Quotes from Bill Walton

There is absolutely no way the best team in the NCAA could even dream of beating the worst team in the NBA? You're talking about men vs. boys.

The only man who can stop Cliff Robinson is Cliff Robinson. The man is unstoppable even at 38.

I don't sleep much. I'm on the go. My mind is racing. My wife says my mind is like the rolling dials on a slot machine. So, yeah, I think about everything.

The passions I have in my life are my family, music, books, I'm an avid plant collector, and I love to ride my bike.

I love live music. I love going to the event. And to know them as people and to have seen the Grateful Dead grow up and become who they are is so incredibly special.

Music is my life. It's inseparable from anything else that I do.

But you have to understand, my beard is so nasty. I mean, it's the only beard in the history of Western civilization that makes Bob Dylan's beard look good.

Never forget - happiness ends when selfishness begins.

No one missed more basketball in the history of NBA than I did. I played 14 seasons, on the roster for 14 years, and I missed more than nine-and-a-half full seasons.

Basketball is one of those rare opportunities where you can make a difference, not only for yourself, but for other people as well.

My relationship, my friendships with Grateful Dead, has shaped me. Our house is a shrine to all our musical heroes.

I have nothing but respect for the Lakers. So many of their legends shaped who I am as a person and player.

I believe in science and evolution. I've been to the Grand Canyon.

My bike is my gym, my wheelchair and my church all in one. I'd like to ride my bike all day long but I've got this thing called a job that keeps getting in the way.

At 49, I can say something I never would have said when I was a player, that I'm a better person because of my failures and disgraces.

I lived to play basketball. Growing up as a kid, Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics were my favorite team. The way they played, the teamwork, the sacrifice, the commitment, the joy, the camaraderie, the relationship with the fans.

I had the only beard in the Western Hemisphere that made Bob Dylan's look good.

That's what makes it so fun to be on a team. You're sitting at your house, thinking up this wild, crazy stuff as to how it's going to go, and the other guys are sitting at their houses doing the same thing.

I might be the most injured athlete in the history of sports. I've had 31 operations. An endless string of stress fractures.

There are no guarantees in life. The simple twists of fate and the breaks of the game are the two maxims that define so much of the success and failure in life.

When you are in unrelenting, excruciating and debilitating pain that never goes away for years on end, your life is over.

I live by the motto of "chase your dream, make your dream your job, make your job your life."

Music is critical in our lives and culture. It's the inspiration that drives us. It's also the window to our souls. It's a reflection as to who we are, what we stand for and where we're going.

Life is easy when you're hot. But what happens when the ball bounces the other way? You just keep getting back up and climbing up.