More sad than I thought
 

with the passing of Bill Walton. Seems like a universally beloved guy. Watched the documentary on him a year or so back and loved it learning about of his journey. I listen to sports talk radio from a Bay Area station most days and there were at least 2 guests today who knew/worked with Bill and both openly wept as they discussed the guy they knew.

RIP Big Red

I'm surprised no one posted about his passing before now. He was one of a kind. Sorry to see him go.

I went to see Gov't Mule and Ratdog (Bob Weir from Grateful Dead) at The Greek Theater in LA. Went down to grab a beer and ended up standing in line in front of Bill Walton.

I offered for him to go ahead of me (don't know why he didn't just go backstage) but he was nice, we talked for a bit and it seemed he just wanted to hang out with his fellow Deadheads and have a good time.

RIP Bill.

I was in Portland when the Trail Blazers won the championship in 1977 (I think!). I am not a sports fan. Don't know anything sports related. So Portland went NUTS. Walton was a hero. What does stick in my head? He poured a beer on the head of the Mayor, Frank Ivancie. Epic.

Yes. Walton was loved. My social medial has been blowing up with it. He was a loon but a lovable loon. I like people like that. The world might be better with more hippies. RIP Bill.

The world might be better with more hippies. RIP Bill.
I second that!

I saw him at multiple shows over the years, seemed like a good guy.

I’m sure he’s chilling with Jerry

He liked to say he was "The Luckiest Guy in the World."


https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/37814544/how-watch-luckiest-guy-world-30-30-espn

This is a great look into who he was.

Years ago I was at a major, yearly celebration in downtown San Diego featuring food, music, entertainment, etc. Bill Walton was there among the crowd. He laughed, talked, and interacted with everybody just as a regular person would. The big difference was you could see his head towering over the crowd as he drifted around. At the time I was amazed at the ease and friendliness with which he interacted with everyone.

As a fellow Deadhead, I always loved the way he talked about the Dead. I felt like I had some sort of bond with him, in that regard. When I heard about his passing, I felt as sad as I did when I heard about Jerry. He was like the spiral light of Venus, rising first and shining best.

never liked basketball but i’ve known of him as a fellow dead family member and super fan going back to the 80s. RIP

i selfishly hope he wrote a book that some day comes out and documents his activities with the dead.

I was 11 years old when we (Portland Trailblazers) won the championship, even went to the Maurice Lucas Basketball camp that summer. It was Awesome. Loved big Red. He was great and the city loved him.

The luckiest guy in the world is a great documentary. Loved hearing Parish talk about Walton kicking McHales ass in one on one. Epic.

Bill Walton emulated every attribute of the Wooden pyramid which he knew by memory.
Him & the Coach are together talking about the "perfect " game he played for UCLA in the NCAA championship game.

My dad and I frequently attended Stanford basketball games. Back in the day, the freshman played prior to the varsity. My dad and I got there early to see Big Red. From the opening tip off, I was amazed at how Bill dominated. In fact Bill blocked 3 of the first 4 shots Stanford took.
Much later I got to meet Bill when he and his group were participating in a cycling event supporting AIDS research. Even later he wrote my wife a short note encouraging her as she faced spinal fusion/reconstruction. A great, one of a kind human being.