1. “Tracy McGrady is doing things we’ve never seen from anybody – from any planet!”
2. [following a tough driving basket by John Stockton] John Stockton is one of the true marvels, not just of basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization!
3. On Larry Johnson’s lackluster performance in the NBA Finals: “What a pathetic performance by this sad human being. This is a disgrace to the game of basketball and to the NBA. He played like a disgrace tonight. And he deserved it.”
4. Walton: That’s gotta be a foul.
Steve “Snapper” Jones: Against who?
Walton: Against basketball.
5. On Kobe’s offseason weight training: “The added muscle and bulk from pushing that steel and the natural maturation process now enables this grandmaster to regularly accomplish the unimaginable without dragging around excessive bulk and baggage. Most top players get to the point where they truly believe that anything is possible. Most are also governed by gravity, the laws of physics and self-regulating mental control mechanisms. Kobe has left all these behind. The extra strength and stamina have made him a superior 3-point shooter, a most dominant defender and arguably the game’s top rebounder.”
6. “Steve Nash is the most unathletic player in the league.”
7. During a game that didn’t even involve the Rockets: “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.”
8. On the ’72 Lakers: “Way back when, I was a sophomore in college at UCLA when a truly remarkable aggregation of professional talent actually exceeded the hype and hope of a world searching desperately for authenticity.”
9. “Oh my, Kobe is really putting on a show out there. He’s making Ray Allen look like a sixth grader!”
10. On Shaquille O’Neal: “Shaq’s arrogance is an insult to people who think.”
*****
i love #5, arguably the game’s top rebounder? ..but in essence they’re all phenomenal. can’t wait for Walton to heal up and get back into the studio. i miss his commentary! -bB
re: If anybody wants a good laugh, find a tape of Walton commentating a Lakers game a year or two ago when Luke Walton was playing. He just rips him the entire time and puts all the weight on his shoulders haha. If he makes a shot, Bill is silent. If he misses it Bill goes on a tirade about why Luke shouldn’t be taking the shot then.
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LB23
Where did he go? When he was on the air, I couldn’t stand listening to Bill Walton. I thought, like everybody else did, that was was gregarious to a fault, mind numbing, and devoid of technical commentary. Now that he’s gone and Jeff Van Gundy is in, I miss old Bill. For a man who grew up with a noticeable stutter, he’s really done a 180. Plus, he’s still a hippie at heart.