Portland Throwbacks: Bill Walton's Love for Grateful Dead

Former Portland Trail Blazers MVP and big man Bill Walton's had a second love outside of the court, and that love was the Grateful Dead.

Walton claimed to have seen more than 800 Grateful Dead shows, along with a few spinoff shows, with the total being north of 1,000. The first concert he went to was in 1967, when Walton was 14 years old.

Walton and the Grateful Dead's lead guitarist and vocalist, Jerry Garcia, became close friends. Walton became very close with Garcia and other band members, even letting them stay at his home in San Diego rather than a hotel while the band was on tour. One shared moment between the two involved basketball. When Walton was with the Boston Celtics, he took a few of his teammates to a show.

The Grateful Dead never played a song the same way when they performed. Walton has said that the band directly relates to how basketball is played, with improvisation, staying completely present and trusting their instincts.

Walton played basketball the same way, making reads and playing with his instincts rather than predetermining.

The band affected his mentality toward the game of basketball. He played college ball at UCLA for the legendary John Wooden. Wooden was stricter and required discipline. The Grateful Dead played in a way that bridged chaos and focus.

Just like Garcia did for his band, Walton made his teammates better using the same principles.

Walton's career is one of the biggest "what-ifs" in the history of the NBA. He won the most valuable player award in the 1977-78 season, averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds per game. He also led the Blazers to an NBA Finals victory the season before. He missed the next three of four years due to a lingering foot injury.

Walton spent four memorable seasons with Portland. The 1977 Finals were the first in franchise history.

After his playing days, Walton became a great broadcaster in his own right. He used to wear tie-dye T-shirts while calling a game, and even included some Grateful Dead lore and stories in the broadcast. He was one of the most recognizable names on the air, and the Grateful Dead was a part of that.

Walton died in 2024. The Dead community and the basketball world remembered him in their own ways. When Portland fans remember Bill Walton, the Grateful Dead follow. It was truly when two worlds crossed.