Bill Walton was a proud Deadhead. The basketball great, who died Monday at age 71 following a prolonged cancer battle, was famously a huge fan of the Grateful Dead (and a tie-dye aficionado ). A fixture at the band’s shows — he was hard to miss at nearly 7 feet — Walton reportedly had attended more than 850 shows since 1967, including when the Dead played in front of the Great Pyramids in Egypt in 1978.
As a broadcaster for ESPN, Walton often inserted references to the band in his color commentary during games. “I became the basketball player that I was because of the Grateful Dead,” said Walton in a 2016 interview with Salon . “I am the human being that I am today because of the Grateful Dead.
They’re right there at the top of my teachers. Their inspiration moved me brightly.” More than just a fan, the UCLA basketball legend, who helped lead the team to back-to-back NCAA championships (and undefeated seasons) during coach John Wooden’s tenure in the 1970s, developed a friendship with the Grateful Dead over the years.
The band often would stay at Walton’s house when they were in San Diego, and the Hall of Famer attended band member Jerry Garcia’s private funeral. Not only that, his home resembled a Grateful Dead museum, with photos and memorabilia lining the walls. Walton even peppered his 2016 memoir, “Back From the Dead,” with his love of (and lyrics from) the band.
Among the anecdotes that Walton shared is how he got his Boston Celtics teammates i.
