Bill Walton, man of joy

Bill Walton, the college basketball world will miss you.

1. Bill Walton, 1952-2024

Among Bill Walton’s many talents — Hall of Fame basketball player, beloved announcer, Pac-12 devotee and Deadhead would be on the marquee — nothing matched the UCLA legend’s sheer unbridled joy of basketball.

That joy manifested itself throughout Walton’s life as a player, as an color analyst and most of all as a fan. A 7-foot bundle of joy, speaking at considerable and detail, and often with Walton-specific aphorisms that couldn’t contain his exuberance for basketball, or, for that matter, life.

Walton, who died Monday at the age of 71 after a prolonged battle with cancer, filled his life with basketball. And for him, that meant delighting in the game that made him famous. Though he also took joy in seemingly anything that came his way as someone supremely comfortable in his own skin.

Pac-12 late nights were Walton’s domain, a pastiche of analysis, history lessons and humor, refined from more than 30 years of working as a for broadcasters that included CBS Sports, NBC, ESPN and ABC.

The man had stories, whether it coordinating the 1980s Boston Celtics attending a Grateful Dead concert (the delight at telling this story!), his interest in Native American culture, his days as a student protesting the Vietnam War and questioning authority, or generating more stories because of his zest for learning about everyone he met. (If you want the unfiltered, full-stream of consciousness, no commas Walton, try this Bill Simmons podcast.)

And that was only his post-basketball career.

His numerous on-court achievements — 3-time NPOY, 2-time national champion and Final Four MOP, 3-time consensus All-American, NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, 2-time NBA Champ among them — don’t fully encapsulate his greatness, particularly at UCLA. Watch this clip of Walton rebounding, running the floor, blocking shots, delivering perfect outlet passes, and so much more. (If you prefer his peak NBA era, try this.)

His time with the Bruins was the capstone of college basketball’s greatest dynasty. The Bruins won a record 88 consecutive games, posted back-to-back 30-0 seasons, which included perhaps the single-greatest performance in any game. His 44-points against Memphis State on 21-of-22 shooting (along with 13 rebounds, two assists and one block) remains the record for most points in an NCAA tourney title game. This thread expands on that performance.

Only a loss to undefeated NC State in 1974 prevented Walton from winning three straight titles (he called that 80-77 loss a “stigma on my soul”).

Didn’t matter. Walton is considered among the greatest college players of all time, perhaps even the best. His marvelous passing, shooting and pre-injury mobility would’ve made him an ideal big man in today’s game, which might be why he continued to delight in watching today’s game.

I spoke with him at the 2023 Maui Invitational and why basketball imbued such joy within him.

Finding that joy wasn’t always easy. Walton’s body famously betrayed him in the NBA with countless surgeries. Walking after his career could be chore. He spoke openly about depression.

Yet the man was a joy because of the joy he found in the beautiful game. That attitude pervaded his life. If you haven’t watched the ESPN documentary that aired last year, “The Luckiest Guy in the World,” find some time for that today.

Monday delivered endless amounts of basketball tributes to Walton, and even more for the joy Walton brought to fans and other players.

2. Everyone loved Bill Walton

Perhaps the greatest thing Bill Walton did in the last 5-6 years was turn X/Twitter into a delightful place, even for just a day. The sheer volume of love and fondness expressed on that (usually) doomscrolling site was enough to give a person some hope that yes, people can be decent.

The Pac-12 and UCLA did their part, as one would expect.

Here are some of my favorite tributes for Walton (it’s impossible to capture them all):

• Byron Scott: “The thing I loved about you the most was that you would say just about ANYTHING!”

• Larry Bird: “It was a thrill for me to play with my childhood idol.”

• Magic Johnson: “They talk about Jokic being the most skilled center but Bill Walton was first!”

• Julius Erving: “Bill Walton enjoyed life in every way.”

• ESPN Broadcaster Mike Breen on why he would “fight [anyone[ to the death” if they spoke ill of Bill Walton, via Katie Baker.

• From Jay Bilas’ story on ESPN.com: “I quickly realized that Walton was a better person than he was a basketball player -- and he was a Naismith Hall of Fame player. Before we went on the air, if I tried to discuss what we may encounter during a broadcast, Bill would put up one of his huge hands and say, "Save it all for the air, Jake."

• Walton always gave back to fans. And went a little extra.

• Four minutes on Walton from PTI.

• From UConn assistant Luke Murray, who knows something about having a famous dad: “My Dad always tells my brothers and me that “this is not the dress rehearsal” and that we’ve got one shot to LIVE this life we’re blessed with. Bill Walton didn’t need a reminder. Irreplaceable. Thank you for your life.”

• From Pat Forde on SI.com: “Foremost among the other topics was the paradise of the Pac-12, the “Conference of Champions,” as Walton called it over and over. He served as the P.R. megaphone for a poorly run league that stopped winning big in football and basketball, extolling quality of life when the quality of competition dipped. The Pac-12’s cities and campuses and academics and weather were all unbeatable to Bill.”

• Indeed, Pac-12 that weren’t UCLA gave Walton his due. From Stanford, Arizona, USC, Oregon and others.

• The Grateful Dead loved seeing the big guy at their shows, and being around him.

• Watch carefully and you can see Walton in the closing credits for “Ghostbusters.”

• Also amazing? The time he was on Wheel of Fortune.

But I’ll end with this one. Seems fitting.

3. Did Vols add enough scoring with Lanier?

When it comes to replacing All-American players who averaged more than 20 ppg, it’s usually best to turn to the Moneyball move: You’re not replacing Jason Giambi with one player. You’re replacing his aggregate totals.

It doesn’t always work, but it just might work for Tennessee next season to fill the scoring void left by Dalton Knecht.

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