Knicks Announcer Shares Emotional Bill Walton Story
The passing of basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton has brought forth humorous stories of the Pac-12 purveyor's larger-than-life personality. Most of these stories offer a humorous tone but New York Knicks broadcaster Mike Breen offered a glimpse of Walton's empathetic side in a reflection on ESPN's "NBA Today."
Breen, renowned for his work on MSG Network and ESPN/ABC, recalled how Walton made the final days of his father John as peaceful as possible. The tenured play-by-play man recalled a trip to San Diego, staged "about 15 years ago," where he and his brother Pete planned to take John to the U.S.S. Midway, a U.S. Navy carrier-turned-museum on which he had served upon during the Korean War.
"Bill lived in San Diego, so I called him to get a hotel recommendation," Breen relayed to host Malika Andrews. "Bill said ‘You’re not staying at a hotel, you’re staying with me’. I convinced my father and brother and we were going to spend three days at Bill’s house. For the next three days, he did not leave my father’s side. Wherever we went, Bill was seated right next to my father."
Walton, a California basketball legend for his endeavors with both UCLA and the San Diego/Los Angeles Clippers, took things a step further.
“When it came time to go to the Midway, we thought we were just going to go and buy tickets like everybody does that wants to take the tour," Breen said. "Bill called in advance and said that one of your heroes is returning to the ship he served on. The commander of the Midway was the one who greeted us.”
It got to the point, Breen explained, that he nearly came to lose a friend in the finest way possible.
“By the end of the three days, Bill wasn’t my friend, he was my father’s friend," an emotional Breen recalled. "When he came back, he didn’t live much longer than that. But that’s all he talked about. They were the best three days of the late years of his life. Bill made them the best three days.”
While Breen and Walton didn't work together often, they were occasionally paired together during their shared endeavors at both the Worldwide Leader and NBC. Of note, the two were on ESPN's national call during the infamous "Malice at the Palace" incident between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers in November 2004.
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks