Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame small forward and Chicago Bulls alum Chet Walker has passed away per multiple reports. Walker, a native of Bethlehem, Mississippi, played his college ball at Bradley, where he garnered All-American honors twice and three-time First-Team All Missouri Valley Conference before being drafted by the then-Syracuse Nationals (now, Philadelphia 76ers) 14th overall in the 1962 NBA draft. The 6-foot-7 forward would win a title with the Sixers in 1967.
Chet “the Jet” (as he was sometimes called for a nickname) would play seven seasons with that ball club before being traded with Shaler Halimon to the Chicago Bulls for Bob Kauffman and Jim Washington in 1969. Walker would play the final six seasons of his career with Chicago, making All-Star with the Bulls for four of his seven career nods.
He is also a Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor member, and passed away in Long Beach, California on June 8, 2024. Rest in peace, Chet.
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame forward Chet Walker — a seven-time All-Star and a member of the Chicago Bulls Ring of Honor — has passed away at 84, per @TheNBPA. Walker won an NBA championship with Philadelphia in 1967 and was a two-time All-American at Bradley. pic.twitter.com/sv1ct73YAK
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 9, 2024
