Seen and heard: Bill Walton receives custom chair from UA student; 'I love my chair,' the big man says

When you’re a 6-foot-11-inch person with a history of back problems, sometimes you go to great lengths to find comfort.

For several years, whenever Bill Walton came to Tucson to broadcast a game, the chairs were too short and uncomfortable, so he often borrowed chairs from the nearby “Aloft” hotel.

“I always made sure they got the chair back,” Walton said with a smitten grin.

Walton — and Aloft — won’t have to worry about him borrowing the hotel’s chair anymore, because less than two hours before No. 5 Arizona’s 74-61 loss to Washington State on Saturday at McKale Center, Walton was gifted a custom chair tailored for his frame.

The UA had it specially ordered for Walton last year, but it was a generic metal chair. Besides his hair, Walton isn’t necessarily a “gray person.” So, a UA School of Art graduate student, Gabrielle Walter, who is receiving her master’s degree in graphic and design this spring, shouldered the honor of painting the chair.

With a yellow base, the chair features blue, purple and red cactuses, a basketball hoop and the skeleton Grateful Dead (Walton’s favorite band) logo.

“I’m a big fan, so I originally did a design where it was all Grateful Dead,” Walter said to the UA College of Fine Arts. “But then I did some research on Mr. Walton, and I realized he also loves the Sonoran Desert and Tucson.”

“Bill’s chair” is also painted in sky blue lettering for the UCLA alumnus.

“I love my chair,” Walton told the Star before Arizona-WSU. “It’s always been a struggle, but the people in Tucson have been super, super nice. Everyone has been as accommodating as possible.

“I’m 6-11 and when you sit down, you always want your hips above your knees. All this furniture, which is built for preschool children, makes it very, very difficult to sit, so the great people here at Arizona … they came up with this very special chair. They did their research, found out what I like, put my name on the chair, did all sorts of artwork — it’s an absolute thing of beauty. I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

Walton noted it’s the first custom chair he’s received in the Pac-12. When Walton broadcasts games at either UCLA or USC, he normally packs a chair from home into his car and hauls it into Pauley Pavilion or Galen Center. The only road trip he travels with a chair from home is the Maui Invitational.

“My life generally is one night at a time, so I’m a carry-on guy,” Walton said. “I don’t carry on my chairs. But I love my chair and it’s a life saver. This is a spectacular, fantastic, terrific chair. … I just want to thank the kind and thoughtful people here at the University of Arizona. I’ve had a lifetime of orthopedic challenges, and when you have orthopedic challenges, it comes home to roost in your spine.

“I broke my spine playing for UCLA on January 7, 1974 — not that I remember the date — but I lived with it for a long time, and 15 years ago, it failed and my life was over. But now I’m better. I had surgery, and now I’m the luckiest guy in the world.”

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Still in the holiday spirit

Fresh off his career night against Washington, freshman point guard Kylan Boswell wore Christmas-themed shoes against Washington State. Boswell donned a pair of Nike’s Kobe 6 “Grinch,” inspired by the popular Christmas film. Price range to purchase the bright-green shoes on popular sneaker seller “GOAT” is from $702 to $3,504 depending on shoe size.

Numbers game

30% — Oumar Ballo shot a season-worst 3 for 10 from the free-throw line Saturday. In the previous three games, Ballo was a combined 16 for 18 (89%). Ballo is recovering from an illness that hospitalized him and sidelined him for three days of practice leading up to Thursday.

10 — Washington State leading Arizona 37-27 at the end of the first half marked the largest halftime home deficit under Tommy Lloyd.

5 — Azuolas Tubelis garnered his fifth double-double of the season after recording 29 points and 14 rebounds on Saturday. Tubelis passed his double-double total from last season.

693 — The last time Arizona lost at McKale Center was a 63-61 setback against Oregon during the pandemic-influenced season on Feb. 13, 2021 — 693 days before Saturday. Lloyd’s 26-game streak at McKale Center came to an end.

1 — For the first time in Washington State history, the Cougars beat a top-five opponent on the road.

He said it

“It feels like s***.” — Arizona guard Kerr Kriisa after the Wildcats’ loss to Washington State