Bill Walton - Broadcasting

Broadcasting

After his retirement as a player, Walton overcame a stuttering problem to become a successful and controversial NBA color commentator for NBC (1990–2002), Los Angeles Clippers (1990–2002) and ABC/ESPN (2002–2009).

Walton's trademark catchphrases included, "That's a terrible call! Terrible," "Where in the world is ?" (for a player who has disappeared from a game), "What is a foul?", "Dial a violation," "He couldn't even inbound the ball!", "Throw it down, big man! Throw it down!", and "Basketball is a game played by men competing for the ultimate prize". Also, after a predominantly one-handed player made a basket going to his strong hand, Walton would often summarize the action and then say, "He's left-handed by the way Marv" or "Someone should tell player |x| that player |y| is left-handed and promises to be so for the remainder of the game," indicating that perhaps the defender should have defended that side of the player. In addition, his commentary during games was notable for his frequent use of hyperbole. Walton typically was paired with Steve "Snapper" Jones for NBA games because he and Jones had a point-counterpoint banter during games. Despite their frequent on-air argumentative banter they are actually good friends, as was shown in Walton's short lived 2003 TV series Bill Walton's Long Strange Trip.

After nineteen years working in broadcasting, he left ESPN in November 2009, as the result of back problems dating back to an injury suffered while playing at UCLA. Following surgery on his back, Walton returned to broadcasting as a part-time commentator for the Sacramento Kings and the Boston Celtics.

In July 2012, ESPN and the Pac-12 Network announced that he would return to broadcasting as a game analyst for Pac-12 basketball coverage, starting with the 2012-13 season.