Neal Walk
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Neal Walk (born July 29, 1948 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a former professional basketball player who played from 1969 to 1974 for the Phoenix Suns, was traded to the then New Orleans (now Utah) Jazz and subsequently traded to the New York Knicks, where he played for 2 seasons. Afterward, he went to play in Italy (Venice and Milano) after which, he went on to become a star in Israel. In 1988, it was discovered that he had a benign tumor enveloping his spine.
Perhaps his biggest claim to fame is having been drafted 2nd overall in the 1969 NBA Draft by the Suns, after they lost a coin flip with Milwaukee Bucks for the number one pick. Milwaukee chose basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with the first pick.
Following surgery, Walk was left in a wheelchair, from which he played wheelchair basketball for the L.A.-Phoenix Samaritans. In 1990, Neal Walk was honored at the White House by President George H. W. Bush as the "Wheelchair Athlete of The Year".
He has since gone on to work for the Suns in their Community Affairs department.