It’s only November but Bill Walton is already in midseason form at the Maui Invitational.
The Hall of Famer is calling the games with his usual ESPN partner, a very patient Dave Pasch, and of course he has been going off on some wild tangents while sitting courtside in Maui.
Walton, who continues to travel the world to see his favorite band, The Grateful Dead, perform, has long done things in his own, unique way. He seems to be very high on life and enjoying calling the great game of basketball, a game that he has loved since he was just a little kid.
I know there are a lot of fans who can get annoyed with Walton’s tangents during games but come on, it’s November and he’s in Maui living the dream. Let the man have some fun.
It was great when he shared his plans for after the Michigan State-Georgia game:
Bill Walton, live on #ESPN, just said he's gunna go outside in between games and soak up some sun for energy because he's going to become the 1st human solar panel, and ants can carry 150% their own body weight pic.twitter.com/bdcSUMrEEO
— Nick's Picks (@NicksPicksCash) November 26, 2019
He gave some lessons on ants after finding out Georgia’s Anthony Edwards goes by the nickname “Ant Man”:
Dave Pasch: Anthony Edwards shooting 2 at the line
Bill Walton: ants can live up to 30 years!
— go demarcus (@WASUPCAMBORAMBO) November 26, 2019
"Ants are capable of carrying 50 times their own body weight.” The things you learn from Bill Walton in a six-point game with 30 seconds left.
— Blake Lovell (@theblakelovell) November 26, 2019
He had this incredible breakdown of Kansas. Stick around for when he asks Pasch “what’s your name again?”:
Bill Walton compares Kansas to a volcano, a waterfall, and a breaching whale (h/t @cstonehoops) pic.twitter.com/nIb8noP2Nw
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) November 26, 2019
He also had this wild chat with Pasch about Disney CEO Bog Iger and direct deposits:
Bill Walton: "Do you know who Bob Iger is?"
Dave Pasch: "Yes, I know who Bob Iger is. He's our boss. He signs my check."
Walton: "You don't do direct deposit?"
— Rustin Dodd (@rustindodd) November 26, 2019
This bit about the last name Nixon was pretty good:
"Nixon! That might be the first time I've ever said *that* name with such enthusiasm." – Bill Walton watching a college basketball game. https://t.co/Br6gMweMbZ
— ART TAVANA 🌻 (@arttavana) November 26, 2019
And there was this during the UCLA-Chaminade game:
Watching UCLAvsChaminade
Bill Walton: Prince Ali recovering from a career threatening injury.
Dave Pasch: That injury was last night.
Bill Walton: Yeah but they had to carry him off the floor.
Dave Pasch: He came back in the game 5 minutes later
— martin piller (@martinpiller) November 26, 2019
He had this keen observation regarding SportsCenter:
“Do you count watching SportsCenter as research?” – BW
“Of course. Do you not?” – Pasch
“Have you ever noticed that all the shots go in on SportsCenter?” – BW
BILL WALTON BRINGING THE HEAT
— Kerry Miller (@kerrancejames) November 26, 2019
And he found out how extended families work:
“How did he become Danny Ainge’s nephew?” – Bill Walton
“Ah, I think he was born into it, that’s usually how it works.” – Dave Pasch
“Really?” – Bill Walton
Long live Bill Walton
— Sports ON Tap (@SONTHighlights) November 26, 2019
Never change, Bill Walton.