ORLANDO, Fla. — Chet Walker, who spent six seasons of his distinguished NBA career with the Bulls, is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2012.
Walker earned direct election by the veteran’s committe. Walker earned four All-Star selections during his tenure with the Bulls, playing on the Dick Motta-led teams that always narrowly missed breaking through to a title.
Walker also won a championship with the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers that many consider one of the greatest teams of all-time.
Former Bulls general manager Jerry Krause and former Bulls assistant coach Johnny Bach were on the original ballot for the Class of 2012 but didn’t advance as finalists.
Pat Williams, a longtime Orlando Magic executive who also served as a Bulls general manager in the early days of the franchise, earned the John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award.
Also, Sam Smith, who covered the NBA extensively during a 28-year run at the Tribune, was named the winner of the Curt Gowdy Media Award on Friday.
“It’s pretty overwhelming,” Smith said.
Smith, who now writes for Bulls.com, will receive his award at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame ceremony this summer and be enshrined in the media wing.
In an interview with the Tribune in March 2008, NBA Commissioner David Stern said of Smith: “There’s only one Sam. He’s really an invaluable chronicler of the last golden age of basketball before the current one. I have enormous respect for his judgment and intelligence and journalistic skills.”
Smith covered the Bulls during their dynasty days, authoring the acclaimed book “The Jordan Rules” in 1991.
Smith started at the Tribune in November 1979 after serving as press secretary to Sen. Lowell Weicker (R.-Conn.) in the 1970s and also writing for the Ft. Wayne News-Sentinel. He covered business and local politics before moving to sports in April 1984. He began covering the NBA in 1989.
With his omnipresent sweater vests adorned with some golf course logo and his trademark saddle shoes, Smith might have looked out of place. He wasn’t.
“Sam’s a listener who can start a conversation and let you expand upon it quite easily,” Phil Jackson said in a 2008 phone interview with the Tribune. “He has outside interests to draw from and knows the difference between a good story and sensational one.
“He understands basketball’s a game but also players’ and coaches’ livelihood. He keeps that balance well, writing in both playful and serious tones, which is why he can talk to anybody from the top of the organization to the bottom.”
Chicago native Maurice Cheeks is a finalist who needs a minimum of 18 of 24 votes to be inducted in the Class of 2012. So is Motta, who went 356-300 in eight seasons coaching the Bulls. Motta won the Coach of the Year while with the Bulls in 1971.
Twitter @kcjhoop
