Bill Walton, a two-time NBA champion and adept basketball commentator, passed away on Sunday at the age of 71, the National Basketball Association announced on Monday. The league attributed his death to colon cancer, which he had been fighting for the last year. Walton won two college championships at UCLA under head coach John Wooden and continued what ended up being an 88-game winning streak for the team. The three-time national player of the year was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the first pick in the 1974 NBA Draft.
Three seasons later, he won his first NBA title but endured injuries throughout his career. Walton ended up securing another NBA title as a sixth man on the 1985-86 Boston Celtics and retired from the sport in the next year. From there, Walton began to assimilate into sports media as a live game analyst for NBA and college games across several networks. ESPN, his most recent employer for college basketball games, took time on Tuesday morning to remember Walton and commemorate his legacy.
“I remember the first time I met him – I was 18 years old, and we literally had a two-hour conversation, and he was telling me what it means to be a Boston Celtic, but it was one of the best two hours of my life because it wasn’t one of those boring conversations,” ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins said on Tuesday’s edition of First Take. “Everything was like nail-to-the-tee. It was full of [authenticity], and when you think about Bill, the one thing I can say about him that I love was that he was the same person every time you [saw] him, and there wasn’t nothing fake about him.”
Perkins acknowledged that Walton will be missed by many people, as was evidenced by messages and memories on social media throughout the day on Monday. Moreover, he realized that Walton left a “legendary mark” on the world and is frequently associated with the sentiment of joy. Former Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem, who has been making guest appearances on ESPN of late, concurred and expressed how Walton was a kind person. Despite not knowing Walton, he remembers having a discussion with him in which he received a vote of confidence when he was trying to break into the NBA as an undrafted player.
“I was raised to treat the janitor the same way that you treat the CEO, and I think Bill Walton lived by that,” Haslem said. “I’ve never seen a moment where he didn’t take time out to speak to everybody – ‘Hello. How you doing? Please. Thank you,’ – just things that people don’t do nowadays, so I was blessed and I was thankful just to have that interaction with him.”
Shannon Sharpe conveyed that Walton was a special person and shared memories of his playing career while in Portland. Sharpe recognized Walton to be a skilled big man who was able to score, rebound, pass and block shots. At the same time, he expressed his personality, ostensibly rendering him as a predecessor to the vivacious, ebullient personality of Shaquille O’Neal. Although Sharpe never got a chance to meet Walton, he always enjoyed watching him express his personality and knows that he will be missed. Molly Qerim, host of First Take, closed the segment by responding to Sharpe’s answer and sharing her own memories of Walton.
“He’s a champion at every level, and to your point, he just inspires you to live life to the fullest – with joy, not taking things so seriously, and how precious every moment is – and Udonis, to your point, how important it is to always make time for people, treat people right [and] be present. Such a special, special guy and lucky to have spent some time with him here at ESPN.”
