Bill Walton is a divisive figure in broadcasting circles. Some love his eccentricities, while others despise his style. His partner for most broadcasts, Dave Pasch, says there’s a specific mindset Walton takes to broadcasting.
During an appearance on the Sports Media Watch podcast, Pasch revealed that Walton takes a unique approach to his analyst role.
“I’ve had a lot of Bill’s former teammates tell me that Bill likes to feel like he’s playing again. He likes to feel like he’s back in the locker room, that there’s a rivalry, that there is an intensity and a preparation for a broadcast that’s similar to playing. And I’ve noticed that. You know, the sparring with me I think he enjoys that because it makes him feel like he’s playing again,” Pasch revealed. “Watching him get ready for a game, he has a routine. He gets up and he stretches, and he’s taking his energy chews, and he’s eating his protein bars, I mean it’s all the stuff he’d probably do if he was getting ready to play.
“I think when we’re on the air, he’s mentioned this before, he kind of views me as Kareem. I’m his adversary on the air. I’m his teammate, but in a way, I’m getting in the way of him accomplishing his goal kind of like Kareem on the floor,” Dave Pasch continued. “And then off the air when the game’s over we’re great friends. But for that two hours or whatever it is, there is a level of competition, as he views it, that is probably similar to how he viewed when he squared off against Kareem as a player.
“I think Bill, I think sometimes just analyzing the game is too easy for him, it’s the layup. So there has to be a twist, storytelling, comparisons, whether it’s comparing a player to a great artist or telling the story of a coach and his family. He enjoys all of that as much as he enjoys, if not more, the X’s and the O’s of a basketball game.”
