"Wild" Luke Theodore Walton (born March 28 1980 in San Diego, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His position is small forward.

The son of former NBA great Bill Walton, Luke Walton was no stranger to the sport of basketball during his upbringing. His three brothers — Adam, Nathan (who unsuccessfully ran for governor during the 2003 California recall), and Chris — also play or have played basketball for their schools.

After graduating from University of San Diego High School in 1998, Walton enrolled at the University of Arizona and majored in family studies. There, he played for the Wildcats under coach Lute Olson. In his junior year, Walton averaged 15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. As a fifth year senior, he averaged 10.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 0.9 steals.

Walton graduated from Arizona at the end of 2003, and was selected by the Lakers in the 2003 NBA Draft with the third pick of the second round (32nd overall). Standing at 6 feet, 8 inches tall and weighing 235 pounds, Walton has been with the Lakers for his entire NBA career.

Walton has been praised for being skilled in the fundamentals of basketball: positioning, timing, and teamwork. Many NBA experts and enthusiasts view Walton as a smart player of the game who has a high basketball IQ and one who understands the game of basketball deeply. In the past, he has shown precise passing skills, with the know-how to operate on plays like a point guard. He is also considered as an all-around player. Aside from guard-like passing skills, in the 06-07 regular season, he showed the ability to stretch his range past the three-point line, rebounded well, and works hard to disprove the critics who doubted his athleticism. In the current season, he appears to have taken a step back in these same skills, as well as in field goal percentage.

His passing skills brought him great success in the triangle offense under coach Phil Jackson. To some critics, however, believe Walton's tendency to pass rather than shoot occasionally hampers his team's offense. This habit was exemplified in one game at the end of the 2004-05 season in which the Lakers were down by a point with time running out and Walton was in position to score. Instead, he passed the ball to Kobe Bryant, who was unable to get a shot off. As the buzzer sounded, Bryant slammed the ball on the floor in frustration, though he later said he didn't blame Walton for the pass. In the 2007-08 season, January 27, 2008, Lakers were down three, 98-95 with 9 seconds to go. Turiaf received the inbound pass and gave the ball to Bryant. Bryant tried to get into position to make a 3-point attempt, but he was double-teamed. This left Walton wide open from behind the arch. Bryant passed Walton. Walton was in a position to shoot, but hesitated. A defender raced to him. Walton passed back to Bryant who was being heavily guarded. Bryant caught the ball, but the buzzer sounded before Bryant could get a shot off.

Walton suffered an injury in the 2004 preseason and was unable to find a place in Rudy Tomjanovich's rotation, but returned to a regular spot in the lineup after the coach's resignation midway through the season.

As Walton shares a name with the Luke Skywalker character from Star Wars, whenever Walton scores, the beginning of the "Throne Room/End Credit" music from the Star Wars original soundtrack plays over the public address system. Walton, however, is not named after the Star Wars character; instead, he is named after his father Bill's close friend and former Portland Trail Blazers teammate Maurice Lucas.

In 2006, Walton made a cameo appearance on the television soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

On a personal note, Walton owns a restaurant in Manhattan Beach, California. ops.php" target="_blank">http://www.joeyssmokinbbq.com/investor_ops.php He has a tattoo on his arm (the dancing skeletons), commemorating his appreciation for The Grateful Dead. Recently Luke and his fiancee, Stacie Beshears celebrated their one year anniversary at a 311 show inside the Joint, Las Vegas.

In _06-07, Walton had a career year, with career high per game averages in minutes, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, steals, blocks, rebounds, assists and points. His PER also reached a career high, and Luke was widely regarded as the most improved player on the Lakers roster. Following the season, on July 12, 2007, Walton was signed to a 6-year, $30 million contract, based partly on the potential shown from the preceding season.

Subsequently, Walton has struggled greatly in the 07-08 regular season (despite a stellar pre-season). In addition to suffering several injuries, Walton's per game statistics have dipped from the previous season in every category, from minutes played, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, free-throw percentage (career low), steals, blocks, rebounds, assists, and points. His PER is also at a career low. In addition, Walton has featured prominently in several embarrassing plays, including the Lakers' opening game of the 2007-08 regular season against the Houston Rockets. Walton inadvertently knocked a defensive rebound into his own basket. The Rockets won 95-93.