Lakers’ Walton is first to put everyone else first

He plays in a city where anything less than stardom is failure, where part of his team’s pregame introduction ceremony is a picture of Jack Nicholson.

The Lakers’ Luke Walton performs in Hollywood, but he isn’t. In the movie world, where there is glitz and glamour, Walton is a gaffer. He lights the room so others can shine.

His persona floats beneath the radar. Even the tattoo on his left arm is understated.

He plays in a league of egos, head cases and hot dogs and is none of the above.

Asked whether it bothers him to be lost in the crowd, he says, “Actually, I kind of like it that way.”

He follows with elaboration, knowing a statement that absurd coming from an NBA player needs some.

“I just like to play basketball, especially in Los Angeles,” he says.

So what does Walton do for the Lakers? What is a giver doing in a league of takers?

Exhibit A:

The clock is ticking down to the end of the first half Tuesday night in Staples Center, and the Lakers have just tied the New Orleans Hornets, 55-55. Hornets guard Chris Paul, a mosquito the Lakers could not swat all night, gets loose underneath and flips up a short shot that makes it 57-55. Both teams had a long look at the clock when Kobe Bryant made three free throws at the other end with nine seconds left to tie it. So, after the Hornets’ dash downcourt, a jiggle here, a pass there, and a fadeaway by Paul before the shot drops in, the body language on the court says that, once Paul’s shot slithered through the net, the half is over.

Not for Luke, the Facilitator.

He grabs the ball, steps quickly out of bounds and spots teammate Ronny Turiaf running a fly pattern toward the Lakers basket. Walton impersonates Peyton Manning, Turiaf catches the ball, squirms loose and drops in a layup. Score tied, 57-57. Lakers lovers rock Staples.

The fact that the referees review the play and determine that Turiaf released his shot a split second after the buzzer isn’t the point. Walton’s alert attempt is.

NBA fans love hustle, coaches love hustle. So do general managers, who usually see it only from player agents at contract time.

Exhibit B:

Earlier in the game, while nine other guys stand around, Walton makes a dash for a loose ball and, falling out of bounds, tosses it back in play, where it eventually goes to Derek Fisher for a layup. Walton doesn’t even get an assist because his toss goes to another player before it gets to Fisher.

No matter to Luke, the Workhorse.

“Assists are contagious,” he says. “It gets everybody going.”

Exhibit C:

Last Friday night in Phoenix, when he needs to get the ball to Bryant, breaking to the basket, Walton does so with a SportsCenter highlight pass that goes right between the legs of the Suns’ Shawn Marion.

“That was fun,” he says, almost as if he had amazed himself.

It’s not as if there isn’t ego in his genes. His father is Bill Walton, Hall of Fame player turned star broadcaster, who, it is fair to say, has some. Luke Walton hints that his dad had something to do with the quiet way he is and the unselfish way he plays. Bill Walton did, after all, father Luke’s three brothers.

“I guess I learned to play like I do because I had three brothers, two older,” Walton says. “I made sure I’d pass the ball to the two older ones so I could get to play some more.”

All four sons of Bill and Susie Walton played college basketball. Oldest son Adam was at Louisiana State for two years; next was Nathan at Princeton, followed by Luke at Arizona and youngest son Chris at San Diego State.

“We played a lot together when we were kids,” Walton says, “and my dad always told us that the best way to be a good player was to make the players around you better.”

Tuesday, New Orleans had the better players. Peja Stojakovic got 36 points and Walton was among those Lakers chasing him on defense all night. Paul had 19 points and a team-record 21 assists.

But Walton kept working, right to the end, with another highlight-film alley-oop pass to Andrew Bynum that cut the lead to 102-96, the Lakers’ last best chance. Walton’s box score line was typical for him: three of eight field goals, five assists, four rebounds, seven points and a dozen things done well that they don’t put in the box score.

No matter to Luke, the Unsung.

He was a second-round pick in the 2003 draft and showed up shortly after the Lakers’ three-peat title run. He was on the team that lost to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 Finals. Since then, he has become a starter and couldn’t be happier with his recent six-year contract worth $5 million a year. That’s incredible money in the real world, chump change in the NBA.

“I was a free agent for a couple of minutes,” he says. “As long as the Lakers made a decent offer of any kind, I wasn’t going anywhere. This is the best place for me.”

That’s good news for the guys in purple and gold who keep getting hit with good passes.

From Luke, the Teammate.

Bill Dwyre can be reached at bill.dwyre@latimes.com. For previous columns by Dwyre, go to latimes.com/dwyre.