[Peter] Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" was my first go-to song in terms of getting into the zone and getting ready and then I quickly gravitated to rock and roll music in the mid-'60s with the Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Beatles, Crosby, Stills & Nash, The Rolling Stones, Carlos Santana. So many of them are still around and still going strong. I go out to see them all the time.
Bill WaltonI live by the motto of "chase your dream, make your dream your job, make your job your life."
Bill WaltonBasketball is one of those rare opportunities where you can make a difference, not only for yourself, but for other people as well.
Bill WaltonHealth is the most critical thing in our life. With your health anything is possible, without it you can't do anything.
Bill WaltonDoug 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
Bill WaltonRight 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 WaltonI grew up in a classical music household. My dad is a phenomenal musician who can play any and all instruments, can sight read, can play by ear.
Bill WaltonWhen 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.
Bill WaltonThere 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.
Bill WaltonWe 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.
Bill WaltonYao 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.
Bill WaltonJohn Stockton is one of the true marvels, not just of basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization!
Bill WaltonI started going [Grateful Dead] when I was in high school. I was 15. It was the Summer Of Love.
Bill WaltonChick Hearn was my favorite broadcaster ever - he's the one who taught me to think basketball, how to love basketball.
Bill WaltonKevin Garnett is the prototype for the NBA player of the future. He's already one of the greatest players to have played the game.
Bill WaltonI'm a different person today than I was yesterday. I live for the moment and everything that happens in my life changes me.
Bill WaltonMusic 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.
Bill WaltonKazemi has to understand that nobody is going to tell him he has to go back to Iran if he misses a shot.
Bill WaltonIf 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.
Bill WaltonI 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 WaltonI had this fantastic collection of Grateful Dead T-shirts and live concert music the band had give me over all these years, decades of material, and when our boys became teenagers they started going through everything and wearing the shirts and listening to the music and that's what the Grateful Dead is all about.
Bill WaltonA lot of people understand what not saying anything means, so, in effect, not saying anything is really saying a lot.
Bill WaltonMy 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.
Bill WaltonI might be the most injured athlete in the history of sports. I've had 31 operations. An endless string of stress fractures.
Bill WaltonI've got my iPod and I've got it on shuffle. If I'm not ready for one, I'll click to the next one. My wife, Lori, and our children, Adam, Nate, Chris, and Luke, will all tell you that when I find one I like it can stay on repeat for weeks on end.
Bill WaltonLove 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.
Bill WaltonWithout question, no hesitation, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the best player I ever played against.
Bill WaltonBeing 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 WaltonThe 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.
Bill WaltonIf 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.
Bill WaltonI 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!
Bill Walton