(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW)
The basketball world recently lost one of the greats, as former MVP, 2-time NBA champion, and all-time great color commentator Bill Walton passed away in late-May, leaving behind one of the most colorful legacies of any athlete to ever do it.
To honor such a colorful personality, the NBA just unveiled a unique and thoughtful way the league will be honoring Walton prior to Game 1 of the NBA Finals tonight.
In his pre-game press conference, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver held up the pre-game shooting shirts that the Celtics and Mavericks will be wearing before Game 1, which feature Walton’s name on the front in his typical tie-dye style.
Cool gesture by the NBA: the Mavs and Celtics are going to wear these shooting shirts before Game 1 of the NBA Finals to honor the late Bill Walton pic.twitter.com/R99HLI0KrF
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 6, 2024
NBA stars often feel larger than life, and that’s exactly what Walton was down to his core.
He was one of those people that you never heard anybody say a bad word about, and his years as a color commentator alongside Dave Pasch doing Pac-12 basketball games kept many people up past their bedtimes just to hear what kind of wild tangents he would go off on.
Fans also received tie-dye pins that said “Walton” on them as they entered Game 1 and the team will also have a moment of silence to honor the former great during the game.
Walton won his second championship with the Celtics and also won the Sixth Man of the Year award backing up Kevin McHale and Robert Parish on that team.
Head coach Red Auerbach took a chance on Walton after many injuries had derailed his career and left many wondering if he had anything left in the tank, and the franchise will pay tribute to him for that effort tonight.
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