I Get To Ride My Bike Today
Bill Walton is a basketball legend. He led UCLA to 88 straight wins and two national titles. He was the number one draft pick of the Portland Trailblazers, led them to the NBA championship back in 1977 and was the most valuable player of the championship series that same year. He won another NBA title, this time with the Boston Celtics, in 1986. At 6’11”, he was undoubtedly one of the greatest basketball players in history. He was named to the NBA’s 50th Anniversary All-Time Team despite the fact that, in a career marred by injuries, he played a total of only 488 games while missing 680.
As fans and amateur athletes, we tend to put professional athletes up on a pedestal and wonder how cool it would be to live that life.
Be careful what you wish for.
Bill Walton has two fused ankles and has suffered through 36 surgeries in his 58 years. He had to give up his career as a basketball analyst because his back issues were so severe he not only couldn’t get on a plane, he couldn’t leave the house. For two years he basically was forced to live on the floor of his San Diego home, crawling to the bathroom and eating his meals there. The pain in his back was excruciating. “I wasn’t living,” he admits. “Every day was worse than the day before.”
It got so bad that he actually contemplated suicide.
But then came the miracle.
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