B. Walton, beyond helping hang Celtics' 16th NBA title banner

(COLUMBUS, Ga) Bill Walton said unexpected things from time to time during his decades in the public arena. An example: “Learning how to speak is my biggest accomplishment and your worst nightmare,” he told Dan Patrick in a 2017 interview. The show host chortled with laughter.?

Seriously, though, as a spokesperson for the National Stuttering Foundation, he wrote on the group's website:

"I was a very shy and reserved young man who could not speak at all without severely stuttering until I was 28 years old ... I have gone from a person who literally could not say thank you, to someone who makes his living as a television commentator and public speaker." ~ Bill Walton (1952-2024)

My sports path crossed Walton's two times, including the event captured 33 years ago and pictured above. I spotted him easily: carrot-topped, dressed in a cornsilk-colored blazer, and standing 6-foot-11 among the party people at a private after-party following the Evander Holyfield - George Foreman "Battle of the Ages" title fight.?

The two of us at a boxing championship!?Well, why not!?Two people redefining where we are going. Two people working on self-improvement to get where we are going.

At the time of our meeting, the 39 year old was four to five years removed from his playing days. He had accomplished some big wins.

At 27 years old, I was reaching for my life’s big wins.

I was a?news?reporter for WSAZ TV in Huntington, West Virginia back then, in 1991. To transition into sports reporting, I had pursued and earned a certification as a boxing judge, coached boxing, and traveled to cover title bouts, such as Holyfield-Foreman and high-profile showdowns in Las Vegas. ?

Because of our relentless personal development in pursuit new goals, Walton and I crossed paths again, within five years, and with our careers blossoming. We were both broadcasters at no less than the NBA Finals.

Set the scene: Seattle’s SuperSonics are in their first-ever NBA Finals. I’m a full-fledged sportscaster covering Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, and the stellar team day-to-day for KIRO-7 TV. Seattle’s facing the most recognized pro team on the planet in 1995-1996. You know this team, the one with red and black uniforms, the do-it-all player wearing No. 23, and the astounding 72 wins in the 82-game regular season.?Let me be clear, this is the era of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

The pivot and present-day

In strolls color commentator and analyst for Game 1 of the series, Walton, who vanquished his self-described “horrific speech impediment." He worked the mike at the NBA Finals from 1995 to 1997. After his goals pivot from competition in basketball to conversation about basketball, he earned a sports Emmy for best live television telecast in 1991. He analyzed games for ABC, ESPN, and NBC for two?decades.

William Theodore Walton III ended his playing career on the winningest team in the history of the NBA, the Boston Celtics. He played 90 games for the franchise and contributed to winning the 16th title (decided June 8, 1986 versus the Houston Rockets).^

At the outset of the 2024 Finals, the NBA showcased a tie-dyed T-shirt emblazoned with "Walton" on the front. Celtics players in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks are wearing Walton's name a black ribbon on their game jerseys.

If Boston earns the 18th franchise title by defeating Dallas, Boston would become the franchise with the most team titles, at 18. But know this about Walton, as he reinforces on the Stuttering Foundation site, expressing himself successfully stands above anything he did on the court.

R.I.P., gentle man, Bill Walton.

?The Celtics and Lakers are tied at 17 team titles. Boston has more overall game victories, with 3634, compared to the Los Angeles Lakers 3550, according to basketball-reference.com.

# # #

As a TV sportscaster, Nita covered the NBA Finals with Seattle v. Chicago (for KIRO 7) and Dallas v. Orlando (for KDFW Fox 4). She writes in Civil Rights: My Story of Race, Sports, and Breaking Barriers in American Journalism about pursuing her sports reporting career and overcoming manmade obstacles by her TV managers. Book purchasing options can be found at www.NitaWiggins.com. Born in 1964, she is currently researching topics related to Freedom Summer 1964 and the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. More on her YouTube channel and at www.NitaWiggins.com.