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Dave Pasch Shared Some Hysterical Texts Bill Walton Would Send Him While He Was Calling Games

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ESPN

The basketball world lost one of its true characters on Monday, as Bill Walton died at age 71 after a long battle with cancer.

The two-time national champion at UCLA, two-time NBA champion in Portland and Boston, NBA MVP, and Hall of Famer had a stellar on-court career, but he is remembered by most for his unique personality that we got to see across his broadcasting career for over 30 years. Walton called NBA games on NBC and ABC, including five NBA Finals, before becoming the voice of Pac-12 basketball — or as he always called it, the Conference of Champions — for ESPN.

He was often partnered with play-by-play man Dave Pasch, who spent 12 years alongside Walton at the broadcast table, trying desperately to keep the broadcast focused on the game at hand while Walton took the audience on a journey through his mind. After the news of Walton’s death, fans began posting their favorite memories of Bill, many of which were clips of him attempting to drive Pasch crazy. Pasch went on ESPN to talk about his longtime friend and broadcast partner, offering some incredible anecdotes about Walton that were both touching and hysterical.

On Tuesday, Pasch woke up still thinking about his friend and wanted to share more about Walton with the world, so he posted screenshots of the texts Walton would send to mess with him while he was calling games.

As Pasch noted, getting to share this with the world and seeing the reaction from fans is cathartic in this moment of grief, and I know fans appreciate Pasch giving us this glimpse into who Bill was. There was no act from Bill Walton when he was on air, he simply was himself, and even the bits he played out with Pasch extended to when they weren’t on camera, with Walton constantly asking “who is this?” as he texted his friend.