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Maui Invitational honors Bill Walton with touching courtside tribute

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax11/26/24BarkleyTruax
Bill Walton Maui
© Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

The 2024 Maui Invitational tipped off on Monday, marking the first tournament being played since the passing of Bill Walton. The legend is synonymous with the invitational, so it comes as no surprise that they decided to honor him throughout the week.

They draped a Hawaiian shirt on a chair with a maile lei over top of it. A t-shirt with Walton’s last name in tropical colors laid on the chair’s seat as well.

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It looked like something he’d be wearing if were calling the games throughout the week.

This isn’t the only time Walton has been honored as the 2024 invitational tips off. ESPN hyped the tournament by compiling a video of his greatest hits calling the Maui Invitational. His former colleagues, Seth Greenberg and Seth Farnham took a moment after the Memphis–UConn overtime game to speak on what he meant to them and everyone who came into contact with the UCLA legend.

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Greenberg called him a “national treasure.” After all, not many announcers would eat a cupcake with the candle still lit — and eat the candle, too. That was just one of the many quirks that came with watching a broadcast narrated by Walton and his parter, Dave Pasch.

“I mean think about it, we talk about what he’s done here at ESPN,” Greenberg said on Monday. “… That guy was an incredible player. One of the smartest people I’ve ever been around. I used to joke with him, he knew more about nothing than anyone I’ve ever been around. But he always gave up his heart. Like he was the most genuinely real person that you could ever be around.

“He’s obviously dearly missed and way too soon. But an amazing, amazing human being, who happened to be one of the best college basketball players that’s ever played.”

Farnham, a fellow UCLA alum, followed up Greenberg’s comments by recalling a letter he received from Walton after he finished his senior season. Walton gave him life advice that he still remembers to this day. Farnham has the letter framed in his home.

“Bill Walton didn’t need to do that,” Farnham said. “But what he did was he saw anybody that wore that uniform, whether you were an All-American like Bill was and one of the best, that you were part of a family and part of something special.”

He went on to say that Walton had a unique ability to touch every person he came into contact with — and fans were able to see that during his broadcasting career.