- 2 days ago
The great who could have been the all time great
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00:00Behind that, the fan is the door!
00:02Over the door!
00:04Door!
00:05Door!
00:07Door!
00:08Door!
00:09Door!
00:10Door!
00:12Door!
00:13Door!
00:14Door!
00:15Door!
00:16Door!
00:17Door!
00:18Door!
00:19Door!
00:20Door!
00:21Roxy got to the finish third!
00:23Oh my god!
00:25Door!
00:26Door!
00:27Door!
00:28Door!
00:29Door!
00:30Door!
00:32Door!
00:33Door!
00:34Door!
00:35Door!
00:37Door!
00:38Door!
00:39Door!
00:40Door!
00:41Door!
00:42As a shot blocker, defender, and team leader, he was competitive.
00:45Compared to Bill Russell.
00:46As an inside scorer, he rivals Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
00:50No, he didn't.
00:51And as a passer, he stood alone among sinners.
00:53He did.
00:54Bill Walton possessed all-
00:55All of the pieces of greatness.
00:57Except one.
00:58Due to inadequate bone structure.
01:00In his feet, he spent more than half of his NBA career on the sidelines.
01:05But beyond the frustrations of his injuries, he projected a social awareness rare to be
01:10part of his profession.
01:11Here is Bill Walton, basketball player and political activist.
01:15In that order.
01:16Yes, sir.
01:17I have a cream!
01:18Go!
01:19Go!
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03:16You
03:15He was a person that people looked to your voice is going to be heard
03:20more than our voice is, so he let it be known where he stood.
03:25In Chile in the midst of a record run of seven consecutive national championships, Walter
03:30Wilson was often torn between his loyalty to a coach and a need to demonstrate where
03:35he stood in a nation divided.
03:37He was a champion of all minority causes.
03:40But when you're representing a team in a university, there are times when, you know,
03:45there's some things you probably shouldn't do.
03:50The Kent State situation, he was out there riding with everybody else and the coach
03:54just looking, shaking.
03:55I think he was led by other people doing some things.
04:00I would rather he'd not been involved in, but he has a right to do it.
04:03Here was an older guy.
04:05A great coach, a young, great player.
04:07He wanted to win and wouldn't want to win.
04:10He wasn't the only thing they had in common.
04:12Toward that end, Wooden imposed his rules.
04:15With a predictable regularity.
04:16There's a plane ride.
04:20He just comes by and offers Bill.
04:21What do you want to eat?
04:22He says, a glass of wine.
04:25One of the ladies, she comes back with a glass of ginger ale.
04:27And she says, what's that?
04:28I said, the gentleman in that other seat.
04:30He said, I was to give you this and that's John Wood.
04:33One of the saddest days for...
04:35Which wouldn't have had to have been that he came down and had to bail me out of jail
04:38after I got arrested in the...
04:40The anti-Vietnam War protests.
04:41He said, Bill, I know you feel very strongly about this, but I just...
04:45Don't think that you're getting arrested and taking part in this demonstration is what
04:48it's all about.
04:49I think you should write...
04:50Letters.
04:51And I scripted this letter to President Nixon.
04:53I requested that he resign.
04:55Coach Wooden, he was so mad, but he looked up at me with those sad...
05:00So I'm done.
05:01He said, Bill, I can't sign this.
05:02I said, you're not going to send this in, are you, Bill?
05:04And I said, yeah, of course.
05:05I sent this in.
05:06Well, I sent it in, and sure enough, Nixon resigns.
05:10It was unbelievable.
05:11It was right, as always.
05:15After leading UCLA to two national championships...
05:20The three-time Player of the Year joined the Portland Trailblazers in 1974...
05:25...and marched on the NBA in full revolutionary regalia.
05:30He was very pained about conditions, about the war, and...
05:35...and he's one of the few people that had that type of visibility...
05:40...and his prestige out there.
05:41If you're not part of the fight...
05:45...that's a selfishness that is not acceptable.
05:50He would do his own thing, and people just didn't want to hear that.
05:55They'd call him a rebel.
05:56So you don't think there's anything contradictory about being a basketball player...
06:00...and, say, a social critic.
06:01I'm just a person who happens to play basketball.
06:05Yeah, for seven.
06:06Walton's high ranking among the...
06:07Walton's high ranking among the...
06:10...60s leading radicals was enhanced by a close friendship with activist and writer...
06:15...Jack Scott.
06:16He and Bill kind of connected on some of their thoughts about...
06:20...and how athletes were being used and abused.
06:23He was very instrumental in...
06:25...in my life and in my progress as a human being.
06:27You know, Jack Scott was involved in all the...
06:30...battles of the day.
06:31Whenever I was out there, it was always close.
06:33At one time, they were living together.
06:35...and a family commune and all that.
06:36Bill Walton had called and wanted me to come to a party.
06:40I've never seen a place, one little living room in Portland, Oregon...
06:43...where so many 60s...
06:45...and the radicals of some degree of fame attended.
06:48And Walton was right there in the middle of it.
06:50In 1975, Walton's roommate, Jack Scott, made...
06:55...in national headlines when the FBI suspected him of harboring fugitive Patty Hearst.
07:00...who as an avowed member of the Symbionese Liberation Army...
07:03...was wanted on bank robbery charges.
07:05Bill Walton stood by him to the extent that...
07:10...that it cast a shot on his career.
07:11By that I mean when he sit down to do an interview...
07:14...one of the first things...
07:15...will come up to Jack Scott.
07:16Have you ever had any dealings at all with Patty Hearst?
07:19Have you helped her?
07:20No, not at all.
07:21No, not at all.
07:23What about Jack Scott?
07:24Have you helped...
07:25Jack and I are real close friends.
07:28He has one of his friends.
07:29He has one of his friends.
07:30He's beautiful.
07:33Oh my gosh.
07:35You had a star player who was having his phone tapped by the FBI.
07:40It was nervous for a lot of these people.
07:43I was having a staff meeting.
07:45And the Channel 8 people came breaking into the meeting to...
07:50...take pictures...
07:52...of me.
07:53The FBI got Jack Scott...
07:55...and Scott's father mixed up with Bill's father.
07:57That it was Bill's father that was asked to...
08:00...to transport Patty Hearst.
08:01Dad didn't know who Patty Hearst was.
08:03I have never met Patty Hearst.
08:05I have no idea what she even looks like.
08:10...and dragged in on the periphery of that event.
08:13And, you know, in retrospect...
08:15...it was a disaster for all people involved.
08:17Well, in all through all this...
08:20...was just somebody who supported these causes.
08:23I think he sort of...
08:25...grooved on being a part of it.
08:27Walton had ample time to pursue his...
08:30...counterculture activities.
08:31In his first two seasons...
08:33...injuries kept him out of 78...
08:35...while the Blazers cruised along under 500.
08:38He brings...
08:40...in his baggage...
08:41...while...
08:42...violating...
08:43...basic...
08:44...law...
08:45...to transport America...
08:46...which is...
08:47...thou shalt not speak out...
08:48...unless thou is...
08:50...playing at a championship...
08:52...medal.
08:53He seemed...
08:54...to have...
08:55...so many views...
08:56...often counter...
08:57...to...
08:58...mainstream...
08:59...U.S. kind of thinking...
09:00...and...
09:01...so you thought...
09:02...wait...
09:03...what's this guy all about?
09:04Why doesn't he just play basketball?
09:05You know...
09:05...shut up...
09:06...middle-class suburb of San Diego...
09:08...Bill Walton was the second...
09:10...of four children...
09:11...his father...
09:12...Ted was a social worker...
09:13...and Gloria...
09:14...his mother...
09:15...a librarian...
09:16...grew up in an...
09:17...unathletic household...
09:18...it was all about...
09:20...books...
09:21...it was all about music...
09:24...they had a very...
09:25...traditional home...
09:27...and religion was important...
09:30...but it was mixed with...
09:32...social obligation...
09:33...that this should be...
09:34...a better country...
09:35...you know...
09:36...my dad...
09:37...very interested...
09:38...in...
09:39...social justice...
09:40...and...
09:40...change...
09:41...because you always had to have...
09:42...something fresh...
09:43...to talk about...
09:44...I would...
09:45...get up...
09:46...and crack it on...
09:47...everyday...
09:48...and always beat...
09:49...my dad to that...
09:50...the education...
09:52...was the big thing...
09:55...and...
09:56...if they had time for sports...
09:57...then...
09:58...spend as much time...
09:59...as they wanted...
10:00...as long as...
10:00...as they got their schoolwork...
10:01...and...
10:02...my parents would always...
10:03...challenge us...
10:04...they would...
10:05...initiate these discussions...
10:07...about what was going on...
10:08...in the world...
10:09...his opinions were being...
10:10...made...
10:12...they would...
10:13...not accept that...
10:14...they would always keep...
10:15...apportionate...
10:16...before he was born...
10:17...he was never still...
10:18...he was jumping around...
10:20...and then...
10:21...as soon as...
10:22...he was born...
10:23...he was...
10:24...on the go...
10:25...at the time...
10:26...and...
10:27...it sounded as if...
10:28...he was just...
10:29...trying to talk too fast...
10:30...and then...
10:31...we realized...
10:32...that...
10:33...he did have...
10:34...ah...
10:35...hanging up...
10:36...on certain words...
10:37...the stuttering problem...
10:38...that has plagued me...
10:39...throughout my life...
10:40...has...
10:41...limited me...
10:42...as a person...
10:43...I just...
10:44...retreated from it...
10:45...I...
10:46...that I'm not gonna talk...
10:47...his biggest...
10:48...fear was to get in front of somebody...
10:50...and that stutter...
10:51...not to be able to...
10:52...really say what he wanted to say...
10:54...he was...
10:55...gawky...
10:56...and too tall...
10:57...and...
10:58...he doesn't feel...
10:59...comfortable...
11:00...in his body...
11:02...he was definitely self-conscious...
11:03...he always wanted to walk...
11:04...next to the...
11:05...the building...
11:06...as you walk down the sidewalk...
11:07...because...
11:08...if you're next to the building...
11:09...you don't look quite as...
11:10...as tall...
11:11...Bill never...
11:12...wanted to be...
11:13...seven...
11:14...feet tall...
11:15...he wanted to be...
11:15...6-11...
11:16...because...
11:17...6-11 was tall...
11:18...but seven feet...
11:19...was a freak...
11:20...as he said...
11:21...I was a...
11:22...very...
11:23...reserved...
11:24...young boy...
11:25...with a big nose...
11:26...and a horrible speech impediment...
11:28...found...
11:29...safety...
11:30...found sanctuary...
11:31...found peace...
11:32...freedom...
11:33...and a way to express myself...
11:34...at the through...
11:35...basketball...
11:36...go on to the...
11:37...basketball court...
11:38...and everything that...
11:39...doesn't work for...
11:40...in the normal universe...
11:42...suddenly works for him...
11:45...Bruce was the perfect...
11:47...bolder brother...
11:48...and boy...
11:49...did he...
11:50...used to just...
11:51...beat me up...
11:52...on a constant basis...
11:53...I developed...
11:54...a...
11:55...greater sense of...
11:56...speed and quickness...
11:57...because I knew I had to...
11:58...get away from him...
11:59...Bruce would just take...
12:00...Bill inside...
12:01...and pound him...
12:02...and he'd force the ball...
12:03...in the basket...
12:04...we'd be in the backyard court...
12:05...and we had a...
12:06...a thorn bush...
12:07...off to the side...
12:08...so I'd fake one way...
12:09...and...
12:10...up to that jumper...
12:11...he'd just...
12:12...BAM...
12:13...knock me right down...
12:14...into that thorn bush...
12:15...Walton debuted...
12:18...auspiciously...
12:19...on...
12:20...and sacraments...
12:21...elementary team...
12:22...fourth grade...
12:23...he was playing...
12:24...with sixth grade...
12:25...I put him in...
12:26...and I told him...
12:27...look...
12:28...just pass the ball...
12:29...don't shoot...
12:30...next thing you know...
12:31...he's making a pass...
12:32...but the ball goes in...
12:33...I knew you were...
12:34...going to be good...
12:35...you're making it look...
12:36...so easy...
12:37...one of the first...
12:38...championship games...
12:39...I ever played...
12:40...I was very first...
12:41...didn't know really...
12:42...what to do...
12:43...in the pre-game moments...
12:44...from pacing back...
12:45...and forth in the restroom...
12:46...Bill was just...
12:47...fidgety as can be...
12:48...I said...
12:49...come on...
12:50...get with it...
12:50...this is part of winning...
12:51...and he said...
12:52...hey...
12:53...you've got to learn...
12:54...to love these moments...
12:55...the celebration of life...
12:56...we'd go from...
12:57...the breakfast table...
12:58...to go out playing...
12:59...all day long...
13:00...literally...
13:01...until we...
13:00...get dropped...
13:01...that was really...
13:02...our whole life...
13:03...growing up as kids...
13:04...we'd go over to...
13:05...the elementary...
13:05...school...
13:06...that had the eight-foot...
13:07...baskets...
13:08...and we would think...
13:09...that we were the...
13:10...the NBA guys...
13:11...so we would be...
13:12...throwing it down...
13:13...he'd play by himself...
13:14...and then three of us...
13:15...would try to...
13:15...pass around and...
13:16...get the ball inside...
13:17...he'd be in there...
13:18...blocking the shot...
13:19...before we could even...
13:20...get in...
13:20...at Helix High...
13:23...Walton's primary...
13:25...competition...
13:26...came from...
13:27...acrosstown rival...
13:28...and childhood friend...
13:29...Elias Delgadine...
13:30...it was...
13:31...a kind of...
13:32...wake-up hall...
13:33...I would...
13:34...build...
13:35...you've got to beat...
13:36...Elias...
13:37...it was a challenge...
13:38...for Bill...
13:39...and he rose to beat it...
13:40...I would recall...
13:41...those long arms...
13:42...the spider arms...
13:43...into the jaw...
13:44...into the...
13:45...the chest...
13:46...asking for the...
13:47...bomb...
13:48...as a sophomore...
13:49...I believe he was six...
13:50...at the start...
13:51...of the season...
13:52...by the time...
13:53...he finished...
13:54...his junior...
13:55...year...
13:56...he was six...
13:57...nine...
13:58...I...
13:59...cajoled a key...
14:00...at the high school gym...
14:01...and then the...
14:02...the NBA came to San Diego...
14:03...with the San Diego Rock...
14:05...and then they found out...
14:06...that I had the key...
14:07...to the gym...
14:08...we'd have...
14:09...Pat Riley...
14:10...and Elvin Hayes...
14:11...and Bill was competing with him...
14:12...and he was in high school...
14:13...and he was blocking guys' shots...
14:14...they were...
14:15...pro players...
14:16...our coach would have...
14:17...a tennis racket...
14:18...and with a tennis racket...
14:19...he would extend it...
14:20...all the way up...
14:21...and so with that...
14:22...I would have to learn...
14:23...how to shoot...
14:24...an art...
14:25...the ball...
14:26...higher...
14:27...you couldn't...
14:28...shoot...
14:29...over him...
14:30...and zero...
14:31...I think it was...
14:32...our junior and senior year...
14:33...obviously...
14:34...we were...
14:35...the ball goes up...
14:36...Bill goes up...
14:37...Helix players split...
14:38...Bill spins in mid-air...
14:40...and fires the ball down...
14:41...court...
14:42...it was like seeing...
14:43...a college team...
14:44...with a fast-wave offense...
14:45...despite his dominance...
14:48...Walton remained...
14:50...rail thin...
14:51...through high school...
14:52...but he had...
14:53...first-rate protection...
14:55...Bruce was Bill's protector...
14:56...if you fouled Bill...
14:57...Bruce was going to...
14:58...very proudly...
14:59...pick up...
15:00...a personal foul...
15:01...and the other guy...
15:02...was going to be eating...
15:03...a little plywood...
15:04...there was a game...
15:05...when we were playing...
15:05...against a team...
15:06...that was particularly...
15:07...intent on roughing me up...
15:09...this guy cut him in half...
15:10...and Bill shoots...
15:11...makes the basket...
15:12...shoots the free throws...
15:13...makes the free throw...
15:14...we're coming back...
15:15...the other way...
15:15...down the court...
15:16...side by side...
15:20...and Bruce gives...
15:21...the poor kid...
15:22...an elbow...
15:24...in his head...
15:25...all of a sudden...
15:26...there was a big...
15:27...gasp...
15:28...from the crowd...
15:29...and there was...
15:30...bruce standing there...
15:31...over the top...
15:32...of this fallen opponent...
15:33...and Bruce had...
15:34...the most...
15:35...cheapish grin on his face...
15:36...I never saw that guy...
15:37...the rest of the game...
15:40...despite Walton's...
15:42...29 points...
15:43...and 25 rebounds...
15:44...a game...
15:45...33-0 senior season...
15:47...Sports Illustrated...
15:48...selected...
15:49...Tom McMillan...
15:50...as...
15:51...high school...
15:52...player of the year...
15:53...and we just...
15:54...smiled at that...
15:55...I wonder if they really...
15:56...know what's happening...
15:57...out here...
15:58...after they ran...
15:59...that story...
16:00...sports Illustrated...
16:01...called...
16:02...and they said...
16:03...who's this Walton kid...
16:04...we've been told...
16:05...that he's the best player...
16:05...in the country...
16:06...that we got the wrong...
16:07...best player...
16:08...and nobody in a nation...
16:09...caught on him...
16:10...Hm...
16:11...San Diego...
16:14...had never even...
16:15...a Division I player...
16:16...and I told...
16:17...Coach Wooden...
16:18...I said...
16:19...he's the best...
16:20...high school player...
16:21...I've ever seen...
16:20...and goes...
16:21...shuts the door...
16:22...to the hall...
16:23...and he says...
16:24...Denny don't ever...
16:25...make a statement like that...
16:26...and we get this...
16:25...San Diego...
16:26...go to the game...
16:27...I said...
16:28...well what did you think of him...
16:29...he says...
16:30...well he is pretty good...
16:31...isn't he?
16:30...and that was an accolade...
16:31...for Coach...
16:32...when Coach Wooden...
16:33...actually started calling...
16:34...and coming around...
16:35...that...
16:36...that was a dream come true...
16:39...because...
16:40...from the first time...
16:41...I ever saw...
16:42...UCLA play basketball...
16:44...I...
16:45...and I knew...
16:46...that's what I wanted to do...
16:47...it was a wonderful world...
16:48...and he got...
16:49...everything he wanted...
16:50...one side of his life...
16:52...was the free spirit...
16:53...and then the other side...
16:54...the basketball...
16:55...was...
16:56...completely disciplined...
16:57...with great players...
16:58...and the great...
16:59...cougal boys...
17:00...inspirational...
17:01...and influential...
17:02...person...
17:03...in my life...
17:04...he spent his whole...
17:05...time dreaming...
17:06...about...
17:07...what...
17:08...would work...
17:09...for us...
17:10...individuals...
17:11...when Bill Walton...
17:12...joined John Wooden...
17:13...in 1970...
17:14...the standard...
17:15...had never been...
17:16...hired...
17:17...UCLA...
17:18...had won...
17:19...four consecutive...
17:20...national championships...
17:20...Pauley Pavilion...
17:21...was Yankee Stadium...
17:22...UCLA...
17:23...were the Yankees...
17:24...and...
17:25...you're the best players...
17:26...in America...
17:27...you have the best...
17:28...coach of all time...
17:29...the weather's great...
17:30...and...
17:31...at least...
17:32...half the fans are...
17:33...of the female...
17:34...persuasion...
17:35...great lifestyle...
17:36...Oley Pavilion...
17:37...just...
17:38...glows...
17:39...we walk out on...
17:40...in that court...
17:41...as the chosen few...
17:42...people just...
17:43...jumping up and down...
17:44...and screaming...
17:45...and the band was playing...
17:46...and the cheerleaders...
17:47...kicking their legs...
17:48...in the air...
17:49...throwing the pom-poms up...
17:50...and it was just such...
17:51...an unbelievable moment...
17:52...of celebration...
17:55...in a brilliant college career...
17:58...never was Walton's talent...
18:00...at a higher point...
18:01...than in the 1973...
18:02...championship game...
18:03...against Memphis State...
18:05...May...
18:06...21...
18:07...22...
18:08...show...
18:09...and get this...
18:10...21...
18:11...out of 22...
18:12...field goal...
18:13...attents tonight...
18:15...Walton finished...
18:16...with a finals record...
18:18...44 points...
18:19...as the Bruins...
18:20...took their seventh...
18:21...straight title...
18:22...he didn't shoot a lot...
18:23...as a college player...
18:24...he was...
18:25...in compliment...
18:26...he had a presence...
18:27...on the court...
18:28...that was so intimidating...
18:29...and engulfing...
18:30...and a cloud...
18:31...hung over the gym...
18:32...wherever he was...
18:33...I was not a fuck...
18:34...person to be around...
18:35...before the games...
18:37...during the leaves...
18:38...because I had to win...
18:39...and...
18:40...and I would work...
18:41...myself...
18:42...into a rage...
18:43...into a terror...
18:44...we used to do a...
18:45...a drill...
18:46...in the hallway...
18:47...outside the locker room...
18:48...where we would...
18:49...just pass the ball...
18:50...back and forth...
18:50...and one hand...
18:51...two hand...
18:52...both hands...
18:53...as quickly as we could...
18:54...and my fingers would be...
18:55...beat red...
18:55...he was burning the ball...
18:56...in so hard...
18:57...and Bill...
18:58...would get so up...
19:00...before Gabe...
19:01...but he'd have a hard...
19:02...time coming down...
19:03...and he finally went...
19:04...to Wooden...
19:05...and asked...
19:05...permission...
19:06...to smoke some dope...
19:07...because it helped...
19:08...bring him down...
19:09...and find...
19:10...he certainly wouldn't...
19:11...said yes...
19:12...but don't...
19:13...tell your teammates...
19:15...and Bill Walton...
19:16...changed everything...
19:17...inside...
19:18...I would love for people...
19:19...to get by me...
19:20...I could put so much...
19:20...epression on people...
19:21...that they would get by me...
19:22...and they would run...
19:23...into Bill Walton...
19:24...and then...
19:25...as soon as that ball is visible...
19:26...zoop...
19:27...then he could just...
19:28...leap right off of that position...
19:29...without...
19:30...without having to...
19:31...gather...
19:32...to come up...
19:33...he had the ability...
19:34...to time his leap...
19:35...so that he...
19:36...caught the rebound...
19:37...and turned his upper body...
19:38...had the...
19:39...facility to throw that...
19:40...straight outlook pass...
19:41...he was a control tower...
19:42...through whom you ran...
19:43...both your offense...
19:44...and your defense...
19:45...there has never been...
19:46...anybody quite like him...
19:50...but the tower...
19:51...known as Bill Walton...
19:52...was already...
19:53...experiencing...
19:54...severe structural...
19:55...stress...
19:56...he would spend...
19:57...at least...
19:58...20 to 30 minutes...
19:59...with...
20:00...heating pads...
20:01...underneath his...
20:02...knees...
20:03...and on top of his...
20:04...knees...
20:05...would be just...
20:06...crimson...
20:07...when he got ready...
20:08...to suit up...
20:09...for practice...
20:10...with ice...
20:11...for 20, 30, 40 minutes...
20:12...every day...
20:13...he was...
20:14...a great athlete...
20:15...body...
20:16...quickness...
20:17... eyesight...
20:18...vision...
20:19...coordination...
20:20...he has...
20:20...all these...
20:21...great assets...
20:22...and he has...
20:23...your grandmother's...
20:24...feet...
20:25...has...
20:26...had reached...
20:27...88...
20:29...games...
20:30January 19, 1974 at Notre Dame.
20:3512-point lead and the ball with a couple minutes to go.
20:37Walton limping a bit, 70 to 60.
20:4061, still made, intercepts.
20:42He's got two balls.
20:43Goes from 11 to 7.
20:4510 seconds, now the crowd gets into them.
20:47And then that's when the defense picked up.
20:50Oh, here's the steel.
20:51Deadly goes all the way.
20:5570 to 65, pandemonium now.
20:59Proud smell it.
21:00Momentum was going.
21:0132, 31.
21:02That's play to the floor.
21:05Do you believe that for 3 minutes and 22 seconds that you can
21:10shut out at UCLA and beat them 12-zip?
21:12If you look back, that's what we did.
21:14Notre Dame.
21:15UCLA 71, UCLA 70 with 6 seconds left.
21:18In to Walton.
21:19He can't score.
21:20Fournivex, Myers, Stilman, it's all over.
21:24Notre Dame is...
21:25The longest winning streak in collegiate sports history.
21:30has ended where it began three years ago.
21:34They'll tell you that...
21:35You know, we lost that game 17 years ago, 14 days and 27...
21:40It's that big of a thing to them.
21:44Failed...
21:45We lost expectations.
21:47We should have done a lot more.
21:50That's the kind of defeat you absolutely never get over.
21:53Digger Phelps, he...
21:55Ruined my life that day.
21:57Exposed as merely human, even to the...
22:00themselves, the Bruins went on a binge, losing back-to-back games at Oregon State...
22:05But even after the trauma of that lost weekend, further...
22:10Disappointment awaited at the Final Four.
22:13March 23rd, 1870...
22:151874, North Carolina State at Greensboro.
22:20A seven-point lead down the stretch in regulation with the ball.
22:24Couldn't hold on.
22:25A seven-point lead down the stretch in the wall.
22:27A six-point lead down the stretch in the wall.
22:28It was about a mile.
22:29Seven-point lead...
22:30lead in the second overtime. Couldn't get it done.
22:35Florida State has ended. UCLA has the championship race.
22:40For Bill Walton, that loss is one that he'll
22:45be thinking about probably almost every week, if not every month of his life.
22:50Well, I guess I really don't know how to play basketball.
22:55Total failure. I'm worthless. I'm totally worthless out there for an hour and a half just repeating the same thing.
23:00If I had one thing to do over again, it would be the day.
23:05We lost to North Carolina State in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
23:09That lesson...
23:10Coach Wooden is about not beating yourself and failing to prepare.
23:15I'd like to have that week back.
23:20The Walton era ended at 86 and 4. He averaged 20 points.
23:25And his 16 rebounds a game eclipsed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's school record.
23:30Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:35Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:36Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:37Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:38Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:39Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:40Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:41Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:42Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:43Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:44Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:45Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:46Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:47Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:48Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:49Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:50Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:51Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:52Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:53Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:54Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
23:55games into my rookie season. I came to practice one day and I couldn't run and it felt like there was
24:00stabbing knives being jabbed into my foot and they told me it was another wrong one.
24:05What do you Walton? You're just a millennial. You're a quitter. And I was stunned.
24:10It wasn't getting fixed. And so they were putting him out there because they thought he was a malingerer.
24:15And that made the problem worse. My problems were undiagnosed stress fractures.
24:20Cracks in the bones that developed from playing too much basketball.
24:25You could never point to one moment when it happened and people couldn't see.
24:30The players wonder what's going on with this guy. I think some of them had the idea that maybe he
24:35didn't have the didn't want to be there. The local media cited Walton's dime.
24:40He was as quiet as the cause for his injuries. He had goat's milk and carrots.
24:45And he had paper bags of juices. He told me, you gotta eat some meat, man. Here's your...
24:50You're wasting away to nothing. Eat some real food. Things were so bad, so...
24:55So often that I would call up the owner virtually every 48 hours.
25:00He'd say, I don't want to be part of this. I quit. And I'd hang up the phone. And I'd have it sit there.
25:05And just toss and turn all night long and say, what do you mean quit? You can't...
25:10I walk away and be like, this is what you love. Before the 76-77 season...
25:15The patience was beginning to wear thin that Walton may not, despite his phenomena...
25:20...college career, be the franchise player.
25:25That spring, the Blazers hired Jack Ramsey as head coach. Then...
25:30...we have obtained Maurice Lucas in the ABA dispersal draft, giving Walton the enforcer...
25:35...he had missed since he played with his brother in high school.
25:38I guess he was more impressed when I told him.
25:40...that I was going to protect him.
25:43I'll take care of all the dirty work.
25:45He would go around Maurice Lucas literally and threaten people on our team.
25:50...that if they didn't play the game of their lives, he was going to kill them.
25:53Under the protection...
25:55Given him by Lucas, Walton emerged as the team leader. By mid-season...
26:00...the cloud of doubt that hovered over him for two years...
26:03...was replaced by Blazer Mania.
26:05...everybody's watching it, everybody's trying to look like him, but...
26:10...what Bill is, and what most of the culture of Oregon was at that time...
26:13...is a pretty natural thing.
26:15...fit.
26:16The local love-in peaked in game six of the 19th...
26:20...1977 finals against Philadelphia, as the Walton show drew a 96...
26:25...percent TV share in the Portland area.
26:27Geez.
26:28...and catching juicy...
26:30...and muscle, they go to the lob behind him on Walton...
26:32...he threw the foul and hit the field goal.
26:34...I'll be good.
26:35Grose will look, it's Walton he wants, Walton comes up on Daryl...
26:38...Darkins and puts it in.
26:39So Walton...
26:40...he's in the shootout.
26:41Here's my goodness, Lucas comes up with the list for the...
26:45...the ball...
26:46...and he's got...
26:47...and he's got...
26:48...and he's got...
26:49...and he's got...
26:50It's gone wild in Portland.
26:52Walton has had the jersey stripped off in.
26:55World Championship for the Blazers, the Portland Trail Blazers, their first year.
27:00The 1977 Portland Trail Blazers.
27:05World Championship team was the youngest team in the history of the NBA to ever win the championship.
27:10And it was all so magical.
27:12I remember Bill had a habit.
27:15Of reaching over and palming my head.
27:19I wanted to.
27:20Be part of Jack Ramsey's brainwaves.
27:22So I reached out and put my hand right on top of his head.
27:25Trying to just get a little bit more right from the ground.
27:30The city went crazy.
27:33And it was the biggest sporting event that ever happened.
27:35It was like this miracle had happened in Portland.
27:38This sport.
27:40That they didn't really understand.
27:41Had come there.
27:42And in a relatively short time they were the champions.
27:45They would come by the house in the middle of the night and just yelling and screaming.
27:50Go Blazers go and they would leave flowers on the front steps.
27:55Make sure that the guy that took my bike.
27:58I mean I started on my bike today.
28:00Sometimes I want to make sure that guy brings it back to me.
28:05Like it's the only bike I have.
28:07We were all healthy that following year.
28:10And riding on in victory.
28:12We just started the season like nobody.
28:15They could beat us.
28:17A very few did as Portland...
28:20Built a 50 in 10 record through February.
28:23When stress fractures reappeared in Walter...
28:25The Blazers won just eight of the remaining 22 games without their leader.
28:30Despite intense pain, Walton played in the first game of the playoffs.
28:35Scoring 17 points in a loss against Seattle.
28:38He asked if he could go in...
28:40To the doctor's office the day before the second game of the series and have a shot.
28:45To see how it would feel.
28:47I went out there and after taking that shot...
28:50I was able for the first time to run it all and move 15...
28:55Minutes into that game, the bowl split in half.
28:57It was like a...
28:59About like...
29:00About like a race horse in the stretch who broke its leg or something...
29:03You could see him hoveling.
29:05L.A. Walker...
29:06Bill couldn't even jump that time...
29:08The pain-killing shots...
29:10I took in my foot was obviously a mistake and the biggest mistake though was
29:15that I did not have enough courage, enough
29:20conviction in my own personal character to be able to stand up.
29:25And say no.
29:26It's about a young man not accepting entirely his own
29:30responsibility for decisions made in the rush.
29:35And promise of victory.
29:37Well it did demoralize the organization at the time.
29:40Because headline stories were that scenario, medical staff.
29:45Against.
29:46Bill.
29:47Walton sued the team doctor over the treatment of his.
29:50claiming negligence but there would be no compensation for the irreparable damage
29:55done to his relationship with the Blazers there was just no trust and there was no
30:00there was no mutual respect
30:05I made the decision that I couldn't work under those conditions Bill was in
30:10he was depressed they'd taken away what must have seemed like
30:15his life and the consequences instead of being a championship
30:20had all been negative my decision to leave the Portland Trailblazers was
30:25toughest decision I've ever had to make in my life because that was my
30:30team and I love those guys but the breakdown and trust
30:35in what makes a team work had been
30:40so complete
30:41I
30:45the nine season Walton signed as a free agent with the San Diego Clippers
30:50it was a marketing dream it was perfect hometown boy comes back
30:55you know mom and dad are here it's all wonderful
30:58the warning sign was that the news
31:00conference where he was announced after all the media left I'm talking to Bill
31:05and I said what are you up to now I gotta go to the hospital and get some bone spurs
31:08removed from my ankle
31:09holy
31:10holy smoker they didn't denounce that one to the public his foot and ankle
31:13poor shock absorbers
31:15and so we know both jumping and coming down there was a lot of shock going on his feet
31:19at that time
31:20and I think that's why it kept breaking down
31:22I went and saw every doctor
31:25I took every imaginable treatment and nothing was
31:30it worked
31:31the more I tried the more frustrating it got
31:33the more confusing it got
31:35it was a disastrous point in my life
31:39I thought he was done
31:40because from every indication that I had the ankle and the
31:45the foot was just dust
31:47it needed bailing wire to be held together
31:49how do you play basketball
31:50when you're an athlete
31:51in a team game and you're injured
31:53it's the worst feeling
31:55in the world
31:56because you have no life
31:57and you're not part of the team
32:00yet there's nothing
32:01really you can go do
32:03to satisfy yourself
32:05it was like seeing
32:06you know
32:07somebody like carving the eyes out of the Mona Lisa or something
32:10he was such a brilliant player
32:12I felt for him
32:13in search for a
32:15a viable alternative to basketball
32:17the former radical changed his image
32:19and enrolled
32:20in Stanford Law School
32:21I just called him up and asked him
32:23what the hell are you doing
32:25who are you now
32:28who are you now
32:30he was voted the most valuable player in pro basketball
32:33and he let the Portland
32:35trailblazers
32:36to the world title
32:37beat Bill Walton
32:38famous lovers
32:40why are you selecting famous lovers
32:42Bill
32:43trying to join them
32:45he said
32:46hey
32:47yeah
32:48I just think if I change my approach
32:49and
32:50maybe my health
32:51would change
32:52the franchise would have thrived
32:53in San Diego
32:54and build it
32:55it had 10 healthy seasons
32:57down there
32:58but without that
32:59it was such a disappointment
33:00it is
33:01without a question
33:02the biggest failure of my professional life
33:05because of the fact
33:06that the injuries
33:07kept coming back
33:08professional basketball
33:09failed
33:10in San Diego
33:11and a lot of lives
33:12were hurt
33:15ruined
33:16because of that
33:17and
33:18I take full
33:19complete responsibility
33:20for that
33:21by 1985
33:23Walton's ailing
33:25foot
33:26had been completely rebuilt
33:27through multiple surgeries
33:28and after playing in 67
33:30games for the lowly Clippers
33:32Walton went in pursuit
33:33of a winning situation
33:35called up Red Auerbach
33:37and said
33:38Red
33:39I desperately want to be on your team
33:40and Larry Bird was sitting across the desk from him
33:42and Larry
33:43said
33:44you go get that guy
33:45he knew that he could help us
33:47with this limited amount of time
33:50that he would play
33:51and he did exactly what we asked him to do
33:54he realized
33:55that it was his last hurrah
33:56and he also realized how fortunate he was
33:59to
34:00be
34:01the sixth man
34:02so he was able to
34:03contribute
34:04without having
34:05his body break down
34:10they used Walton as their comic foil
34:12and he loved it
34:13Bill was the
34:14but
34:15of a lot of their jokes
34:16I mean
34:17Larry would make fun about
34:18Walton's feet
34:19and about his beard
34:20and his berry eating
34:21and his politics
34:22after almost a decade
34:25out in the cold
34:26Walton
34:27happily absorbed
34:28the hazing
34:29in scrimmages
34:30he led the bench
34:31against the starting team
34:32usually battling
34:33with Kevin McHale
34:35the practice sessions
34:36for the Boston Selfies
34:37were
34:38incredibly
34:40spiritual events
34:42and
34:43the trash talking
34:44and
34:45the
34:45rivalries
34:46and the competition
34:47was just incredible
34:48he'd always be like
34:49you know
34:50go green team
34:51you know
34:52and
34:53we would just all laugh
34:54and
34:55come out we're gonna kill
34:56the green team today
34:57occasionally I would stumble
34:58into
34:59a
35:00fortune
35:00at play
35:01where the ball would bounce
35:02my way
35:03they would just tease me
35:04unmercifully
35:05about
35:06hey
35:07this guy
35:08he used to be able to do something
35:09out there
35:10and then he'd play well
35:11and we'd all
35:12you know
35:13we'd run on the court
35:14you know
35:15flashback
35:16absolutely
35:15we'd always say
35:16he thinks it's 1977 again
35:18he's a poor one
35:19average
35:20with
35:23the
35:25games for the only time in his career. He won the NBA's Sixth Man Award in
35:30and the Celtics won the title.
35:32Yes, sir.
35:33Blocked in the room screaming,
35:34Go Celtics!
35:35Go Celtics!
35:36NBA champs!
35:37It ended up being like a week-long party.
35:40I'd call him up and he'd answer the phone.
35:42Headquarters World Championships at Boston Celtics, Bill Walton.
35:45And I would just start laughing.
35:47For me to be revitalized, to have that...
35:50That chance once again, that I had lost so many years before.
35:55So special for me.
35:56Bill Walton faces a new life after basketball becomes...
36:00Sounds unbearable.
36:01He said, I've been living in pain 24 years.
36:0524 hours a day for the last so many months.
36:08And he said, I just...
36:10Oh my, this is the end of it.
36:12What that has been just...
36:15Pulverized over time.
36:17There's a lot of sad moments.
36:20In an athlete's life.
36:23One of the saddest for me was...
36:25In 1987, we were playing in a big playoff game.
36:30In Boston.
36:31In the crowd.
36:32In the garden.
36:33We were just chanting my name, Walton.
36:35Walton.
36:36Walton.
36:37Full volume.
36:38And I wanted so desperately to get out there and help...
36:40With the team.
36:41And do what I could.
36:42And...
36:43Bill Walton.
36:44Bill Walton.
36:45And I couldn't go.
36:46A dispirited Walton stayed on the sidelines for the...
36:50next two years.
36:51Then, as he trained for one last comeback attempt in February...
36:551990, the last fishers of a broken career opened wide.
37:01I was...
37:02In the weight room.
37:03At my house.
37:04And...
37:05As I finished my workout.
37:06And was on my way back from the weight room to the house.
37:09I couldn't take enough...
37:10First step.
37:11And...
37:12The pain was just too great.
37:13And...
37:15I literally had to get down on my knees.
37:18And he had crawled into the house.
37:20And...
37:21And...
37:22I called my friend to end.
37:25And...
37:26I said...
37:27I need some help.
37:28I need my crutches.
37:29I can't walk.
37:30I need some help.
37:31I need some help.
37:32I need some help.
37:33I need some help.
37:34And...
37:35I need some help.
37:38I need some help.
37:39I need some help.
37:40Jon.
37:40he finally came to the conclusion that basketball is done.
37:45Now, what do I do to live the rest of my life?
37:48And that was to fuse the...
37:50He had bone against bone.
37:52There was no more cartons left in his ankle.
37:54He either lives...
37:55He lives with it the way it is, or he has the ankle fused, so it doesn't move anymore.
38:00And if there's no motion, then there's no pain.
38:02My life is over, you know, I've got nothing.
38:05I'm never going to be able to run again.
38:06I'm never going to be able to yell at the rest, you know.
38:10Basketball has been in for me.
38:11He says, what am I going to do with my life?
38:12What am I going to do with my life?
38:13And he looks at me and says...
38:15Well, I'm a seven-foot-tall redhead with a big nose and has a stuttering problem.
38:18I think I'll go into NBA.
38:20My decision to go into broadcasting was one of the...
38:25...biggest stretches in recorded history.
38:29I have been Kirsten.
38:30My entire life with a horrendous speech impediment.
38:33And when I was 28 years old...
38:35...I ran into a legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster, Marty Glickman, who took me aside.
38:40And said, Bill, we've got to fix this stuttering problem.
38:44And I said...
38:45I...
38:46I...
38:47I...
38:48I...
38:49I couldn't even talk.
38:50And I told him that...
38:51I used to...
38:50I used to stutter and stammer also when I was a kid and got over it through application.
38:55And some instruction.
38:57And he could get over it also.
39:00They worked together for some period of time.
39:02Bill flew back and forth, spent as much time as he could...
39:05...with the great Marty Glickman.
39:06Look what happened.
39:07The Trailblazers retired his jersey.
39:09And...
39:10And...
39:11He launched into a...
39:1315 minutes...
39:14Thanks to...
39:15Everybody.
39:16And my jaw is absolutely on my knees.
39:19And I look...
39:20Turn on my...
39:20Dad.
39:21And I said...
39:22Dad?
39:23Where did that come from?
39:24I think he's making...
39:25up for a lot of his years where he couldn't speak.
39:27Because he's talking all the time.
39:31I miss basketball a lot, Pat.
39:32I miss the competition.
39:33What do you miss the most?
39:34I miss...
39:35Well, what I really miss the most is...
39:37You know, I was waking up every morning and knowing that in just a couple of hours...
39:40I'm gonna go out and kick somebody's ass in the basketball court.
39:43He's one who has worked alongside...
39:45You know, on broadcast...
39:47He just won't stop talking.
39:48The natural hand.
39:49Uh...
39:50As it turns out...
39:51Who knew?
39:52Uh...
39:53It's an astonishing metamorphosis.
39:54I take my...
39:55broadcasting career very seriously.
39:57I prepare.
39:58I work.
39:59I practice.
40:00It's just like being a player.
40:01When they throw that ball up, when that red light comes off...
40:05You've got to be ready.
40:07He'll go...
40:08Look, for example, what he thinks...
40:10The opening will be.
40:11And practice it for a half hour in the mirror of his hotel room.
40:15Until he finally sees himself.
40:17How he looks.
40:18How he says it.
40:19How he smiles.
40:20Look, I'm a...
40:20He has a Cosell thing where you love him or you hate him, but you have to watch him.
40:23And they play good defense in...
40:25San Antonio.
40:26They rebounded well.
40:27The offense.
40:28That's what sucked for New York.
40:30He does kind of enjoy it when the critics in the audience have their neck snapped by
40:34some comment that he's making.
40:35I'm sure he'd give it up in a second if he could, you know, run and jump again.
40:41I think he's the most significant basketball player who's ever laced up with sneakers.
40:44Bill Wall...
40:45Bill Wall...
40:46investigator...
40:47Tarleton influenced the game at both ends of the floor.
40:48At a higher degree than any player who's...
40:49To be careful.
40:50ever lived.
40:51If you would take all the fundamentals you would want in a center of IT.
40:55I think Bill Walton, healthy, would rate higher than any player.
41:00That's ever played.
41:01It was love of game and a sense of purity that...
41:05...carried him almost in spite of the enormous vulnerabilities of that body.
41:10I don't think anyone could match Bill Walton when he was at his peak.
41:14The only...
41:15The problem was he wasn't there long enough.
41:20In his personal life he was the explorer and the counterculture.
41:25And in his basketball life he was the ultimate orthodox...
41:30...person.
41:31He's had a lot more highs and a lot more lows than...
41:35...the normal person would ever experience and to still be...
41:40...leading a charmed life is pretty remarkable.
41:43He doesn't walk on water.
41:45But he knows where all the stones are right below the surface.
41:48Yes, sir.
41:50In the political world, beyond the microphone, Walton...
41:55...remains abrasively candid.
41:57He actively backed former Knicks star Bill Bradley...
42:00...in his ill-fated bid for the 2000 presidential nomination.
42:03At a Democratic caucus...
42:05...in Iowa, Walton handed Vice President Al Gore a note that read...
42:10...thank you in advance for withdrawing from the race.
42:13Huh.
42:143SBN Class...
42:156th Sports Century.
42:16I'm Chris Fowler.
42:18That's sweet.
42:20I'm Chris Fowler.
42:21That's sweet.
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