LOS ANGELES — Bill Walton is alive and well after having to spend several weeks on his floor at home because of excruciating back and hip problems.
“Fifteen weeks and one day (ago) today,” the 55-year-old Hall of Famer said with a smile at the Staples Center before Game 3 of the NBA Finals. “This is my first event. A week ago, I did a social outing. A few days ago, I went to a restaurant. Every day, I do more. I am doing better all the time. I’m going to make it.”
Luke Walton, a backup forward for the Los Angeles Lakers, said his father told him a couple of days ago he would attend Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, for whom he played his last two NBA seasons before retiring in 1987.
“I’m just glad to hear he’s doing better,” the younger Walton said. “I haven’t seen him. He’s out and about in (the arena) somewhere. It would be nice to see him.”
Walton said he hasn’t seen his father since the all-star break in February.
The elder Walton said he had bulging discs with pinched nerves, damaged muscles, ligaments and tendons in his lower back and hip.
“I was on the floor for six weeks, unrelenting nerve pain, from my mid-thigh to my chest — just to blink,” he said. “I started my physical therapy every morning at 5:30 and go until 8 o’clock at night. I’d eat my meals and watch the games from the floor.”
Walton’s physical problems kept him from his work as an NBA commentator for ESPN.
