The NBA world suffered a devastating blow to the community Monday with the news of Bill Walton's passing. The basketball Hall of Famer died after a prolonged battle with cancer at the age of 71 years old.
Walton truly was one of a kind. From his career as a collegiate player at UCLA, to the NBA with the Celtics and Trail Blazers, there was no one quite like "Big Red." He created plenty of memorable moments as a player, and most certainly as a broadcaster.
Plenty of his colleagues shared wonderful stories about Walton, but there were few who can match Walton's broadcast partner, Dave Pasch. The pair worked as a broadcast duo for ESPN for 12 years, creating a plethora of memories in the process.
Pasch gave a touching tribute to his partner-in-crime on the mic during an ESPN segment, calling their relationship "special."
"I love you, but don't tell anybody."
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 27, 2024
Bill Walton's longtime broadcast partner @DavePasch reflects on one of his favorite memories of his friend ❤️ pic.twitter.com/zcBDQHlBOp
He wasn't done. Pasch took to social media to post some of his best memories over the years, including texts from Walton that only further proved just how caring he was.
MORE: The 8 best moments from Bill Walton's broadcast career
Dave Pasch shares best Bill Walton memories
Like many others, Pasch posted on X, formerly Twitter, about Walton's passing, keeping it short and simple.
There will never be another Bill. Love you & miss you my friend. pic.twitter.com/JiVJyQHIO4
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) May 27, 2024
However, he wasn't done. Pasch elected to peel back the curtain a bit on the two's relationship, sharing numerous texts that he received from Walton over the years. It included inside jokes between the two and Walton playfully poking fun at Pasch.
Bill Walton’s nickname for me was “Coal”, and he would call himself “Solar”. He would playfully say I was living in the past, while he was the future. As I was going through many old texts from him, laughing my butt off, this one got me. Bill was an all time ball buster! pic.twitter.com/EejlTMzBKX
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) May 28, 2024
Bill would text me during games I was broadcasting, and pretend he didn’t know I was doing it, but ask if I was watching 🤣 pic.twitter.com/p9DuiufCFA
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) May 28, 2024
And the random, out of nowhere texts…man, this is cathartic. Miss and love this guy. pic.twitter.com/IhTT3HuzDy
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) May 28, 2024
I lied. One more tweet. Because it’s so darn funny 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/FpG9vgtsxm
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) May 28, 2024
Pasch also shared a number of custom t-shirts that the two either wore, or were planning on donning during the broadcasts.
Bill would create & print tee-shirts and placards every year we did the Pac 12 tournament, and hand them out to the crew lol. pic.twitter.com/a4dgqgb3DC
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) May 28, 2024
Last one. Made this shirt to wear on our final broadcast, which sadly never happened. pic.twitter.com/nQAWZsmUSN
— Dave Pasch (@DavePasch) May 28, 2024
Walton truly was one of a kind, and Pasch's posts only proved that further.
