Bill Walton is widely regarded as one of basketball’s great centers, with multiple NBA titles and Hall of Fame status, as well as a distinctive broadcasting voice. But an article from the NBA site dug deeper into Bill's legacy than just his awards and mentioned a house in San Diego where he and his wife Lori spent many years incorporating sustainability into everyday life. According to Lori, her husband's connection with nature goes way back to his childhood, because being out in the open air was said to soothe him as a restless baby.
A home redesigned around the sun
That outlook eventually shaped the design of his own home. The Waltons redesigned the roofs of their San Diego house to accommodate solar panels and installed rainwater tanks with a total capacity of 32,000 gallons. Composting was a regular practice in the family, as was driving an electric car, although Bill, who stood seven feet tall, was somewhat awkward to fit into such a small vehicle. In personal notes left by Walton, he once called himself a 'human solar panel,' someone who could harvest energy from the sun and convert it into useful forms in everyday life.
A garden as meaningful as a championship win
The garden was just as important as the house. Over 45 years, Walton transformed the yard into a lush garden filled with diverse plants, which Lori described as more than a hobby and as part of everyday life. It was also the first place Bill visited after any journey. Whenever the Waltons traveled, the first thing Bill did when he got home was walk through the garden, and the day before he died in May 2024, he wanted to walk outside once again. His habits showed that he treated sustainability as a daily practice rather than a once-a-year observance like Earth Day.
His environmentally-friendly practices didn't end there. He was cautious with his use of single-use plastics, remained conscientious about recycling, and always had a reusable water bottle on hand wherever he went, opting to fill it from airport taps instead of buying bottled water on his travels. These were habits he maintained for many years.
