Bill Walton, a two-time NBA champion and a Basketball Hall of Famer, died this past Monday following a battle with cancer. He was 71. NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Walton's passing with a touching tribute, sharing, "What I will remember most about him was his zest for life."
For those unfamiliar with Walton's basketball accolades and unbridled joy, the best way to understand him is to turn back to a moment in 1974. Not just because the UCLA standout won Naismith College Player of the Year honors for the third consecutive year or because he was chosen No. 1 overall in the NBA draft by the Portland Trail Blazers. But also because in 1974, Bill Walton finally met his favorite band in the world, the Grateful Dead. "Then things started to change, and did they ever change when I met the Grateful Dead," Walton told Relix in 2016. "They've never been the same since. I'm the luckiest guy in the world."
Even after winning two NBA championships, the MVP Award, the NBA Finals MVP Award, the Sixth Man of the Year Award, and an Emmy Award as a color commentator for CBS, the Hall of Famer is still remembered most for the moments he displayed his infectious ear-to-ear smile. Transitioning to broadcasting for ESPN after his NBA career, Walton often wore tie-dyed shirts to games, and he wrote a 2016 memoir titled Back from the Dead.
"On the court, Bill was a fierce player, but off the court he wasn't happy unless he did everything he could to make everyone around him happy," NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote on social media. "He was the best of us."
Several years before embarking on his career as a commentator, Walton overcame a childhood stutter that afflicted him well into adulthood, telling the press in interviews over the years that he chose to express himself through sports. "Beyond his remarkable accomplishments as a player," UCLA men's basketball coach Mike Cronin wrote in a statement, "it's his relentless energy, enthusiasm for the game and unwavering candor that have been the hallmarks of his larger than life personality."
Walton is survived by his wife, Lori, and their four sons. Luke Walton, their third son, won two NBA championships with Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers, in 2009 and 2010. The wins made Bill and his son the first father-son pair to earn multiple titles in the NBA. Luke is now an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
"I am very sorry about my good friend, Bill Walton," Celtics legend Larry Bird said in an official statement. "I love him as a friend and teammate. It was a thrill for me to play with my childhood idol and together we earned an NBA Championship in 1986. He is one of the greatest ever to play the game. I am sure that all of my teammates are as grateful as I am that we were able to know Bill, he was such a joy to know and he will be sorely missed."
Now the sports world is mourning—and celebrating—one of its most vibrant figures. You can read some tributes to Walton below.
As an assistant editor at Esquire, Rosenberg covers film, TV, sports, anime, music, and video games. When he’s not trying to remember character names from House of the Dragon, you can find him theorizing about the future of Yellowstone, or putting another hundred hours into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Rosenberg's standout stories include an interview with Olympic breakdancing athlete Victor Montalvo, a pitch to the Oscars to add a Best Animal Actor category, and a plea for Hollywood to fix bad movie titles. His past work can be found at Spin, Insider, and his personal blog at Roseandblog.com. What’s one piece of life advice that Josh can give? A movie a day keeps the doctor away.
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