Rick Carlisle was helped immensely by Bill Walton during a first date with his current wife, Donna, the Pacers coach revealed after the NBA Hall of Famer’s death was announced Monday.
Carlisle and Walton played together on the Celtics’ 1986 championship team, and the next year Carlisle called his teammate for help finding two tickets to a Grateful Dead show, with a “pretty cool” girl.
Known as a huge “Dead Head,” Walton told Walton to go to the back of the venue (the now closed Capital Center outside Washington DC) and tell him he was a member of the Celtics’ ’86 championship team. The rest was history.
“I probably also owe it to the fact that I married my wife Donna,” Carlisle began on Monday, ahead of the Pacers’ Game 4 vs. the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
‘It all worked out fine in the end, I walked back onto the loading dock with two fully accessible laminates, one said Bill Walton and one said [his then-wife] Susie Walton. So we were ready for the show.
Rick Carlisle shared how his ex-teammate Bill Walton helped him before a first date
Walton, an NBA Hall of Fame center, died Monday at the age of 71 after a battle with cancer
Carlisle said he and Donna chatted for 15 minutes at one point, and he clearly impressed his future wife early in their relationship.
“It was an incredible night, and it’s obviously a good first date,” he said. Anyway, I’m grateful to him.’
He continued, “To me, he was a living, breathing event in history just walking around. He was involved in so many events, pop culture, sports – he played drums for the Grateful Dead in Egypt. He was a man who did everything. ‘
“He fought defiantly for every moment of his life, to be the greatest he could possibly be. That’s the best way to describe him.
‘What a wonderful man. There will never be another. ‘
Coach Rick Carlisle recalls how his former Celtics teammate Bill Walton helped him today on a first date in 1987 with his current wife
pic.twitter.com/xix1muOTEs
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2024
Carlisle (second from left) and Walton (right) celebrating the 1986 Celtics championship together
Walton, who died of cancer at the age of 71, was remembered by many others in the sporting world on Monday.
His former ESPN colleague Jay Bilas said on the air: “He was perhaps the greatest college basketball player of all time. He was also an all-time great professional. … But more than that … He was an absolutely wonderful, beautiful person who you always enjoyed being around.”
Walton’s former Celtics teammate and close friend Larry Bird also released a statement after his death, emphasizing that he will be “dearly missed.”
“I’m very sorry about my good friend, Bill Walton,” Bird said. ‘I love him as a friend and teammate. It was a thrill for me to play with my childhood idol and together we earned an NBA championship in 1986. He is one of the greatest players to ever play the game.
“I’m sure all my teammates are as grateful as I am that we got to know Bill, it was such a pleasure to know him and he will be greatly missed. My family and I extend our sincere condolences to the Walton family.”
Walton, seen with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, was a big fan of the band
Walton was married twice, marrying his wife Lori in 1991 after his divorce from Susie
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also paid tribute to Walton on social media.
“My very good friend, fellow Bruin, and NBA rival Bill Walton passed away today. And the world feels so much heavier right now,” the six-time NBA champion said.
‘On the field, Bill was a fierce player, but off the field he was only happy when he did everything he could to make everyone around him happy.
“He was the best of us.”
