He’s a Basketball Hall of Famer, a two-time NCAA champion, a two-time NBA champion and the undisputed tallest member of the Grateful Dead Hall of Honor. It could be none other than the legendary Bill Walton, the repeatedly self-described “Luckiest Guy in the World.”
Steve James (Hoop Dreams) directs an immersive 30 for 30 documentary for ESPN looking back at Walton’s incredible career on the court, and his socially and politically conscious life off of it. “The Luckiest Guy in the World” debuts June 6 (Episodes 1-2) and 13 (Episodes 3-4) at 8pm ET, and features a trove of interviews, archival footage, home movies and intimate conversations with Walton as he visits meaningful places in his life.
The latest @30for30 tells the story of a true sports original: Bill Walton.
Episodes 1 and 2 of “The Luckiest Guy in the World” premiere June 6 at 8 PM ET on ESPN. Streaming the same night on @ESPNPlus 🍿 pic.twitter.com/qMPyBzbkPk
— ESPN (@espn) June 5, 2023
It also explores how Walton overcame adversity, including a stutter that made him shy and quiet in his youth. He’d go on to win a Sports Emmy for broadcasting. “To this day, speaking is the hardest part of my life,” he says. He’s also dealt with the breakdown of his body, which began early with multiple orthopedic operations in high school.
The basketball star from the San Diego area’s Helix High School went on to play for legendary coach John Wooden at UCLA, where he won two NCAA championships. “Bill’s mentality was to win everything,” says Larry Bird. “And he’s pretty spoiled, because at UCLA they won almost everything.” Almost everything: UCLA’s loss to NC State in the 1974 Final Four still haunts Walton.
Walton embraced the early ’70s counterculture and was arrested at an antiwar protest at UCLA. “There was so much positive energy and knowledge,” he recalls. “That’s when I found the Grateful Dead.” His life changed when the band invited him backstage after a concert on campus. Walton says he’s been to over 1,000 Grateful Dead shows.
Walton was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, but undiagnosed stress fractures in his foot kept him mostly sidelined. “My first two years in the NBA were a disaster,” he says. “I was unprepared. I was undiscerning. I was unsuspecting.” Everything came together in the 1976-77 season, when Walton led the underdog Blazers to the franchise’s first NBA championship.
The film has already scored accolades as the TV Premieres Audience Award Winner at the SXSW Film & TV Festival in March. “This film is for people who want to learn, who want to understand. Who want to have a vision of what it was like,” Walton said at SXSW. “And so I just hope for the best. I’m trying to make it, trying to get to heaven before they close the door.”