scored 36 points but missed a jump shot at the end of the game as Providence bowed to Marquette 81-80 in overtime. Walker later said that the missed shot was the only thing that went wrong for him in Madison Square Garden. Overall, Walker averaged 25.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists in his three seasons (81 games) at Providence. NBA career Walker was selected #1 overall pick in the 1967 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. He was also drafted #1 overall in the first American Basketball Association Draft by the Indiana Pacers. 1967 was the first year the NBA had abandoned its territorial draft (under the old draft, which granted an extra first round pick to be used on collegians within 100 miles of their professional team, Walker might have been selected by the Celtics and teamed with his mentor Sam Jones). Walker was also the final pick in the 1967 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints (the pick now known as Mr. Irrelevant), despite never having played college football; this makes Walker the only athlete drafted first by one pro league (two in his case) and last by another. Despite playing in two NBA All-Star games, Walker never reached his full potential as a pro, partly due to his weight gain. His game had been predicated on quickness. Nonetheless, he averaged 20.9 ppg in 1969–70, 21.3 in 1971–72, and 19.8 in 1973–74, averaging almost 17 per game over a 9-year career. The numbers are all the more impressive when one considers that Walker teamed with star guards such as Dave Bing in Detroit, and Nate Archibald in Kansas City-Omaha. Overall in 698 games with the Detroit Pistons (1967–1972), Houston Rockets (1972–1973), and Kansas City Kings (1973–1976), Walker averaged 16.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in his NBA career. NBA career statistics Regular season |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | 81 || || 19.6 || .394 || || .766 || 1.7 || 2.8 || || || 8.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | 69 || || 23.8 || .466 || || .795 || 2.3 || 3.2 || || || 11.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | 81 || || 35.4 || .478 || || .807 || 3.0 || 3.1 || || || 20.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Detroit | 79 || || 35.0 || .436 || || .831 || 2.6 || 3.4 || || || 17.6