UCLA great Walt Hazzard headed to National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame

LOS ANGELES - Walt Hazzard, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard during the John Wooden era of UCLA basketball, will have his legacy memorialized as one of the all-time great college players.

UCLA announced Monday that Hazzard will be enshrined posthumously into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Oct. 22 in Kansas City, Mo. He died in 2011 at the age of 69.

Hazzard was a two-time All-American (1963, 1964) and a three-year starter for UCLA under Wooden between 1962-64.

He helped guide UCLA to a 30-0 record in 1964, when the Bruins defeated Duke, 98-83, for the national championship, the first of 10 titles in 12 years under Wooden. Hazzard averaged a career-high 18.6 points per game. He was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player and was named the National Player of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. That same season, Hazzard won a gold medal playing for the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics.

His midrange jumper, ball-handling and ability to read defenses and make simple but timely passes made Hazzard one of the most well-rounded and respected guards of his era.

He played 10 seasons in the NBA, averaged a career high 24 points and 6.2 assists per game for the Seattle Supersonics during the team's inaugural season and was named an NBA All-Star that same season (1968).

After his playing days, Hazzard became the head coach at UCLA from 1984-1988 after stints at Compton College and Chapman University. He led UCLA to its first NIT title during his first season at the helm.

Hazzard is the 10th member of the UCLA program to be inducted, alongside Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton, Gail Goodrich, Sidney Wicks, Marques Johnson, Jamaal Wilkes, David Greenwood and Dave Meyers.

Wooden, Abdul-Jabbar, Walton and Goodrich were part of the inaugural class selected in 2006.

Hazzard will be inducted alongside Villanova's two-time national champion coach Jay Wright, former Kentucky coach Tubby Smith, Kansas coach Ted Owens, former BYU forward and two-time NBA champion Danny Ainge and Michigan all-time leading scorer Glen Rice.

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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 1:05 PM.