Update 9/25/22: A pair of vintage Bill Walton videos originally posted the night he announced his retirement from broadcasting. That retirement was of course short-lived and Walton returned to game analysis covering college basketball, leaning hard into the eccentric persona he kept (somewhat) at bay during his NBA years.
Video #1: “Shaq landing here in the desert is just all too perfect with what’s going on in the world out there, especially with the USA 193 satellite expected to come crashing down to Earth any day now here. This is not the first time this has happened, because approximately 50,000 years ago a giant meteor came and crushed down in the Northern Desert up by Flagstaff and in between the Grand Canyon — it was absolutely spectacular — and that’s what’s happened with Shaq, just come crashing down in the beautiful great state of Arizona. When you also think about Shaq in Arizona you have to think of the Grand Canyon. Come on, this place is so perfect, you get there it’s so huge and it’s just an unbelievable picture and example of erosion — and that’s what Shaq does to the other teams, erosion — he just wears them out.”
Video #2 (Dana Jacboson asks Bill about an upcoming Suns-Clippers game): “Dana, from the valley of the sun, I am perched high above the desert floor and the red streaks of the morning down are illuminating this glorious sky. I’m perusing Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitude here and on opening day, the songs are just running through the smoking crater. I’ve been listening to Bob Dylan’s newest album, “Modern Times,” which is absolutely remarkable — thunder on the mountain, spirit on the water, rolling and tumbling, which all go to describe Amare Stoudemire — but the song I can’t get out of my mind today, John Fogerty’s “Center Field” (put me in coach, I’m ready to play, today) or Bob Dylan’s “New Morning” and Dana, like you, I’m just so happy to be alive underneath this sky of blue, and what could be better than opening day?”
