Bill Walton Pays Tribute to Nikola Jokic’s “Flow”

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the best passing big man in NBA history. It’s a basketball debate once worth having, but Jokic’s consistent wizardry over the past few seasons has all but put it to bed. The All-NBA center is only 25 years old, but has already finished three seasons averaging at least six assists per game, something nobody at his position has ever done. Beyond the numbers, Jokic’s passes are their own beautiful inventions, made up on the fly and incapable of being delivered by anybody else.

But long before Jokic was even born, Bill Walton—a Hall of Fame center who won two NBA championships, an MVP, and a pair of national titles at UCLA before several foot surgeries derailed his career—was hailed as the greatest passing center, a big whose overall impact on the game was unparalleled in the same ways Jokic’s are now. (The legendary Boston Globe sports scribe Bob Ryan believes “a healthy Bill Walton was the most important and useful player to ever suit up,” and if a game ever needed to be played with the fate of Planet Earth at stake, he’d choose Walton.)

This passage from a New York Times Magazine profile sums up all the ways Walton’s vision separated him from so many others at his position: “He was never a high scorer, but he was probably the best-passing big man in the history of the game. He blocked shots not out of bounds but directly to his teammates; he became famous for throwing outlet passes to start his team on a fast break before he had even come back down to the floor from getting a rebound. For a couple of magical years, the Blazers were a joyful unit, the epitome of unselfish teamwork, and they radically overachieved because of it, improbably winning the 1977 championship over Dr. J and the star-studded Philadelphia 76ers. In the final game of the series, Walton had 20 points, 23 rebounds, 7 assists and 8 blocked shots.”

Hours after Anthony Davis’ game-winner in Game 2, Walton called GQ to talk about what he loves about Jokic, why he’s proud of the NBA, athletes involving themselves in social activism, and more.

GQ: Hi Bill, how’s your day going?

Bill Walton: I’m alive!

What has your reaction been to watching Nikola Jokic in these playoffs?

He’s just a very interesting player and super fun to watch. He looks like he’d be really fun to play with. He looks like a great teammate and a spectacularly skilled player who plays to win. And he can do so many different things. He’s big, strong, powerful, mobile, skilled, intelligent, creative, collaborative. Empty the thesaurus. He’s got a lot of things going for him. He comes from a great basketball culture. And he’s got a tremendous coach right now in Mike Malone. He’s got some real nice teammates in Denver. Josh Kroenke at the top is terrific. Chris Marlowe, their broadcaster. I’m very aware of the Nuggets and the dizzying possibilities of a wonderful tomorrow.

Do you remember the first time you saw Nikola play?

I started to get all these calls and texts and emails. ‘Hey Bill, you’ve gotta see this guy! You’ve gotta see this guy!’ And so I made a point of watching him and my first reaction was ‘Wow! How fun is this?’ One of our sons was coaching the Lakers. And my wife Lori and I went to the game as proud parents. We were waiting to say hello to our son Luke before the game and we were out on the court and Nikola was warming up by himself at the other end. So I went up to him and introduced myself. And I just told him what a pleasure it was to watch him play and what an honor it was to meet him.

He’s the kind of player...he stands out. He stands out. He’s distinct. He’s unique. He’s someone who catches your eye when you watch the game because he does so many different things and I love basketball. Basketball is an expression of who you are and it’s a celebration of a world as it could and should be. And when you watch, he does things that put a smile on your face. And he sees things and he anticipates and he has a plan, he has an approach, he has a sense of what he’s doing, what he’s trying to accomplish. Why he wants it and then how he’s gonna get it done. He’s an interesting, exciting, and foundational pillar for the future.

When you think about Nikola, do any particular passes come to mind?

No, because all of his plays, whether it’s his three-point shooting, whether it’s his rebounds, whether it’s his tipped balls to a teammate, in any situation, whatever he’s doing, it’s always based on the flow. In life we search for the flow and the glow, but we also search for growth. And when you’re playing basketball, which is never static, every single play in basketball is unique because of the other nine guys on the court and because of the refs. Because of the stakes, because of the circumstances, and the decision making of the brilliant players. He puts a smile on my face. And I glow. There’s a warmth in my heart. It’s fun. It’s creative, it’s imaginative, and they’re winning. Although they’re not winning right now.

Does their success surprise you at all, beating the Clippers in Round 2 and then nearly winning Game 2 against the Lakers in the conference finals?

No. The NBA is fantastic. What the NBA is doing on every front is just tremendous and he’s a big part of that. But there’s a lot of teams that have a lot of really good players and great young players. A team loses in the NBA playoffs and you say ‘ahhh they were nothing.’ These guys are really spectacular. It makes me proud, happy, and grateful for what the NBA has become. It’s the dream that we all had. And it’s fantastic. It’s spectacular, it’s incredible. Empty the thesaurus. Here’s this guy who plays a beautiful game of basketball that you want to watch. You know when the games are. You know when his games are.

He’s also got really good teammates. Jamal Murray is fantastic. There’s so many different guys at different times. Dozier. Millsap is good. Jerami Grant is good. I hope I’m getting the names right. Porter is good. Plumlee is good. They’ve got a good team and they have special players. Special players make the team good.

They have a lot of talent and just about everyone is playing great at the right time. It’s also a lot of fun to see the different ways Jokic’s passing elevates everyone else even higher.

The nicest thing anybody ever said about me as a basketball player was that I make my teammates play better. My hero was Bill Russell. To this day. On and off the court. That’s what he did. He made his teammates better. They were good. He made them better. Nikola does so many things. There’s nothing he can’t do. Now the challenge is...it’s the same challenge for everybody: keep it going. It’s always about the next game and that ability to sustain.

During one of the recent TV broadcasts there was a conversation about Jokic as the greatest passing big man ever, and your name entered the discussion. How do you feel about that comparison?

I played to win. That’s what I played for. That was my goal, that was my purpose, that was my mission. And I wanted my teammates to be great, and I wanted to do everything I could to help them. And I wanted to win the game. I love watching teams come together and that’s what we’re witnessing right now. I love the creative and collaborative aspect of successful basketball teams and I love the versatility and adaptability, the way that the great players keep coming up with something else, something new. And that is a reflection of their brains and a reflection of their soul, and a reflection of their background and their culture. Their foundation, their coach. Nikola’s got a lot of things going for him.

I also love the effort to win. Not everybody gets to win. So much of your success is determined by others. You have some impact and control but ultimately the guys who you’re with out there, they’ve got to be great too. And so I just love the way that the team has gelled. I love the way the NBA has responded to the crisis in the world. I’m very proud. I’m very proud of the NBA. I’m very happy. I’m extremely grateful about what the NBA does to this day for everybody.

Speaking of being proud of the NBA, what was your reaction to seeing the players boycott?

I think boycott is the wrong word.

What word would you use?

They chose not to play. And I’m proud of the NBA. The NBA is an everyday aspect of my life, of our world, and I’m incredibly proud of all the things that the guys are doing out there.

You’ve seen socially active athletes up close as a player, and been a politically vocal public figure yourself. Did you ever think you’d see something like what the Milwaukee Bucks did?

The NBA has become everything I always hoped and dreamed it would be. I stand with the NBA, and I stand with the NBA’s players. It’s been incredibly inspirational, incredibly valuable. [Long pause] I’m with those guys.

Coming back to Nikola, I’m not sure how to articulate this question...

We’re just talking! You start talking and I’m not gonna hold you to the question. Look, I really enjoy Nikola Jokic. He’s fun. And he plays a beautiful style, a beautiful game. We want the best for him!

One of the really rewarding aspects of life is to see other people succeed and that’s what he’s doing right now. It’s all in context because you lose your first two games to the Lakers and it’s like ‘wait a second,’ but that doesn’t take away his effort, his skill, his preparation. He’s 25 years old. He’s playing a wonderful game. It’s good. It’s positive. It’s upbeat. To see the relationship develop on television between the teammates and how great that is. I’ve got teammates like that in my life too, where you’re a team. And they are your guys. And to see the joint interviews with Jamal Murray and Nikola and to see everybody just...everybody’s just so happy. I love that. Happiness is a goal, but it’s also a result of a lot of things. And to see how happy they are...Now, they weren’t happy when Anthony Davis made that three-pointer. But... what else you got?

Are you surprised that someone who’s as large as Jokic even materialized in a league that’s now so dominated by playmakers on the wing and ball-dominant guards? How pleasant is that to see?

I like good basketball. To me it doesn’t matter, the size, the shape, the color, the sex. I just like good basketball. And he plays beautiful basketball. And it’s unique. It’s different. It’s interesting as can be, because you anticipate what’s gonna be next. And that’s what you want. It’s like watching someone who’s great at what they do, you never know what will happen next. That’s one of the reasons that we watch, and the beauty and the grace and the dignity and the class and the joy and the happiness, and all the things that we look for in the things that we value. And the things that we value will flourish. If we put a value on those things, those things will flourish. The goodness, the kindness, the teamwork, the skill, the passion. All the things that he has that are just a joy to watch and a privilege to watch, and we wish him the best. I’d love to see him keep going because it does get better. It does get better. It does get better and he’s making it better.

Is there anything when you watch Nikola play that reminds you of yourself and your own career?

I love watching the players who play to win and can do it in so many different ways. It brings a sense of happiness and joy and peace and warmth and the glow and the flow and the growth of an individual in a team concept. My life in basketball started when I was 8 years old. The game of basketball gave me hope. It provided opportunities. It instilled purpose in my life and I’ve added to that over the 59 years I’ve been involved with basketball, and I’ve added pride, loyalty, and gratitude to those elements. And I am proud, and I am loyal, and I’m most grateful.

I really like watching this guy play. I’d love to play with him, I’d love to play against him, I’d love to play basketball. I haven’t been able to play basketball in 34 years now. But you know I can watch. I just love brilliant performers. Whether it’s Tadej Pogačar winning the Tour de France. Whether it’s those two guys from Austria and Germany in the U.S. Open Finals. I love greatness and I love effort and I love talent. And we are lucky to see a lot of it right now. Hershey Felder, the great performance artist.

The live nature of athletic competition is just, where you don’t know what’s gonna happen. That’s what drives us as fans, but it also drives the performers. And I salute these guys. I admire these guys, what they’re doing, what they have done, and my anticipation of what’s gonna be next. The real challenge is to continually get better all the time, and Nikola is so versatile, so smart, so imaginative in his life. There’s a golden road ahead, and people like me who have unlimited devotion to brilliance and greatness, we look forward to that journey.

Tell Nikola “Hi” for me. Tell him thanks for making me smile.

Originally Appeared on GQ