Throw It Down Big Man, Throw It Down!!!

The luckiest guy in the world...

Today the world lost Bill Walton.

Upon hearing the news that he had passed away due to complications from cancer, I almost immediately texted my close friend Steven to share the news. We mutually shared a deep appreciation for Bill Walton as a basketball voice and character unable to be duplicated by any other sports commentator. I noted to Steven that Bill’s passing caught me off guard in a way that I did not expect and that I was not adequately prepared for this day. He replied, “Me either… he won’t get the appreciation he deserves.” I tell you, Steven is absolutely right. No matter the tributes posted online and the articles we read and write over the next few days, Steven will be right. The man is/was a treasure.

I wonder… Why has the death of this man that I never once met stayed with me in such a way?

I liken this feeling to finding out that Mr. Rogers passed away.

I believe it has less to do with the person and more to do with the good that they represent.

Like Mr. Rogers, Bill Walton was missional in bringing life and positivity with him to every interaction. You can see it in every one of his broadcasts as well as in the stories that people have told and are now telling about him in retrospect. Bill Walton was easily one of the 5 best college basketball players of all time and a bona fide NBA Hall of Famer yet exuded the type of humility that made very light of those accomplishments. He had a 14-year NBA career that was cut short and diminished due to injury and he still was one of the best big men ever to play the game professionally. Both during and after his playing days, he had gone into surgery for his knees, ankles, and back a whopping 31 times due to injuries sustained while playing basketball. He endured and overcame an addiction to prescription painkillers after his playing days before getting a second chance to start again as an ambassador for the game of basketball and a longtime commentator for college and professional basketball games. He was the rare public personality you could tell had a truly authentic “zest for life”. Those types of people are very rare but they should not be. We are not always kind to those types of people as we assume their joy is born out of naivete. Instead, I choose to believe that those who have occupied both the peak and the pit truly understand the beauty of the plain.

He routinely would call himself “the luckiest guy in the world” as he lived such a rich and fulfilling life with his wife and children working with the game that he loved despite everything bad that he had experienced.

His passing away highlighted to me that I should share that same sentiment. I am indeed the “luckiest guy in the world”. Living this life in this age with the people I have been gifted to share it with is truly a blessing from God.

Cheers to you, Bill Walton.

* The YouTube link above is one of my favorite “interviews” of Bill Walton that captured so much of what made him a treasure. Check it out, whether you were familiar with Bill Walton or not.