Thanks to a chronic back condition that prevented him from traveling, Bill Walton announced his official retirement today from broadcasting. Walton was as polarizing a figure as has ever existed in the sport of basketball, on and off-court.
(Okay, maybe that was a little much)
With the news of his departure, I’m guessing there are many out there who are relieved that he won’t be injecting NBA broadcasts with his obligatory hyperbole. But I’m not one of those people.
If we’re talking a game involving LeBron or Kobe, then there was no place for Walton on the broadcast. But Walton added an extra level of excitement when it came to announcing games involving the NBA’s lesser lights. Even a team like the Spurs, who often play a plodding style doubling as a cure for insomnia, were enhanced when Walton was assigned to their telecast.
Walton perhaps came off as an egomaniac to some, but I never felt he crossed over into arrogance on-air. His passion for the game is something that NBA broadcasts will miss. Losing him is akin to Charles Barkley departing the TNT set.
The NBA product, with some exceptions, isn’t strong enough to sell itself on-air every night. Walton being gone is more of a blow to league telecasts than you might think.
6:19 pm on November 2nd, 2009
Bill Walton is a moron. One of the great blithering idiots in broadcasting history. I don’t wish back problems on anyone, but I am sure happy to see him gone.
9:01 pm on November 2nd, 2009
Well said Brooks. With the exception of the 2003 NBA Finals, he has done marvelous work… dating back to his start on Clipper broadcasts. PUT IT DOWN, YOUNG FELLA !
11:55 pm on November 2nd, 2009
Bill Walton always made me laugh - and that’s pretty cool. See ya Bill! Oh wait … he’d never read this site. I keed, I keed!
7:25 am on November 3rd, 2009
He was over the top, but he did have great passion for the game and considering he overcame a bad stutter, I have only respect for him as an announcer.
8:18 am on November 3rd, 2009
Mixed feelings…. Got a good laugh out of him at times and other times thought he was in love with his own voice.
10:35 am on November 3rd, 2009
That man has front teeth the size of a picket fence!!
10:38 am on November 3rd, 2009
For all of the blathering idiots that are allowed to telecast these days, at least he was highly entertaining! Its too bad jackasses like Brent Musburger and Tim McCarver don’t get a debilitating disease (like their mouths being sewn shut) to limit their speech.
11:33 am on November 3rd, 2009
I agree with ED.
Mixed feelings, he was annoying at times, but he loved the game far more than those other guys that just like to hear their own voices.
he wasnt a guy you looked forward to hearing, but he made you enjoy the game when you heard him.
youve lived a good life, you got cash, your kids got cash…you have that 5ft 1 inch Asian wife of yours to keep you warm, take care of your health and enjoy the rest of your life
12:56 pm on November 3rd, 2009
Walton added a lot to every broadcast. I still remember when he proclaimed a pass as “the worst inbounds pass in Clippers franchise history”. Awesome.