary four-year stint at UCLA from 1970 to ’74. His college accolades include being named National Player of the Year three times, winning consecutive national titles in 1971-72 and 1972-73 and being named Final Four Most Outstanding Player twice.

Walton’s professional career was hampered by injuries, but he had a big impact on the field when he played. He averaged 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game during the 1977–78 season, winning the NBA MVP award.

The Blazers won the NBA title during the 1976–77 season, with Walton earning Finals MVP honors. He averaged 18.5 points, 19.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the six-game series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Walton’s number 32 jersey was retired by the Trail Blazers in 1989. He is one of 10 players in franchise history to have his number retired.

After retiring from the NBA after the 1987–88 season, Walton was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame five years later. He was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2006.