Tag: Bill Walton

Bill Walton shares everything you must know about his ‘intergalactic’ alternate NBA telecast

“Like a Grateful Dead concert or a remarkable book or a poem or a song, you never know how NBA basketball is going to play out.”

Bill Walton, a two-time NBA champion who won NBA Finals MVP in 1977 and NBA MVP in 1978, is now one of the most enigmatic broadcasters in the sports world.

Walton is a tangential thinker with a unique perspective and he is known to share wildly entertaining soliloquies — not always relevant to the game of basketball — whenever he is on the air.

He will host “Throw it Down with Bill Walton” as an alternative game telecast streamed exclusively on select Mondays on NBA League Pass via the new NBA App. Walton will be joined on the broadcast by Jason Benetti, who will handle play-by-play duties.

Walton and Benetti plan to have special guests across sports, music, literature, and business on their broadcasts. The first guests scheduled to join Walton and Benetti on the air are Julius Erving, Phil Knight, and Adam Sandler.

Walton promises this broadcast will “blast through the real, imaginary, and self-imposed limits of the known universe and beyond” whenever he is on the call.

The former NBA Finals MVP, who also spoke to For The Win to share the true story of why you see tie-dyed Lithuanian basketball shirts at Grateful Dead shows, called FTW to preview the first broadcast.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

Former Celtic Bill Walton on Michael Jordan’s greatness on 2KTV

Walton gets into his own feelings about MJ’s career in this 2kTV clip.

When it comes to NBA basketball simulation video games, one does not typically immediately think of Boston Celtics champion center Bill Walton.

For the latest iteration of the popular NBA 2K game series, a 2K TV segment celebrating the career of Michael Jordan, His Airness’ 1986 playoffs foe is a logical interlocutor for host TrulyHuncho.

The pair chop it up about MJ’s career and chat about MyNBA: Eras, as well as a general recap of GameDay 2 of the MyTEAM Unlimited Tournament that took place in December 2022. The two also covered a whole lot more that fans of any era of the NBA or its flagship simulation game can appreciate.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what Walton and TrulyHuncho get into in their talk about Michael Jordan.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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What Boston Celtics legends got no Rookie of the Year votes their first season in the NBA?

Five Boston alumni got no love whatever as rookies in the league — can you guess which ones?

As one of the cornerstone franchises of the NBA as well as its winningest in terms of titles, the Boston Celtics have had a number of NBA legends pass through the organization. Out of those iconic players, some rose to prominence in Boston, others came to the Celtics in the prime of their careers, and still others at the end of their time in the Association.

And of those legends, more than a few got precisely zero votes for rookie of the year in their respective first seasons in the league despite the greatness they would later show on the court, a fact recently documented by the folks at HoopsHype.

Let’s see which Celtics alumni got no love as rookies.

On this day: Cs’ 1st home game; Walton born; Radja, Earl, Rivas, Hemric, Loscutoff debut; Englund passes

On this day in Celtics history, the team played their first home game in franchise history.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the newly-formed professional basketball franchise the Boston Celtics played their first home game in 1946 in the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league to the NBA) in team history.

The game was an inauspicious loss, 57-55 to the now-defunct Chicago Stags (not be confused with the later franchise of that city, the Bulls), which saw two of the Celtics break double figures. One of the pair was guard Johnny Simmons, who scored 13 points on 6 field goals and a free throw, though we don’t know how efficiently since that and many aspects of the game were yet to be recorded in those early years of the sport.

Forward Wyndol Gray scored 12 points as well, and future star of television and film Chuck Connors added 8 points in the loss.

Bill Walton forcefully opposes UCLA’s planned move to the Big Ten

“My hope and dream is that this proposed move by UCLA, my alma mater, will be rescinded.” — Bill Walton on the Bruins’ move to the #B1G

If you have been paying attention to Bill Walton, you know that he never did like the UCLA move to the Big Ten. At the very least, Bill Walton has not said a single good thing about the move itself.

Walton has been asked to give his fuller views on the subject over the past four months. He was asked just after the June 30 bombshell story which rocked the Pac-12. His limited answer at the time was simply, “I love UCLA.”

Finally, on Tuesday, Walton broke his silence and opened up on why he hates this move. His letter appeared in John Canzano’s Substack.

One excerpt, in its unedited form as published by Canzano:

I went to UCLA — gladly, willingly, and proudly,

it was my dream,

that dream never included the Big 10,

I have spoken to no one, other than the highest-level directors of athletics at UCLA, who think that this proposed move to the Big 10 is a good idea,

every argument made by these senior AD’s and why they like it, is about money,

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Seven Boston Celtics make HoopsHype’s 20 greatest centers list

Some of the greatest players to play the game have suited up for Boston at the 5 over the course of the organization’s storied history.

Perhaps the most impactful position in the history of the Boston Celtics, centers have been instrumental in winning most of the team’s NBA-record 17 banners. Some of the greatest to play the game have suited up for the Celtics at the 5 over the course of the organization’s storied past.

Scholars of the team’s history are already aware of the names mentioned in the latest edition of HoopsHype’s 20 greatest centers list. A number of the all-time great Boston big men made the cut for H/H’s list.

Let’s dive into which former Celtics made the list.

HoopsHype updates their top 75 all-time NBA player list for 2022, dropping several Boston Celtics

We might be biased, but we’re not too crazy about the update.

While some NBA media outlets are dialed into the 2022-23 NBA season for their annual exercise to fill the late September content desert that is ranking season, our sister site HoopsHype has its eyes on a bigger prize.

Drawing on the popular all-time NBA list released adjacent to the NBA’s version put together for the league’s 75th anniversary, HoopsHype has gone a step further and updated the list again for 2022. There’s quite a bit of change (including the absence of many Boston Celtics who made the last list), and to be frank, we are not fans of an all-time list that would see so much turnover a mere 365 days later.

Take a look for yourselves at the various Celtics greats who were omitted and where those who remain are ranked now, and let us know why we are wrong if you feel so compelled.

Every player in Boston Celtics history who wore No. 5

This is every player in Boston’s history who wore the Celtics’ No. 5 jersey for at least one game as of September 2022.

The Boston Celtics have more retired jerseys than any other team in the NBA, but that doesn’t mean the rest of their jerseys have little history of interest tied to them.

In fact, with 17 titles to their name and decades of competitive basketball played in them, their unretired jersey numbers pack in some of the most history not hanging from the rafters of any team in the league. To that end, we have launched our accounting of that history, with every player in every jersey worn by more than one Celtics player in the storied franchise’s history accounted for.

Today’s installment focuses on the 21 players who wore No. 5 over the years as of September 2022.

John Shumate to be inducted into Notre Dame Ring of Honor

Congrats, John!

Notre Dame will have 10 members in its Ring of Honor when [autotag]John Shumate[/autotag] is inducted into it during the Irish’s Dec. 11 game with Marquette. Irish fans of a certain age will recall that Shumate made many meaningful contributions to the program. As a freshman, he was named MVP of the 1973 NIT. In 1974, he was a consensus First Team All-American, joining a team that featured future Hall of Famers Bill Walton, David Thompson and Jamaal Wilkes.

During his Irish tenure, Shumate averaged 22.6 points and 11.6 rebounds a game while also shooting 61.0% from the field. He was the best player on the 1974 Irish team that famously ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak. No Irish team since has been able to touch its .897 winning percentage that came from its 26-3 record.

Shumate was so good that the Phoenix Suns made him the fourth overall pick in the 1974 draft. After missing his first NBA season, he made the All-Rookie Team. He went on to play five seasons with six different teams. Later, he coached SMU for six seasons and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for one season.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

8 NBA players who missed time as rookies, like Chet Holmgren, but still found success as pros

Multiple players came back to win Rookie of the Year.

Let’s face it: Injuries suck! There is no other way to put it except to say that they are the worst part of sports.

After he looked incredibly promising during his time at NBA 2K23 Summer League in Las Vegas, fans were excited to see Chet Holmgren suit up for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was one of the immediate favorites to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, though those bets were since voided.

It’s a bummer for Holmgren, who injured his foot while playing in a Pro-Am game. But it’s not all bad news. The Thunder are now well-positioned to land top draft prospect Victor Wembanyama. Plus, just because Holmgren is hurt now does not mean his career is ruined.

Rookie seasons are important for development. But there are several notable players who got hurt during their first year in the league but went on to have great success for the remainder of their careers.