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.
What can you share about your upcoming “Throw It Down” broadcasts?
Walton: Throw it down, big man. One time, throw it down. [Laughs]
What a thrill, honor, and privilege to be able to do this. This is a dream becoming reality. It’s all fun. I’ll be broadcasting from home. Our home is the launching pad to the universe. We’re ready. I’m fired up. You should be excited. We’re going to be exploring the edge and beyond and the creative team that we have — Jason Bennetti the co-host, and Tim Sullivan our producer — on the intergalactic platform of the NBA.
When you’re part of something special, your life is never the same again. That’s been the case for me with so many different stops along the way.
When you say “intergalactic” what does it mean to you?
Walton: In life, we have boundaries and we have limits that are too often self-imposed. We’re going to blast through all of the limits and restrictions — whether they are external, internal, or nocturnal. We’re going to go for it all. I love explosive starts and the challenge to sustain and then an incredible finish.
The NBA is the best of the best in everything. This is my 49th year in and with the NBA. It is such a privilege to be part of the best. My life has always been about being part of something truly special. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. I had the greatest parents and the greatest childhood and the greatest schools in the greatest city. Then I got to go to UCLA. Then I got to be a part of the NBA.
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. With the live aspect of this, we’re going to let the show have its say. We’re going to let the music and the game throw it down.
FTW: Will there be musical or visual elements that differ from a typical broadcast?
Walton: Yes! Let your imagination run wild. [Laughs] We will be taking requests. It will be interactive. We have a great team. I’m a team guy. Jason Bennetti is brilliant. He is a rare and different dude — a storyteller who cannot be bought or sold. Tim Sullivan, our producer who I have worked with for years, is going to empower and enable us and take us over the top.
The level of performance art in the NBA — we’re going to be covering everything. The focus, the concentration, and the bright lights will be on the particular games that we’re doing. We’re going to give this everything that we have. We’re going to be looking for guys who can throw it down in every way. Throwing it down is not just about basketball. Throwing it down is about life. Who can bring it?
There will be every kind of element that you can imagine. We’re going to have visual elements, audio elements, and more. We’ve been working with our special team to bring new, fresh, unique, and original elements to our show. We are coming to throw it down. If you’ve got any suggestions, give them to us. We’re ready to take this beyond the edge.
What are you most excited about for the first broadcast?
Walton: I’m just honored that the first game will be in Portland against the Spurs. These are two epic, monumental, historic franchises. The people who are involved, the legacy, the tradition, all of the things coming together in one of the great harmonic convergences in the history of the known world. We’re going to have incredible guests, the phenomenal production capabilities of the NBA, and the platform of the game. It is truly going to be epic, monumental, and historic.
The Blazers are still the youngest team in the NBA to win the championship. I started there 49 years ago and still have incredible, close ties to the community and to the state, to the franchise, and to the team. The Spurs represent everything that is great in the world with all of their phenomenal accomplishments and their remarkable fanbase and to have it come together for episode one, we’re just getting started.
It’s only on the NBA app, which is the coolest thing you could ever have in the world. I watch NBA basketball. The new app is so over-the-top in its efficiency and its capabilities. You can be wherever you are and you can follow the whole league as it’s unfolding every night. You think you know which games are going to be great every night, but you cannot predict the future. You cannot predict the next moment. So to be able to watch every game as it is happening is just a dream come true. The NBA is throwing it down. We are going to do everything that we can to supplement that and add value and make it even better and help the fans enjoy what they love more than ever.
Throw it down. Here we go. The volcanic explosion is about to erupt! 7:00 p.m PST, January 23rd, Blazers and Spurs. Miss this at your own peril. You’ve been suitably warned.
Your first two guests are Phil Knight and Julius Erving. Why those two?
Walton: Dr. J was the single most vibrant, exhilarating, and dynamic player I ever played against. Kareem was the best player. But Dr. J? Oh my gosh. He is a timeless icon and intergalactic treasure.
Phil Knight is the most important man in the history of all sports. He started the most successful company in the history of sports. He is graciously part of our first show. Phil was there for me at the very beginning. I just was not smart enough. I was unprepared. I was unsuspecting and I was undiscerning and I didn’t know what I was doing. But he has continued to be kind and so generous and patient with me throughout my entire life. Phil Knight has been throwing it down for some time. It all rolls into one.
Where does the name for the broadcast “Throw It Down” come from?
Walton: It comes from the “Love It Live” tour in May 2002. It was the first of its kind. We did all kinds of different things on that one. This will build on that. It was 30 games in 30 days.
The last stop was with the New Jersey Nets. I was sitting in the crowd with the fans. It was a huge game of historical importance. This one fan kept yelling and yelling and screaming. His favorite player was Kenyon Martin. He kept yelling “Come on, K-Mart! Throw it down! Throw it down!” K-Mart was struggling early on but this fan never let go. He was just driving. It was so exhilarating. It was so vibrant. It was so fresh. He just kept yelling and screaming for K-Mart to throw it down. I just kept looking at him. He was just so passionate, so committed, so enthusiastic, and so supportive of his beloved Nets.
K-Mart could not find the rhythm. He couldn’t find the beat or the pace. But there was a moment late in the game where K-Mart did throw it down. He changed not only the course and outcome of that game but the course and outcome of history. The joy on this man’s face was something that has been embedded in my mind, spirit, and soul forever. When the whole thing was over, I went up and introduced myself to him. We’re still friends to this day.
I’ve been looking, ever since, for people who can throw it down. Nobody throws it down like NBA players. Oh my goodness. The level of excellence in the NBA is unparalleled. It’s just remarkable what the players are able to do on a constant basis. Our show is going to be a celebration of goodness — a celebration of the excellence, the kindness, and the brilliance of all things NBA, and of all things life. Everything rolls into one. Our task is to put on a radiant entertainment product that is fun, that is joyful, and celebrates the wonders of nature, life, sports, and business.
As a big man yourself, have you used the NBA app to watch Victor Wembanyama?
Walton: I love Victor! The NBA represents the best of life — people using a vehicle and a platform to improve themselves and to make the world better, too.
The evolutionary nature of life represented by the NBA goes from Bob Cousy and Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan and all of the current guys. You’ve got LeBron, you’ve got KD, you’ve got Giannis, you’ve got Steph, you’ve got Luka, you’ve got Jokic, you’ve got Ja Morant, you’ve got Damian Lillard. It is an endless list and everything just keeps getting better. Now, you have Victor coming onto the stage.
I was part of the very first broadcast for LeBron James when he was in high school back in Akron. LeBron is still going on. With the globalization of the league led by David Stern, we helped build and sell the league and teach different countries how to develop and enhance and bring to fruition what the world has become in terms of basketball. The NBA is now around 25 percent international. There are so many incredible players, which really started with Hakeem Olajuwon and what he was able to do.
Now, we’re looking at Victor. He’s coming along and he’s just fantastic. When I watch him, the same way when I watch all of the players, I’m amazed. I’m staggered. I’m impressed. I’m happy. I’m grateful. I’m proud. I am proud of what the NBA is and who we are. It’s the most diverse workforce in the history of the world. That’s not just something that happens. That comes from leadership: David Stern, the most important man in the history of basketball even though he never made an NBA basket. He turned a game into a business. Adam Silver has just taken over and done a fantastic job. We’re going to be celebrating all of that greatness.
The upcoming schedule for “Throw it Down with Bill Walton” is below:
| AWAY | HOME | TIME | |
| Jan. 23 | San Antonio | Portland | 10:00 p.m. ET |
| Jan. 30 | Toronto | Phoenix | 9:00 p.m. ET |
| Feb. 6 | Cleveland | Washington | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| Feb. 27 | Boston | New York | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| March 6 | Boston | Cleveland | 7:00 p.m. ET |
