Bill Walton passed away today at the age of 71 after battling cancer. His death will impact many people due to his time as a basketball player and commentator. He brought so much life to every broadcast he did over the last several years, covering his beloved Pac-12 conference, that sadly is now no longer. There are plenty of lessons to learn from viewing Walton’s life, as he lived it to the fullest.
Enthusiastically Be Yourself
The one thing Walton brought to every broadcast was an enthusiasm that wasn’t matched by almost anyone (And tie-dyed shirts that were in no doubt stemming from his love of the Grateful Dead). In recent years, he was covering the Pac-12 on their network and on ESPN. A lot of those games were happening late at night for those on eastern time. While this could be an excuse to get sleepy, watching a Bill Walton broadcast wouldn’t allow that.
Every Bill Walton broadcast had fun moments, as he teased his broadcast partner, called the game and often time acted confused. There are several moments that stuck out over the years. One such moment was when he ate a bite of a cupcake with a candle lit on top of it.
ESPN put a tribute video out that features a lot of his funnier moments. They include: playing the glockenspiel, rubbing dirt from Temecula on himself, changing his shirt live on the broadcast and asking who his broadcast partner was constantly.
While fans of schools playing in the games could be irritated with the broadcast sometimes lacking focus on the game, I appreciated that it was different. I also appreciated some energy coming out of the broadcast both. He gave me and many others a reason to keep our eyes open long enough to watch PAC-12 basketball, despite the conference’s best efforts to bury their games late at night or on their own network, which not many in the middle or Eastern part of the country can access.
One of my favorite moments for Walton was when he joined his partner for some Pac-12 games on ESPN, Jason Benetti, on a baseball broadcast. Baseball games can have some disinterested announcers, but that wasn’t the case with Bill Walton. He covered the game with the excitement of a kid and made it so much more fun to watch.
Walton also had a few different appearances on football broadcasts. He was on ESPN’s College Gameday and had a great time. Bill made animal noises, asked questions like “has a bear ever fought a duck and asked why Alabama doesn’t play true road games (inviting them to play against a team from the Conference of Champions-The Pac-12- in the process).
During one of the recent National Championship Games for college football, ESPN had an alternate broadcast that featured some people who usually cover other sports. With more of a watch-party vibe going on, Bill stole the show, as he dressed up as Uncle Sam and made the alternate broadcast fun to watch for the non-serious watchers (I remember going back and watching it the next day and loving every second of it).
Anyone that can bring that much passion and energy can be successful in life. It is an example to do things you enjoy and to do them well.
Excellence
I couldn’t write a story on Bill Walton and not include his athletic excellence. Walton went to UCLA for college and played for John Wooden. Although he sometimes clashed with his coach over getting his haircut and how to dress, he was phenomenal on the court. Walton won three National Player of the Year Awards during this time in college and won three championships. Most notably, he had one of the best championship game performances of any sport when the Bruins played the Memphis State Tigers in 1973. He finished the game 21 of 22 shooting from the floor 44 points. The 44 points broke the record for most points in an NCAA Championship Game at the time. He also grabbed 13 rebounds.
Following one of the best careers of any college basketball player of all time, he was selected first overall by the Portland Trail Blazers. Walton helped the team win a championship in 1977, then won the MVP in the 1977-78 season. Those were some of the healthiest days of his career, although he would struggle with injuries throughout his time in the NBA.
He also played for the Clippers, who were based in his hometown of San Diego. The team moved to Los Angeles and Walton played one season there. He later joined the Celtics for the 1985-86 season. On one of the best teams assembled of all time, Walton won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award, while helping the team win a title.
For his career, Walton made just two All-Star Games, as he continuously battled through injuries. His play when he was on the floor was good enough to get him into the Hall of Fame.
Adventure
Bill’s sense of adventure is also something to strive for in life. After retiring, and getting through some injuries, he was able to ride his bike more. It was something he did throughout his career as well. He biked up and down the West Coast, doing it sometimes for charity and sometimes to explore. Walton even wrote a book titled, “Bill Walton’s Total Book of Bicycling”.
His bike helped him explore the country in a way a lot of others haven’t. He also traveled to places in nature that were covered on the broadcast and to college campuses themselves. Any broadcast could see him bring up different places that he had been, which could lead to him talking about the spirituality he felt. This sense of adventure is something to try to match.
Standing up for What You Believe In
Walton was a clear example of standing up for what you believe in. He attended plenty of protests in his younger days. Walton was arrested at anti-war protests for Vietnam. He firmly believed that protesting could create change. In recent years, he has also been a huge advocate for solar energy and being eco-friendly.
Whether people agree with his stances on issues isn’t the point. Bill mentioned at one point that he wanted to do more. And he actually did. He protested, advocated for cleaner energy, did keynote speeches and so much more that inspired.
Positivity
Outside of some of the quirkiness that people love him for, a lot of people who had personal relationships remember him for his positivity. He always said, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world!” to anyone who would listen. Walton got to a point in life when he saw the positive, even after the adversity he had faced with injuries and health problems.
There is a list of people online that have noted his positivity in a personal way. Here is the list: Matt Winer, Detlef Schrempf, Sean Miller, Patrick Beverley, Dusan Ristic and more. Some of these people likely never had a close relationship with Walton, but still came away with a big impression of positivity.
Tell People You Love Them Often
One of his broadcast partners, Dave Pasch, had a fun relationship with Walton. At times it seemed like he could be irritated with Bill because of his knack for talking about things other than the game, but in a way that only someone close to you can.
Pach talked about their relationship, which brought a tear to my eye. On Sportscenter, Pasch recounted how Walton told him he loved him during the broadcast.
Conclusion
Bill Walton is a great role model in a lot of ways. Maybe not in a “be serious and work hard” type of way, but in a way about living life to the fullest (and that’s not saying he didn’t work hard either). Bill uplifted people with his personal interactions and his broadcasts. There are so many good memories of watching him broadcast games. Taking some lessons from his life can help anyone enjoy theirs more. Being enthusiastically yourself, striving for excellence, standing up for what you believe in, seeking adventure, being positive and telling people you love them often are things I’m going to incorporate into my life more often because of how Bill Walton lived his life.
Go to our NBA page for more articles and updates like Live Life Like Bill Walton.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers!