UCLA men’s basketball head coach Mick Cronin voiced the desire to commemorate Bruins’ basketball legends Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with statues around Pauley Pavilion according to Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
“Behind the scenes there’s a lot of push from their teammates and I’m right with them. What you find at state schools, it’s unbelievably hard to get a wall painted, let alone a statue built.”
Currently, the only statue at Pauley Pavilion is one of the legendary John Wooden, who was honored with the 8-foot bronze statue in 2012, two years after Wooden passed away in 2012.
Wooden joined the Bruins as their head coach for the 1948-1949 season after signing to a three-year deal worth $6,000. Wooden remained in the position until 1975, by the time he retired he was 10-time National Champion and a record of 620-147 with the Bruins while establishing UCLA as an elite program over his tenure.
Abdul-Jabbar, a Bruins’ Hall of Famer in his own right, had a near-flawless UCLA career, starting his career with a 56-point debut. Adbul-Jabbar, known then as Lew Alcindor, won three national championships in three seasons with the Bruins while also earning three national Player of the Year awards before collecting the first-ever Naismith College Player of the Year award before heading to the NBA. Alcindor had his No. 33 retired by UCLA in 1990, one of ten Bruins basketball players to receive the honor.
Walton didn’t lose a single game in his first two seasons with the Bruins, with UCLA having consecutive unbeaten seasons that resulted in national titles. Walton won the Naismith award three straight years along with three national Player of the Year awards. Walton had his No. 32 retired along with Abdul-Jabbar’s in 1990.