Sports World Reacts to NCAA, NBA Legend Bill Walton's Passing

Some athletes are able to transcend the sports world because they are simply among the best ever at their chosen sport. In the case of Bill Walton, his basketball prowess was only part of his sprawling legacy.

Read more: Bill Walton, Hall of Fame NBA Center, Dies at 71

Walton's effervescent personality, and his willingness to share it with the world through broadcasting, earned him a diverse group of fans and friends inside and outside the basketball universe.

From former president Barack Obama to basketball star and entrepreneur Magic Johnson, the full range of lives Walton touched was on full display Monday, when he died of cancer at age 71.

"Bill Walton was one of the greatest basketball players of all time – a champion at every level and the embodiment of unselfish team play," Obama wrote on his official Twitter/X account. "He was also a wonderful spirit full of curiosity, humor and kindness. We are poorer for his passing, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family."

"My very close friend, fellow Bruin, and NBA rival Bill Walton died today," wrote Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. "And the world feels so much heavier now. On the court, Bill was a fierce player, but off the court he wasn't happy unless he did everything he could to make everyone around him ahppy. He was the best of us."

Jason Benetti, a national broadcaster in baseball, football, and basketball, as well as the Detroit Tigers' primary play-by-play man, worked with Walton on multiple assignments in multiple sports.

"You sent me an email in 2020 that said: PUT THE MUSIC ON, as soon as it doesn't seem right, change the music/station, but don't turn it off," Benetti wrote, in an apparent open letter to his late broadcast partner. "I promise, the music will always be on. I'll miss you dearly, you marvelous, vivid, wonderful."

"Bill Walton laughed at himself; cared deeply about people history ignored; and was one of the greatest athletes to ever walk the Earth," ESPN personality Pablo Torre wrote on his Twitter/X account. "A planet he both adored and transcended. RIP"

Grammy-winning trumpeter, producer and arranger Michael Leonhart shared a Walton memory Monday to his Instagram account: "One of the highlights of my career was hanging backstage with the great #BillWalton at #classicwest July 15, 2017 at #dodgerstadium #losangeles. Bill was like a kid in a candy store❤️ MAAAAAAAN, did Bill love music❤️‍🩹"

These are just a few of the many tributes for Walton on Monday.