Bill Walton Quotes & Sayings

Music is critical in our lives and culture. It's the inspiration that drives us. It's also the window to our souls. It's a reflection as to who we are, what we stand for and where we're going. — Bill Walton

Mick Jagger is in better shape than far too many NBA players. It's up in the air whether the same can be said of Keith Richards. — Bill Walton

Where else but the NBA could people like Bill Russell, Spencer Haywood, Ricky Barry, Dennis Rodman, and Allen Iverson come in and be allowed to be who they are? — Bill Walton

A huge Chinese population here in ... Houston. — Bill Walton

You don't win championships by just being normal, by just being average. — Bill Walton

John Stockton is one of the true marvels, not just of basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization! — Bill Walton

There are four pillars to happiness, which is the ultimate goal in life-to be happy. Health is first, family is second, home is third. That safe place where you can go to and regroup, be in a safe place by yourself start over. Those three things lead to the fourth pillar which is the hope and dream that tomorrow is going to be better. Without that you have not much at all. — Bill Walton

I have nothing but respect for the Lakers. So many of their legends shaped who I am as a person and player. — Bill Walton

Chick Hearn was my favorite broadcaster ever - he's the one who taught me to think basketball, how to love basketball. — Bill Walton

His ability to evoke Celtic pride was incredible. He would always talk about how all the old players called him up after an embarrasing performance and wanted to disassociate themselves from the Celtics. They wanted to mail in their championship rings, wanted their numbers removed from the rafters, and by this point there would be tears rolling down our cheeks and we'd want to kill. — Bill Walton

I had the only beard in the Western Hemisphere that made Bob Dylan's look good. — Bill Walton

The offensive presence of Greg Ostertag is quite overwhelming sometimes! — Bill Walton

Health is the most critical thing in our life. With your health anything is possible, without it you can't do anything. — Bill Walton

The great thing about being a broadcaster is you have this incredible responsibility to the people that make it all happen, the people that turn on the television set. — Bill Walton

What a pathetic play from a pathetic human being. — Bill Walton

But you have to understand, my beard is so nasty. I mean, it's the only beard in the history of Western civilization that makes Bob Dylan's beard look good. — Bill Walton

I can think. I can sleep. I can move. I can ride my bike. I can dream. — Bill Walton

No one missed more basketball in the history of NBA than I did. I played 14 seasons, on the roster for 14 years, and I missed more than nine-and-a-half full seasons. — Bill Walton

Tim Duncan's foot issue, I think, is a major factor in this year's playoffs. That's not the kind of injury that gets better over time playing NBA basketball. — Bill Walton

The only man who can stop Cliff Robinson is Cliff Robinson. The man is unstoppable even at 38. — Bill Walton

My life changed irrevocably four-and-a-half years ago when my spine failed and collapsed. I spent two years on the floor, in excruciating, debilitating and unrelenting pain. I can only describe the pain as being submerged into a vat of scalding acid that has an electric current running through it. And you can never get out, ever. — Bill Walton

Basketball is one of those rare opportunities where you can make a difference, not only for yourself, but for other people as well. — Bill Walton

Well, we've made some changes on this tour. We're no longer sleeping in the parking lots and swimming in the fountains. We've been staying in hotels most of the way, though I will say some hotels have declined to take us because we're just having too much fun. — Bill Walton

When you intercept the ball with your stomach, that is great defense — Bill Walton

Never forget - happiness ends when selfishness begins. — Bill Walton

There is absolutely no way the best team in the NCAA could even dream of beating the worst team in the NBA? You're talking about men vs. boys. — Bill Walton

No matter how good you get, there's always something further out there. — Bill Walton

Life is easy when you're hot. But what happens when the ball bounces the other way? You just keep getting back up and climbing up. — Bill Walton

Never rank, rate, or compare coaches, children, concerts, or championships or congratulations. Just enjoy them all. — Bill Walton

Being a broadcaster encompasses the business of sport, which is my life today, and it encompasses the skills of being a history student, and the ability of being a performer. — Bill Walton

I believe in science and evolution. I've been to the Grand Canyon. — Bill Walton

Tracy McGrady is doing things we've never seen from anybody - from any planet! — Bill Walton

Kenyon Martin is the 2nd best player in the Eastern Conference. — Bill Walton

I mean, I'm 6-foot-11, I've got red hair, freckles, I'm a goofy, nerdy-looking guy, I've got a speech impediment-I stutter and stammer all the time-and I'm a Deadhead. — Bill Walton

If Anthony Johnson ever gets a jumper, who's going to stop him? — Bill Walton

Bill Russell was my favorite player of all-time. — Bill Walton

When everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks. — Bill Walton

When I think of Boris Diaw, I think of Beethoven in the age of the romantics — Bill Walton

People who suffer learn to laugh about their sadness in public. — Bill Walton

I lived to play basketball. Growing up as a kid, Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics were my favorite team. The way they played, the teamwork, the sacrifice, the commitment, the joy, the camaraderie, the relationship with the fans. — Bill Walton

It's the most pleasurable experience in the world! When you're on a great team and you get hot, your teammates milk you dry - they wear you out and there's nothing like being on a great team. — Bill Walton

Health is a function of three things. 1. Luck 2. Genetics and 3. Choices in your lifestyle. — Bill Walton

Patrick Ewing used to be much better in every aspect of the game. — Bill Walton

At 49, I can say something I never would have said when I was a player, that I'm a better person because of my failures and disgraces. — Bill Walton

We can never thank David Stern enough. His vision to use basketball to improve the quality of our lives to make this world a better and saner place, that guy, is the most important man in the history of basketball. — Bill Walton

I might be the most injured athlete in the history of sports. I've had 31 operations. An endless string of stress fractures. — Bill Walton

That's what makes it so fun to be on a team. You're sitting at your house, thinking up this wild, crazy stuff as to how it's going to go, and the other guys are sitting at their houses doing the same thing. — Bill Walton

My bike is my gym, my wheelchair and my church all in one. I'd like to ride my bike all day long but I've got this thing called a job that keeps getting in the way. — Bill Walton

Doug Christie, what skill, what strenght, what power, what quickness. The visionof Magic Johnson, the athletisicm of Michael Jordan, the toughness of larry Bird. Dough Christie has it all — Bill Walton

I'm a lifelong stutterer. — Bill Walton

Love is the single most powerful and important word and notion in culture and language. Until the power of love supersedes the love of power we have no chance of ever being successful. — Bill Walton

In basketball, you can be the greatest individual player in the world and still lose every game, because a team will always beat an individual. — Bill Walton

I've had 36 orthopedic operations, have two fused ankles, my knees, hands and wrists don't work, I now have a fused spine, other than that, everything is great. — Bill Walton

If you're living for today, if you're only dreaming about yesterday, it doesn't work. You got to know that tomorrow is going to be better. Then you're on your way. — Bill Walton

I could smell colors, I could feel sounds. — Bill Walton

He told us that he had made a mistake by leaving the word love out of the Pyramid of Success. And that love is the single most powerful and important word in our language and culture. And until we allow the power of love to supersede the love of power, none of us has any chance of success at all. There — Bill Walton

A lot of people understand what not saying anything means, so, in effect, not saying anything is really saying a lot. — Bill Walton

I learned a long time ago that minor surgery is when they do operation on someone else, not you. — Bill Walton

If the UCLA teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s were subjected to the kind of scrutiny (other schools) have been, UCLA would probably have to forfeit about eight national championships and be on probation for the next 100 years. — Bill Walton

When you are in unrelenting, excruciating and debilitating pain that never goes away for years on end, your life is over. — Bill Walton

Kazemi has to understand that nobody is going to tell him he has to go back to Iran if he misses a shot. — Bill Walton

The medical device tags that are being used [in the USA] are a terrible mistake. Why are we taxing people for trying to save lives and trying to make lives better, make peoples lives healthier? Those taxes should be placed on alcohol, tobacco, junk food, guns. Those are all the things that destroy health. — Bill Walton

Growing up, my parents were very, very strict. And then I went to UCLA with John Wooden, who was just off the charts. — Bill Walton

Anytime you bring Michael Olowokandi on to your team, disaster is soon to follow. — Bill Walton

I grew up in an non-athletic family, where my parents were interested in music, in literature, in education and art. — Bill Walton

I'm mainstream. Always have been. — Bill Walton

Winning is about having the whole team on the same page. — Bill Walton

Right now, you know, it's not about the refs or anything else, it's about hitting first, getting on the run and never looking back. — Bill Walton

When you find yourself talking about less and less and forgetting the love that you bring, never forget there are things you can replace but others you can not. — Bill Walton

I was a skinny, scrawny guy. I stuttered horrendously, couldn't speak at all. I was a very shy, reserved player and a very shy, reserved person. I found a safe place in life in basketball. — Bill Walton

I don't sleep much. I'm on the go. My mind is racing. My wife says my mind is like the rolling dials on a slot machine. So, yeah, I think about everything. — Bill Walton

I have always wanted to be part of something special, and when I got to Boston.. actually, when I bought, begged and pleaded my way onto the Celtics.. it was already a championship team. I was just glad to be able to sit there and cheer and to be Larry Bird's valet, to be sure that his shoes were fine and his uniform was folded neatly. — Bill Walton

I hate to say anything that may hurt UCLA, but I can't be quiet when I see what the NCAA is doing to Jerry Tarkanian only because he has a reputation for giving a second chance to many black athletes other coaches have branded as troublemakers. The NCAA is working night and day trying to get Jerry, but no one from the NCAA ever questioned me during my four years at UCLA! — Bill Walton

The Grateful Dead, they're my best friends. Their message of hope, peace, love, teamwork, creativity, imagination, celebration, the dance, the vision, the purpose, the passion all of the things I believe in makes me the luckiest Deadhead in the world. — Bill Walton

Yao Ming is the best thing to happen to the NBA in a long time. He is just a beautiful person inside and out. The vision, the creativity, the gentleness of spirit ... he has it all. — Bill Walton

I tried to teach them [his sons] that about the importance of self-discipline, and that the culture of yes is built on a foundation of no. — Bill Walton

Why is Scottie Pippen taking a charge? Taking a charge is for people with no game! — Bill Walton

Steve Nash is the most unathletic player in the league. — Bill Walton

I couldn't imagine not playing basketball. To me, basketball is what life is all about. — Bill Walton

Success at the highest level comes down to one question: Can you decide that your happiness can come from someone else's success? — Bill Walton

You look at Vladimir Radmanovic, this guy is cut from stone. As if Michelangelo was reading and a lightening bolt flashed before him. — Bill Walton

Life is about growth. People are not perfect when they're 21 years old. — Bill Walton

Without question, no hesitation, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best player I ever played against. — Bill Walton

There are no guarantees in life. The simple twists of fate and the breaks of the game are the two maxims that define so much of the success and failure in life. — Bill Walton

Greg Ostertag is one of the top centers on this planet! — Bill Walton

Kevin Garnett is the prototype for the NBA player of the future. He's already one of the greatest players to have played the game. — Bill Walton