Bill Walton is a basketball legend, but the Hall of Fame player turned commentator was also known for his off-court passion: the rock band Grateful Dead.
Walton's relationship with the Grateful Dead was long-standing: he claimed in his autobiography to have attended more than 800 of the band's concerts and called his inclusion in the group's “Hall of Honor” the highest tribute he had ever received.
While performing Thursday at the Sphere in Las Vegas (poetically, the city that hosted the last men's basketball game played in Walton's beloved Pac-12), the band Dead & Company, a group that includes members of the Grateful Dead original, paid tribute to Walton.
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📸: Chloe Weir pic.twitter.com/uEsPrOcnOp
– Dead and company (@deadandcompany) May 31, 2024
The band played the Grateful Dead's 1978 song, “Fire on the Mountain,” while a montage of some of Walton's best moments supporting the group scrolled across the Sphere's widescreen screens.
Walton died Monday at age 71 after a long battle with cancer. Dead & Company also paid tribute to Walton via social media.
