For a man once voted among the 50 Greatest Players In NBA History, late basketball star and broadcaster Bill Walton was celebrated almost as much for his off-court exploits as he was for his numerous achievements in the game.
In the wake of his death yesterday at the age of 71, tributes invariably spoke of Walton's love of the Grateful Dead, a band he saw in concert more than 850 times – even travelling to Egypt to watch them play at the Pyramids in 1978 – and about how his devotion to Jerry Garcia & Co. informed his outlook on life.
