Former NBA star turned ESPN broadcaster Bill Walton has been one of the most charismatic personalities in all of sports media. Given his wacky persona, it should come as no surprise that he approaches broadcasting in an unconventional way, which fellow broadcaster Dave Pasch detailed in a podcast appearance on Wednesday.
Pasch, Walton’s partner on most of his broadcasts of ESPN’s Pac-12 college basketball coverage, appeared on the most recent edition of the Sports Media Watch podcast.
He spoke about Walton’s unique view on his craft, detailing that the former NBA MVP often views Pasch as an on-air adversary rather than a partner.
“I’ve had a lot of Bill’s former teammates tell me that Bill likes to feel like he’s playing again. He likes to feel like he’s back in the locker room, that there’s a rivalry, that there is an intensity and a preparation for a broadcast that’s similar to playing. And I’ve noticed that. The sparring with me, I think he enjoys that because it makes him feel like he’s playing again.”
“Watching him get ready for a game, he has a routine. He gets up and he stretches, and he’s taking his energy chews, and he’s eating his protein bars, I mean it’s all the stuff he’d probably do if he was getting ready to play. I think when we’re on the air, he’s mentioned this before, he kind of views me as Kareem. I’m his adversary on the air. I’m his teammate, but in a way I’m getting in the way of him accomplishing his goal kind of like Kareem on the floor. And then off the air when the game’s over we’re great friends. But for that two hours or whatever it is, there is a level of competition, as he views it.”
Walton obviously achieved the pinnacle of the sport during his playing career, being inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. So it’s not exactly shocking to hear that he is so meticulous when it comes to preparation for an upcoming broadcast.
Pasch and Walton are one of the most iconic broadcast pairings in the sport. So whether you love Walton or hate him, his approach to working with Pasch certainly seems to be a successful one.
