Bill Walton Quotations

You don't win championships by just being normal, by just being average.

I lived to play basketball. Growing up as a kid, Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics were my favorite team. The way they played, the teamwork, the sacrifice, the commitment, the joy, the camaraderie, the relationship with the fans.

But you have to understand, my beard is so nasty. I mean, it's the only beard in the history of Western civilization that makes Bob Dylan's beard look good.

The Grateful Dead, they're my best friends. Their message of hope, peace, love, teamwork, creativity, imagination, celebration, the dance, the vision, the purpose, the passion all of the things I believe in makes me the luckiest Deadhead in the world.

I can think. I can sleep. I can move. I can ride my bike. I can dream.

I had the only beard in the Western Hemisphere that made Bob Dylan's look good.

We can never thank David Stern enough. His vision to use basketball to improve the quality of our lives to make this world a better and saner place, that guy, is the most important man in the history of basketball.

I have nothing but respect for the Lakers. So many of their legends shaped who I am as a person and player.

Basketball is one of those rare opportunities where you can make a difference, not only for yourself, but for other people as well.

A lot of people understand what not saying anything means, so, in effect, not saying anything is really saying a lot.

Life is easy when you're hot. But what happens when the ball bounces the other way? You just keep getting back up and climbing up.

At 49, I can say something I never would have said when I was a player, that I'm a better person because of my failures and disgraces.

Life is about growth. People are not perfect when they're 21 years old.

When you are in unrelenting, excruciating and debilitating pain that never goes away for years on end, your life is over.

The great thing about being a broadcaster is you have this incredible responsibility to the people that make it all happen, the people that turn on the television set.

Without question, no hesitation, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best player I ever played against.

My life changed irrevocably four-and-a-half years ago when my spine failed and collapsed. I spent two years on the floor, in excruciating, debilitating and unrelenting pain. I can only describe the pain as being submerged into a vat of scalding acid that has an electric current running through it. And you can never get out, ever.

My bike is my gym, my wheelchair and my church all in one. I'd like to ride my bike all day long but I've got this thing called a job that keeps getting in the way.

I don't sleep much. I'm on the go. My mind is racing. My wife says my mind is like the rolling dials on a slot machine. So, yeah, I think about everything.

Music is critical in our lives and culture. It's the inspiration that drives us. It's also the window to our souls. It's a reflection as to who we are, what we stand for and where we're going.

I grew up in an non-athletic family, where my parents were interested in music, in literature, in education and art.

That's what makes it so fun to be on a team. You're sitting at your house, thinking up this wild, crazy stuff as to how it's going to go, and the other guys are sitting at their houses doing the same thing.

I've had 36 orthopedic operations, have two fused ankles, my knees, hands and wrists don't work, I now have a fused spine, other than that, everything is great.

No one missed more basketball in the history of NBA than I did. I played 14 seasons, on the roster for 14 years, and I missed more than nine-and-a-half full seasons.

Well, we've made some changes on this tour. We're no longer sleeping in the parking lots and swimming in the fountains. We've been staying in hotels most of the way, though I will say some hotels have declined to take us because we're just having too much fun.

Being a broadcaster encompasses the business of sport, which is my life today, and it encompasses the skills of being a history student, and the ability of being a performer.

Bill Russell was my favorite player of all-time.

Chick Hearn was my favorite broadcaster ever - he's the one who taught me to think basketball, how to love basketball.

When you find yourself talking about less and less and forgetting the love that you bring, never forget there are things you can replace but others you can not.

If you're living for today, if you're only dreaming about yesterday, it doesn't work. You got to know that tomorrow is going to be better. Then you're on your way.

Health is the most critical thing in our life. With your health anything is possible, without it you can't do anything.

Health is a function of three things. 1. Luck 2. Genetics and 3. Choices in your lifestyle.

It's the most pleasurable experience in the world! When you're on a great team and you get hot, your teammates milk you dry - they wear you out and there's nothing like being on a great team.

I'm a lifelong stutterer.

Anytime you bring Michael Olowokandi on to your team, disaster is soon to follow.

I might be the most injured athlete in the history of sports. I've had 31 operations. An endless string of stress fractures.

Kevin Garnett is the prototype for the NBA player of the future. He's already one of the greatest players to have played the game.

I'm mainstream. Always have been.

When everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks.

What a pathetic play from a pathetic human being.

Kazemi has to understand that nobody is going to tell him he has to go back to Iran if he misses a shot.

Greg Ostertag is one of the top centers on this planet!

Steve Nash is the most unathletic player in the league.

Where else but the NBA could people like Bill Russell, Spencer Haywood, Ricky Barry, Dennis Rodman, and Allen Iverson come in and be allowed to be who they are?

You look at Vladimir Radmanovic, this guy is cut from stone. As if Michelangelo was reading and a lightening bolt flashed before him.

Doug Christie, what skill, what strenght, what power, what quickness. The visionof Magic Johnson, the athletisicm of Michael Jordan, the toughness of larry Bird. Dough Christie has it all

Why is Scottie Pippen taking a charge? Taking a charge is for people with no game!

Patrick Ewing used to be much better in every aspect of the game.

The only man who can stop Cliff Robinson is Cliff Robinson. The man is unstoppable even at 38.

Kenyon Martin is the 2nd best player in the Eastern Conference.

Yao Ming is the best thing to happen to the NBA in a long time. He is just a beautiful person inside and out. The vision, the creativity, the gentleness of spirit … he has it all.

When you intercept the ball with your stomach, that is great defense

A huge Chinese population here in... Houston.

Success at the highest level comes down to one question: Can you decide that your happiness can come from someone else's success?

At 49, I can say something I never would have said when I was a player. I am a better person because of my failures and disgraces.

I learned a long time ago that minor surgery is when they do operation on someone else, not you.

Tracy McGrady is doing things we've never seen from anybody - from any planet!

Mick Jagger is in better shape than far too many NBA players. It's up in the air whether the same can be said of Keith Richards.

Growing up, my parents were very, very strict. And then I went to UCLA with John Wooden, who was just off the charts.

I mean, I'm 6-foot-11, I've got red hair, freckles, I'm a goofy, nerdy-looking guy, I've got a speech impediment-I stutter and stammer all the time-and I'm a Deadhead.

I was a skinny, scrawny guy. I stuttered horrendously, couldn't speak at all. I was a very shy, reserved player and a very shy, reserved person. I found a safe place in life in basketball.

Right now, you know, it's not about the refs or anything else, it's about hitting first, getting on the run and never looking back.

I couldn't imagine not playing basketball. To me, basketball is what life is all about.

If Anthony Johnson ever gets a jumper, who's going to stop him?

There is absolutely no way the best team in the NCAA could even dream of beating the worst team in the NBA? You're talking about men vs. boys.

If the UCLA teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s were subjected to the kind of scrutiny (other schools) have been, UCLA would probably have to forfeit about eight national championships and be on probation for the next 100 years.

Tim Duncan's foot issue, I think, is a major factor in this year's playoffs. That's not the kind of injury that gets better over time playing NBA basketball.

In basketball, you can be the greatest individual player in the world and still lose every game, because a team will always beat an individual.

Never rank, rate, or compare coaches, children, concerts, or championships or congratulations. Just enjoy them all.

I believe in science and evolution. I've been to the Grand Canyon.

The medical device tags that are being used [in the USA] are a terrible mistake. Why are we taxing people for trying to save lives and trying to make lives better, make peoples lives healthier? Those taxes should be placed on alcohol, tobacco, junk food, guns. Those are all the things that destroy health.

I have always wanted to be part of something special, and when I got to Boston.. actually, when I bought, begged and pleaded my way onto the Celtics.. it was already a championship team. I was just glad to be able to sit there and cheer and to be Larry Bird's valet, to be sure that his shoes were fine and his uniform was folded neatly.

There are no guarantees in life. The simple twists of fate and the breaks of the game are the two maxims that define so much of the success and failure in life.

The offensive presence of Greg Ostertag is quite overwhelming sometimes!

John Stockton is one of the true marvels, not just of basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization!

I hate to say anything that may hurt UCLA, but I can't be quiet when I see what the NCAA is doing to Jerry Tarkanian only because he has a reputation for giving a second chance to many black athletes other coaches have branded as troublemakers. The NCAA is working night and day trying to get Jerry, but no one from the NCAA ever questioned me during my four years at UCLA!

Love is the single most powerful and important word and notion in culture and language. Until the power of love supersedes the love of power we have no chance of ever being successful.

When I think of Boris Diaw, I think of Beethoven in the age of the romantics

My bike is my gym, my wheelchair, and my church all in one.

I could smell colors, I could feel sounds.

No matter how good you get, there's always something further out there.

Never forget - happiness ends when selfishness begins.

There are four pillars to happiness, which is the ultimate goal in life-to be happy. Health is first, family is second, home is third. That safe place where you can go to and regroup, be in a safe place by yourself start over. Those three things lead to the fourth pillar which is the hope and dream that tomorrow is going to be better. Without that you have not much at all.

Winning is about having the whole team on the same page.

(Ole Miss) had a great week. Their team hit over .300, and they've done some good things. They're coming in here undefeated (1-0), so we're going have to be ready to play Friday night.

Obviously you always want to win. You feel better when you get a win. I was especially happy with our service reception. I thought we received serves well.

Phil had Michael (Jordan) and the upper hand against Riley in the past, but this time Riley comes in with Shaq. Phil is the underdog now.

I grew up in San Diego in a non-athletic environment. My parents were not interested in sports. Their loves were art, literature and music. I gravitated towards sports because of my older brother Bruce and the first coach I ever had, who, like John Wooden, made it fun and really emphasized the joy of playing the team game.

If we play well this weekend and achieve some of the things that I'd like us to be able to achieve in terms of passing, blocking and those sorts of things, then we'll be on our way to being able to handle our Conference USA opponents.

If we knew what to look for, we could literally read the crab's shell to determine when it should molt and when we should get it to market,

I don't know where they get all these trumped up charges. If they were putting everybody in jail that owed taxes, the jails would be really full.

I couldn't pass it up, ... You get excited. ... It's a very prestigious program.

I feel very confident about what we can get done here, ... They already have an established tradition and a winning attitude. ... I want to continue the commitment to excellence.

For sure, it's the biggest test (we'll face) in September,

He has everything a top coach has. He has the leadership, the passion, the commitment, the dedication, the vision, the human touch. He needs a real chance to go to a real team.

Just play whoever's there and go beat 'em. If San Antonio stumbles, for whatever reason, that's when you have to pounce. You don't ever want to plan your success on the failure of others. But you're more than willing to take advantage of that.

I thought we were in a position to win (Friday) which is really discouraging. In the first two games, at no time was I really nervous about losing. It just kind of fell apart in the middle (of the match).

It is a big deal, because it is money and it's money we always meant to be able to pay (the state), but the money was never there to pay them.

Our business plan just went to hell on us and we couldn't recover from it.

Stability at the top, you've got to have that all the time. All the great franchises, all the great teams have that. They've had the right guy who can inspire, who can lead.