Bill Walton retiring from broadcasting

His commentary was like an old man rambling about the yonder years...

 

I thought he was very entertaining with his absurd hyperboles. As seen here from :27-1:15
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I'd much rather listen to Bill Walton going on tangents about the Mayan empire and other crazy stuff than listen to Kevin Harlan and Doug Collins.

 

You describe well the very reasons I so enjoyed Walton's commentary. Too much of NBA color commentary is based on well-worn cliches ("He's playing big tonight." "This team just wants it more."). I'd rather hear dead air than that, but I'd rather hear Walton's commentary than dead air.

I truly enjoyed Walton's attempts at describing the game poetically, even his sometimes-random cultural digressions; there also, refreshingly, did not seem to be much of a filter between what Walton was thinking and what he said on air. Above all else, Walton as color man was immensely entertaining.

 

Time to kick back and live the good life. Bill's going to be throwing around ridiculous amounts of money and smoking joints on the reg.

 

Walton is awesome, he truly loves the NBA and pretty much would talk about it for free.

 

You know his back must be seriously messed up if it's keeping him away from a job talking.

 

well all the travel to and from games is what is back is stopping him from doing also who knows if he can sit in a chair now for the ~ 3 hours needed for a basketball broadcast


I am going to really really miss Bill Walton.

At first years and years ago when he got his break doing color for Clippers games I was a bit annoyed but then I realized his passion and love for the game and he was just being entertaining. I was a young kid back then too so not nearly as well versed myself.

I was able to meet him twice over the past five years and this guy just exudes basketball he absolutely loves the sport and is a great man. It is a shame that he cannot go on because he is one of the few people out there that make the game of basketball fun to watch (from a broadcaster staindpoint)


Here is to a speedy recovery so that he can get back on the mike soon

 

Sorry to hear. He was an annoying commentator but I respect him for his admiration of Dream and Yao.

 

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Ahem: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Bill Walton is, without doubt, the GREATEST COMMENTATOR IN THE HISTORY OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION.

 

THANK YOU GOD. I GLAD YOU HEARD MY PRAYER. NOW CAN YOU GET DICK VITALE

Walton is without a doubt th worst commentator in the history of sports. I would rather listen to Clyde do Texans, Astros, Rockets, and Houston Coogs games for the rest of my life than to hear one Walton game.

 

Don't forget the constant f*ing up of "untracked" "on track." I watch most sports with the sound OFF, but Walton was an exception to that policy. At least he had a brain.

 

Yes! Thanks for this. I was trying to find the YouTube video of this earlier.

 

Anyone remember his show on ESPN, Long Strange Trip, that aired about six episodes around 2002?

That was a great show. One scene had him watching the Lakers with his sons, and he says, "Rick Fox is one of the greatest players in the history of basketball." They just look at each other and roll their eyes.

 

I'll miss him. Anyone who appreciates the Dream as Walton does, and has the personal background on which to base that appreciation, is aces in my book.

And he was funny as hell.

 

Anybody who didn't enjoy Walton is a douche. Yes, his analogies were a tad out there, but they at least tied in to the point he was making. It's not like a crackhead on the bus spouting random junk..usually. Much better than two hours of stringing "from downtown" and "taking to the rack" together.

 

Too bad. I do not always, but often enjoy his over-dramatization and intentional exaggeration. But he really shows appreciation to basic sound basketball.

JVG, Hubbie Brown, and Walton, those are the guys I like in broadcasting. Not a coincidence, those guys are usually kind of biased towards Rockets as well.

Of course I hate Reggie Miller behind the mic the most.

 

What happened to Tolbert?

I loved Bill Walton.

 

You all seem to be confused. You think his back hurts from sitting. No, his back hurts from carrying that broadcast.