Did Bill Walton play with Kareem?

Though the two were never on the same team, Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have been linked for much of their lives.

The centers attained national fame at UCLA, where they helped sustain the basketball dynasty of Bruins of the 1960s and 1970s. From there, the two became No. 1 overall NBA draft picks winning multiple titles at the professional level and went on to earn enshrinement in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Walton died at the age of 71 on Monday battling cancer for a long time. Hours after the NBA announced the news of Walton’s death, on behalf of Walton’s family, Abdul-Jabbar paid tribute to his friend and fellow basketball legend.

Abdul-Jabbar is among the many, including Julius Erving, who paid accolade to Walton as a kind, gregarious soul, whose on-court feats were matched by his friendliness outside it.

Walton and Abdul-Jabbar had a deeper and more profound connection than most players.

They altogether won five NCAA championships at UCLA, with Abdul-Jabbar accounting for three.

While both of them played for coach John Wooden, they never got to play for the Bruins together, as Abdul-Jabbar graduated in 1969, nearly a year before Walton arrived at the school’s Westwood campus.

Abdul-Jabbar and Walton are considered universally as two of the greatest college basketball players in history.

As soon as Walton’s NBA career kicked off in 1974 — he, just like Abdul-Jabbar, established himself as one of the league’s best big men — the two regularly squared off.