Quotes by Bill Walton

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.
– Bill Walton
Bill Russell was my favorite player of all-time.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
Growing up, my parents were very, very strict. And then I went to UCLA with John Wooden, who was just off the charts.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
I love to cheer, and yell, and joke and to celebrate the best basketball in the world. And to see these new players, to see how good they are-guys like Paul Pierce and Jason Kidd and, of course, Shaq and Kobe, who are just off the charts. It's a real pleasure.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
I might be the most injured athlete in the history of sports. I've had 31 operations. An endless string of stress fractures.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
I'm mainstream. Always have been.
– Bill Walton
Life is about growth. People are not perfect when they're 21 years old.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
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?
– Bill Walton
Without question, no hesitation, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best player I ever played against.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
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.
– Bill Walton
I have nothing but respect for the Lakers. So many of their legends shaped who I am as a person and player.
– Bill Walton
I grew up in an non-athletic family, where my parents were interested in music, in literature, in education and art.
– Bill Walton