Meeting Bill Walton

[the27guy]

So I just got a fun surprise.

I've known for a while that Bill Walton would be coming to an event put on by my company. He'll be in Salt Lake for a day or two and will present at our event. He's the key note speaker.

I just found out that along with one of our executives, I'll be meeting with Bill for a half an hour or so to chat and get a bunch of books signed. Pretty sweet, right?

So my question for you is this.... You get 30 minutes with Bill Walton.... what do you ask him? What do you talk to him about?

Some of you know that I'm a huge fan of the history of the game. So, I know who he is, what teams he played for, his greatest professional moments, etc. I listened to the podcast w Woj 6-8 months ago. Excellent stuff.

What would you ask him?

[pejc300]

I'll just ask on behalf of everyone else on the board:

Can you ask him when he plans to retire from calling games so I know when I can start watching them with the volume on again?

[the mesiah]

If he had to only pick one Wooden quote to live his life by each day which would it be?

[SHowley2003]

Just ask him to recap his favorite Grateful Dead shows. Then sit back and enjoy the trip! Also ask if he can give TBarn a call.

[AlabamaSlamma]

I'll just ask on behalf of everyone else on the board:

Can you ask him when he plans to retire from calling games so I know when I can start watching them with the volume on again?

Or, for the rest of us, ask him when he plans on discovering the fountain of youth so he can call games from now until eternity.

[mrchipz]

Or, for the rest of us, ask him when he plans on discovering the fountain of youth so he can call games from now until eternity.

This.

[TASS]

Ask him about bringing Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to the Dead show in Worcester Ma., they were all on stage during the bands second set, LOL

[the27guy]

Or, for the rest of us, ask him when he plans on discovering the fountain of youth so he can call games from now until eternity.

The greatest two syllables of his announcing career.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDi0Ce_Z5w


I will most definitely ask him what he remembers about this moment.

[AlabamaSlamma]

6KkrccHEAqg

[the27guy]

6KkrccHEAqg

I'm crying.

[AlabamaSlamma]

I'm crying.

My favorite Walton clip of all time is a back and forth he had with Snapper. To loosely paraphrase:

Snapper - "Tim Duncan and David Robinson are the best big man tandem in the game today."
Walton - "WHAT ABOUT KOBE AND SHAQ!??!?!?!"
Snapper - "...I said best "big man" tandem..."
Walton (after a lengthy pause) - "WHAT ABOUT SHAQ AND WHOEVER!?!??!?!?!?!

Sadly, I have not found it anywhere online.

[Stats]

I would want to know if he was happier when Luke made it to the NBA as a player or took on coaching

[the27guy]

My favorite Walton clip of all time is a back and forth he had with Snapper. To loosely paraphrase:

Snapper - "Tim Duncan and David Robinson are the best big man tandem in the game today."
Walton - "WHAT ABOUT KOBE AND SHAQ!??!?!?!"
Snapper - "...I said best "big man" tandem..."
Walton (after a lengthy pause) - "WHAT ABOUT SHAQ AND WHOEVER!?!??!?!?!?!

Sadly, I have not found it anywhere online.

I just watched the feud he had with Shaq.... Makes Shaq seem like a big jerk.... and a big hypocrite given his current career.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dWN60jN8xo

He's awesome though. I miss him doing NBA games.

[the27guy]

I would want to know if he was happier when Luke made it to the NBA as a player or took on coaching

Stellar. I have some good questions about Luke.

[mrveggieman]

I don't eat meat so I would pick his brain about veganism.

[jmmintz]

Just ask him to recap his favorite Grateful Dead shows. Then sit back and enjoy the trip! Also ask if he can give TBarn a call.

Met him at an Allman Brothers show at the Beacon in NYC maybe ten years ago. I loved that he was just another ticket-holding patron sitting in the audience rather than side-stage.

The dude standing behind him? Probably not so happy.

[TWard]

I would have a couple of questions...

"If you could smoke 1 blunt with 1 current NBA player, who would it be?"

"If you played a pickup game with Greg Oden, Danny Manning, Sam Bowie, Arvydas Sabonis and Yao Ming, who would crumble to their knees in agony first?"

"Over or under, Luke will win 8 titles as coach of the Lakers?"

"Who is your favorite team to watch?"

"Which Grateful Dead song best embodies the spirit of Luke?"

"Will you ever be on the High Court with Doug Benson?"

[afrobandit]

"Who would win in a fight, a taco or a grilled-cheese sandwich?"

[SPauthentic84]

I'll just ask on behalf of everyone else on the board:

Can you ask him when he plans to retire from calling games so I know when I can start watching them with the volume on again?

hahah this

I would rather talk to him about his views/John Wooden/Greatful Dead stuff.

[Soleternity]

6KkrccHEAqg

Amazing.

[thenwhatjk]

I would discuss marijuana with him

[TWard]

"Who would win in a fight, a taco or a grilled-cheese sandwich?"


You have an excellent taste in movies!

http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh516/tylersportsguy/GIFs%20-%20Memes/548AC8FC-350F-4F5B-BCDB-C7B71AF25663_zpsy3e6922n.gif (http://s1249.photobucket.com/user/tylersportsguy/media/GIFs%20-%20Memes/548AC8FC-350F-4F5B-BCDB-C7B71AF25663_zpsy3e6922n.gif.html)

[BestRCs]

Or, for the rest of us, ask him when he plans on discovering the fountain of youth so he can call games from now until eternity.

My favorite line from him was..

"Kobe Bryant is like Scottie Pippen ...but waaay better..." LOL

[chugga15]

I would ask how it felt posterizing Kareem and about their rivalry.

[joan1173]

Very jealous. He is quite the man. I could listen to his stories all day.

[6celtics33]

You're a Jazz guy, have him talk about

Karl Mallooonnneeee

[volblorx8634]

Or, for the rest of us, ask him when he plans on discovering the fountain of youth so he can call games from now until eternity.

Amen.

[6celtics33]

Seriously, how could you not love listening to him. Him and Steve Snapper Jones, Matty Goukas, Marvelous Marv Albert

NBA on NBC was the peak of the NBA

Prudential Halftime report with Peter Vescey!

[TASS]

Walton posted this pic today on his instagram account, ask him about this, LOL

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS1UNitBI6s/

[bdoody42]

Tell him to stop doing Pac ten basketball

[quackhead]

Ask him about cycling and maybe where his favorite places to ride are.

Ask him if he will take over Steve Fisher's spot at SDSU or if he plans to do any head coaching.

[Stat Monsters]

Ask him, what advice does he give his son Luke Walton, on coaching the LA Lakers in terms of team development, scouting, getting rid of cancerous players, etc. to rebuild the franchise

[the27guy]

Definitely some good ideas here. Some I'll use..... and others, not so much.

You know who you are. :)

Anyone else?

[thepinoymamba]

I love his NBA Insights on Games... Throw it down Big Man.. throw it down... What is more important to him?
NCAA Championships( go UCLA Bruins) or NBA Rings?

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[the27guy]

I love his NBA Insights on Games... Throw it down Big Man.. throw it down... What is more important to him?
NCAA Championships( go UCLA Bruins) or NBA Rings?

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I love this question. Nice job.

[regularp]

Ask him if he can get Snapper Jones to call Pac-12 games with him once in a while. Their bickering was legendary.

[asujbl]

His ringtone is Afroman. Fact.

[bkcardcollector]

So cool, probably one of the better if not the best person not even in the nba in the world to shoot the s*** with over pizza. I would ask him about his influence on Luke and if he likes his coaching style and if he ever doubts his style. Also ask him what he thinks about Tyler Ennis on the Lakers :) Probably best though to have a deep convo with him about spirituality and weed though. Maybe you can sneek out the back door if you catch my drift.

[EMD34]

Ask him what he thinks of Dwyane Wade

:D

[the27guy]

Ask him what he thinks of Dwyane Wade

:D

More detail?

[NoleinJax]

So I just got a fun surprise.

I've known for a while that Bill Walton would be coming to an event put on by my company. He'll be in Salt Lake for a day or two and will present at our event. He's the key note speaker.

I just found out that along with one of our executives, I'll be meeting with Bill for a half an hour or so to chat and get a bunch of books signed. Pretty sweet, right?

So my question for you is this.... You get 30 minutes with Bill Walton.... what do you ask him? What do you talk to him about?

Some of you know that I'm a huge fan of the history of the game. So, I know who he is, what teams he played for, his greatest professional moments, etc. I listened to the podcast w Woj 6-8 months ago. Excellent stuff.

What would you ask him?


How much acid has he dropped and marijuana he has smoked following around The Grateful Dead.

[rman112]

"Still drop acid?"

[ktzdaman]

My grandmother said she sat a few isles behind him on an airplane long ago. She said everyone on the plain was gagging because he smelled so bad and did not bathe. If this is true (grandma was a little nuts) and perhaps is still true... then you may wanna keep the convo short :)

[rman112]

I googled 'bill walton acid' after my post and found this oldie but goodie.. LOL

Bill Walton Finally Comes Down From 23-Year Long Acid Trip (http://www.thebrushback.com/Archives/billwalton_full.htm)

[EMD34]

More detail?

You're not familiar with this classic piece of commentary?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x90hDtU6VDU

[the27guy]

You're not familiar with this classic piece of commentary?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x90hDtU6VDU

An amazing piece of work......

[codered]

Ask him if (and how hard) he laughed when Kareem referenced him and bob lanier in airplane.

[briancecilrn]

I'll just ask on behalf of everyone else on the board:



Can you ask him when he plans to retire from calling games so I know when I can start watching them with the volume on again?



This had me cracking up and I agree with u.


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[hofcollector2]

I'll just ask on behalf of everyone else on the board:

Can you ask him when he plans to retire from calling games so I know when I can start watching them with the volume on again?

Speak for yourself, I love Walton's crazy banter and I'm glad he's back. Thank goodness he's sticking with PAC 12 games.

[the27guy]

Today is the day. Last call.

[AlabamaSlamma]

Today is the day. Last call.

Honestly, if you manage to get in more than 50 words during your 30 minute visit, consider it a resounding success.

Can't wait to hear about it.

[the27guy]

Honestly, if you manage to get in more than 50 words during your 30 minute visit, consider it a resounding success.

Can't wait to hear about it.

I don't intend on talking a lot. Lol.

I am excited to meet him though. I'm just hopeful that the 30-60 minutes isn't interrupted by phone calls, etc. It could easily turn into us sitting with him while he's on the phone signing.... which would be less cool than asking him about John Wooden, Maurice Lucas, Donald Sterling, what he remembers about calling the Malice at the Palace, or the John Stockton 3 pointer.....

[the27guy]

http://i.imgur.com/NSMpxFvh.jpg

Man... where do I even start?

I guess with the picture. I'm the guy on the left. Our COO (Scott) is on the right. You know who the tall guy in the middle is.

Most important thing I can mention is this.... I'm not going to lie. This was a really cool opportunity. Bill was most definitely one of the kindest, genuine, and humble figures you'd ever hope to meet. He didn't want to just talk about himself. I wish you guys all had this experience. I had the thought several times.... man... I should have been recording this. But maybe then he wouldn't have been so open.

I'm sure I won't remember everything tonight. I have to get to bed fairly quick, but I wanted to take 20 minutes and get most of it written down.

I spent probably 90 minutes with him. About 60 of those minutes it was just Bill, me, and Scott. Bill did probably 80% of the talking. I did about 15% and Scott the other 5%. The other 30 minutes were with a dude in the restaurant who wouldn't leave Bill alone.

When Bill showed up, he wouldn't shake our hands and said that he had recently had a bicycle accident. He was wearing a University of Utah (Utes) pull over - which happens to be my alma mater. I wish I would have taken a picture right then, but he requested to go up to his room for a few minutes before the signing and came back with just his Grateful Dead shirt.

I thought he'd have us to his room for the signing of the books - about 135 copies of his "back from the dead" book, but he actually just wanted to do it in the restaurant area of the hotel. I was worried we'd have a bunch of people come up to him, but I kinda sealed the area and we created a little assembly line. Only one guy came over to talk, and he wanted to talk to Bill about the grateful dead and coaching basketball and all sorts of stuff. Bill was amazing to him. Even gave him his email address, which I can confirm is Bill's real email address. Bill was way cool to that guy.

So after we started the assembly line, I broke the ice and said "Bill, we don't get this kind of opportunity every day. You mind if we ask you some questions?"

"Ask away Adam. We're all people. Adam has two A's, and Bill has two L's. We are all people."

"We're just grateful that you would do this event for us Bill"

"You've set your bar far too low I'm afraid Adam. Far far too low"....

That's about how the next 90-120 minutes went. Lol.

I asked him about John Wooden, which I could tell he'd been asked about about a bazillion times. He talked about what a great teacher Wooden was and what a great man he was. After a few moments of praise, he said that he would be happy to discuss John Wooden for the next 2 hours, but that I might have other questions. I asked him if the stories about Wooden teaching the players how to tie their shoes, and the basic fundamentals of the game were true. He responded that not only were they true, but that he would not move on until you could do those things correctly.

I asked him about which teammates he is still in contact with. He mentioned Keith Wilkes from UCLA and a few others. He mentioned Lionel Hollins from the Blazers and "Larry, Kevin, and Danny" from the Celtics. I asked him if Danny (Ainge) every tried to convert him (I mean, I'm in Utah, and I'm a Mormon.... had to give it a try, right? :)) He responded, "To Mormonism? No, Danny never tried that".

I asked him which championship meant the most to him. He responded by asking how old I am. After I told him my age, he said that he was surprised I was over 20. I'm in my mid-thirties.... ha. He asked if I had children. I told him I have three. He asked which was my favorite. I understood the response to mean that it's impossible to say which one meant the most.

He changed the subject.... and then I probably made a mistake.... I kinda interrupted him and said, "It was Portland". He said "huh?" I said, "Portland was your favorite. It has to be. Other greats won championships with UCLA and Boston.... but Portland has only one Bill Walton. They have only one championship team. They love you the most. Not more than 10 guys in NBA history have ever owned as large a share of a championship as you did in Portland. I know you have to give the politically correct answer, but I think the answer is Portland."

I have to stress, that I felt pretty comfortable in interrupting him and shooting off that response. He kind of gave me permission based on how the conversation felt. He again changed the subject, but he didn't disagree with me.

I asked him what it would have been like had he and Moses Malone ever gotten to really play with each other. This along with about ten other questions he answered by kindly telling me to read the book.

I asked if Wooden was his favorite coach, and he went back the the question about kids again.

He would have talked to me about Jack Ramsey and Maurice Lucas all night.

I asked him about watching Stockton send the Jazz to the finals (Jazz fan here), and he went straight into talking about how it was okay that we never beat Chicago. He raved about Pippen and Jordan. But then he raved about Stockton and Malone. He said that when he was announcing NBA games, he knew every player on every roster, but now that he doesn't do games any more, he can't keep up with it all.

He said, "The only guy I know on the Jazz now is that, umm...... they have that white guy"

Me "Gordon Hayward?"

Bill "Yeah. Hayward. He's good right? I looked down their roster the other day before the playoff game started and he was literally the only guy I knew on the team. Hadn't heard of their big guy until he got hurt. First Play! That sounds like something that would have happened to Bill Walton!".

I told him that "the big guy" was going to be All first or second team NBA. Bill's eye's got big and said, "Wow. Seriously?"

I asked him which player in the league plays most like him, suggesting that Kevin Love has a great outlet pass, and Bill told me that he's not credible to assess that given how little time he spends watching the NBA... though he loved announcing NBA games.

Bill repeatedly gave me immense credit for my weird basketball knowledge and told me that he needed to introduce him to some of his friends.

Yes, these conversations happened.

He spoke about loving to watch the Warriors - remember where his son was last year. This was when the guy from the hotel restaurant was in on the conversation. Bill went out of his way to say, "I love the way they play, I just wish Draymond wasn't just so......... (LONG PAUSE. Bill trying to find the right word and finally settling on) selfish". Other dude jumps in, "Yeah, the ball kinda stops when he's in, right?", then idiot young guy who Bill thinks is a teenager (that would be me) interjects that "Draymond actually leads the league in assists for front court players"... Bill and random dude look at me like I'm speaking another language - so that was cool. I kinda wanted that other guy to leave. Probably not my best moment in the conversation though.

I asked him if he completely despised getting cases of thousands of cards from Panini to autograph. His answer really surprised me. He said that he thought he would hate doing the book signing but that he genuinely loves having real conversations with his fans. I didn't really see the connection at that point to my question but he went on to say a couple of things that I think you'd have all loved to hear first person.

He said "The problem with those Panini cards, especially those tiny stickers, is that I like to write my name really big, and they don't leave enough space on the card or stickers for me". I thought of all of the Blowout community when he said that.

Before I forget, i mentioned our very own TBarn to Bill and told him about super collecting. He didn't really have a lot to say about that. He doesn't feel super thrilled to talk about himself. but TBarn.... dude, Bill knows of you. So that's cool, right? Ha.

He doesn't like the stickers.

But then, I thought this little nugget was really cool. He went out of his way to talk about the incredible quality of the cards today. He said, "some of those cards that they send me.... with those designs.... they're just light years ahead of where they were a few years ago".

So, if you're panini.... Bill wants more space, no more stickers, but on the bright side, he thinks your cards are friggin cool.

So much more, but I have to go to bed. He'll be doing the event tomorrow. He told me to stay close to him during the event, so that's cool. Will be sure to return and report tomorrow.

Hope you guys enjoyed this book of a post.

[Big Ben Fan]

Great read! sounds like it was a awesome experience

[pigeonsbaseball]

This made my morning. Grate stuff Adam.

[Lee42]

What an awesome experience......cant wait to read more.

[volblorx8634]

That was a great read and seems like a pretty amazing experience, thanks a lot for sharing. Can't wait to read more as well, and congrats on being able to experience that!

[AlabamaSlamma]

Phenomenal. What an absolute joy of a human being.

Thanks for sharing.

[the mesiah]

That was too cool, thanks again for posting ..was a good read and sounds like a informal interview that was like couple of newly met friends just hanging out as oppose to just being business only related ..

[bigcwd2000]

This is awesome. Great story. Thanks for sharing.

[bkcardcollector]

Dude. awesome. cant wait to hear more. i was hangin on every word. that is awesome you got talkin about basketball cards. i never even thought of that.

[gonygo]

Great read Adam. Amazing experience.

[blackbears86]

thanks for sharing the pic and the story!!!!!

[hofcollector2]

Thank you for sharing and that's awesome. You look nervous in the pic, lol. (I would be)

[the27guy]

Today was an unreal day. I just can't do it justice, and frankly I don't have the energy to write another epitaph. I'll just leave these two data points

1. He was supposed to present for an hour. He was closer to two.

2. He had real introductions, pictures and moments with every person in attendance who approached him.

Everyone who was there today left a fan of this guy. Just an unreal character. Kind. Thoughtful. Smart. Humble.

Last thing. He referred to me by name no less than 5 times during his presentation. He kept saying that I was from the ESPN generation. He compared me to his broadcast partner and said he's like to broadcast w me some time. Just hilarious stuff. He talked about loving the way steve Nash played and in a group I made the point that steve may have made several hall of famers. He was quick to argue w that. I told him amare and Marion had a good chance and he laughed at me.

I have like 50 more stories. It was unreal.

A real highlight for me. Super meaningful experience. Thanks for those of you who took time to read the book I wrote above. I thought the parts about his thoughts on basketball cards and panini were most interesting.

http://i.imgur.com/XWuQmp3h.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/adrsbJyh.jpg

[Jin]

"Ask away Adam. We're all people. Adam has two A's, and Bill has two L's. We are all people."

Damn, Bill's got a way with words!

Also, do I smell an income Bill Walton supercollector??

[the27guy]

Damn, Bill's got a way with words!

Also, do I smell an income Bill Walton supercollector??

I told him about tbarn (our resident Walton super collector) and that I had made over $100 flipping one of his cards recently. That was a weird conversation. Then he kept taking jabs at my jazz. So, no. I won't be a super collector. Lol. But I'm a fan for life.

[cshelb34687]

I told him about tbarn (our resident Walton super collector) and that I had made over $100 flipping one of his cards recently. That was a weird conversation. Then he kept taking jabs at my jazz. So, no. I won't be a super collector. Lol. But I'm a fan for life.

Boy! I bet it was! LOL!

[Gordo]

Awesome thread! Thank you for posting. I look forward to reading more about your experience with Bill.

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[ItsReggieMiller]

Just ask him to recap his favorite Grateful Dead shows. Then sit back and enjoy the trip! Also ask if he can give TBarn a call.
This!

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[ItsReggieMiller]

Ask him about bringing Larry Bird and Kevin McHale to the Dead show in Worcester Ma., they were all on stage during the bands second set, LOL
[emoji106]

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[ninjacookies]

Super cool. He's the epitome of 'that one grandfather with the epic stories.'

[rman112]

Super cool. He's the epitome of 'that one grandfather with the epic stories.'

You tellin' me he remembers 'em?

[eastbayak]

Thanks for sharing. One of the best threads I've read on this site

[Beavers98]

Very Cool Experience!! Thanks for sharing!!

[alias21]

You're great at storytelling. What happened to the hobby store thread? I'll refrain from my thoughts of Walton as a broadcaster or a "philosopher " ha ha

[CubKings]

Damn. That's pretty awesome.

[the27guy]

You're great at storytelling. What happened to the hobby store thread? I'll refrain from my thoughts of Walton as a broadcaster or a "philosopher " ha ha

Thank you so much for saying that. I truly enjoy the hobby, the sport, etc. and just hope that threads like this are enjoyable to others.

My busy season wrecked my daily stories in the other thread. I will get that going again this week.

Thank you for asking.

[Chain]

That was a great read. Thanks for sharing. :)!

[Pearce77]

I'm a baseball only guy but this was a good read! I lived in Portland during the Brandon Roy era and can tell you Bill Walton and the '77 Blazers team still have a huge, I don't know the right words... presence? over the city. I remember being told his favorite pizza place in Old Town.

[smalltown]

Cool experience!

[MOONBASE1]

Great reporting. Really enjoyed this thread.

[ktzdaman]

I've got to know...did you smell him?

[bkcardcollector]

I've got to know...did you smell him?

lol happy 4.20:D

[the27guy]

I've got to know...did you smell him?

Ha. Didn't notice anything.

Can't say enough positive about him. Nothing really negative. Just a great guy. I emailed him this morning to say thanks and he gave a very kind response a few minutes later. I have his cell too, so if I every get really brave, maybe I'll just shoot him a text. Lol.

[bjho852]

Did fans ask Bill Walton to add inscriptions when signing books?

[the27guy]

Did fans ask Bill Walton to add inscriptions when signing books?

No. Scott and I just had him sign the books with his name before the event.... so although everyone got an autographed book, they weren't present when they were signed. I got to keep one too! Wish I would have waited to the end so he could have taken the opportunity to tease me one more time.

He mentioned that the publisher made him cut like 2/3 of the book before publishing. I asked him if I could get the unedited electronic version. He said he'd email it to me if I promised not to give it to anyone else. Lol.

Doubt I'll ever get it, but who knows. Lol

I will for sure be reading at least the final published edition though. Too many cool stories not to.

[bjho852]

Hey as long as he has your e-mail address, he might just send one to you. Who knows.

Reading your post makes me want to meet him in person.

[duron]

27guy this was a great read, you must've been THRILLED to spend time with him.

[boosta]

Thanks for the great read!

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[pnft17]

Great stuff 27!!!
Bill is so right. Panini makes incredible basketball cards. Then you go on here and read how horrible they. I'm always amazed at how
Nice
They look.

[oldgoldy97]

I hate reading, and refuse to read long winded blabbering posts.

I read your whole thing.

Bravo.

[the27guy]

RIP Bill Walton. Sad day.

Posts 53 and 65 are where I talk about my experiences with Bill back in 2017. Thought some of you might enjoy.