ESPN along with Sean Farnham, Seth Greenberg pays tribute to Bill Walton during the Maui Invitational

On By Littum

The 2024 Maui Invitational tipped off Monday, and ESPN took a moment to remember basketball legend Bill Walton by replaying some of his best moments during the tournament.

Walton, there died earlier this year at 71, was a fixture at the invitational and is being honored in several ways throughout the week. That includes the video package, a courtside tribute and some of his longtime colleagues paying tribute to his legacy, as ESPN’s Seth Greenberg and Sean Farnham sent touching messages after one of the first games of the tournament. Memphis upset no. 2 UConn in overtime.

“National treasure,” Greenberg said of the late Walton. “I mean, think about it, we’re talking about what he’s done here at ESPN. … That guy was an unbelievable player. One of the smartest people I’ve ever been around. I used to make fun of him , he knew more about nothing than anyone I’ve ever been with. But he always gave up his heart. Like he was the most real person you could ever be around. H

“Obviously, he’s deeply missed and way too soon. But a great, great human being who happened to be one of the greatest college basketball players to ever play.”

At UCLA, Walton won three consecutive National Player of the Year awards while leading the Bruins to back-to-back national titles. He was named the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player after both seasons.

After a successful college career, Walton was drafted with the no. 1 overall draft pick and won a pair of NBA championships during his playing career and also won the 1978 MVP. He battled injuries throughout his career. Bill Walton played in the NBA from 1974-1988 and finished his career with the Boston Celtics. He was forced to retire from basketball due to injuries.

Sean Farnham, who played his college basketball at UCLA, recalled a time Walton reached out to him after his career with the Bruins ended. When Farnham graduated, he was called into the office of Doug Erickson, the Bruins’ longtime Director of Basketball Operations, where he received a letter from the basketball legend.

“You can’t even read what was on the card because it was handwritten on both sides and all the way on the back,” Farnham recalled. “(It was) Bill Walton talking about my journey at UCLA, what he appreciated about UCLA.”

Walton discussed how Farnham needed to use the lessons he learned on and off the field and how he needed to apply it to his life in order to be successful.

“It’s something I have framed in my house,” Farnham continued. “Bill Walton didn’t have to do that. But what he did was he saw anybody who wore that uniform, whether you were an American like Bill was and one of the best, that you were a part of a family and part of something special. And to me, that’s just who Bill was with everyone he came in contact with and associated with.”

After his playing days, fans were able to see his personality first hand and was known for his unique, over-the-top style of analyzing games. He worked as a broadcaster for CBS, NBC and most recently ESPN, calling mostly Pac-12 games.

Walton and his broadcasting partner Dave Pasch formed quite the broadcasting tandem over the years, and fans regularly tuned in for their entertaining style. No doubt he’d be up to his usual entertaining antics if he were in Maui today.