Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
Bill Walton, the Hall of Fame NBA center, broadcaster, and public devotee of the Grateful Dead, has died at age 71. His death earlier today was announced by the National Basketball Association, who released a statement from commission Adam Silver calling Walton “truly one of a kind… He redefined the center position.”
Throughout his decade-plus career from 1974 to 1988, Walton won two NBA championships as well as both a regular-season and Finals MVP. Before that, he earned two NCAA titles at UCLA. After Walton’s professional career, he began a decorated career in broadcasting and color commentary, beginning with a tenure at CBS in 1990.
But with his nearly seven-foot stature, fresh insight on air, and colorful tie die getups that communicated his Deadhead allegiances, Walton’s influence and presence extended beyond the basketball court: He was referenced (by former rival and UCLA successor Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) in the movie Airplane! and appeared in movies that ranged from Ghostbusters to Little Nicky. Walton’s love for music made him a recognizable and beloved figure at classic rock shows, and he was known to occasionally pepper college basketball broadcasts with minutes-long monologues about Bob Dylan.
Walton, who suffered lifelong spine issues and pain (he broke his spine at age 21), went through a several-years long period around 2008 when he “years, literally, lying on the floor.”
“I just kept asking myself, ‘What am I going to do with my life if I ever get up again?’” he said in 2016. “Here I am today. I am the luckiest guy in the world.”
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