Bill Walton Is Having the Summer of His Life Touring with the Grateful Dead

It brings me no small amount of pleasure to inform you ESPN sportscaster/human puff of hookah smoke Bill Walton is having himself a summer to remember.

Last time we checked in on Walton, he was regaling Redditors with tales of Grateful Dead concerts past, one of which culminated in a low-altitude flight over an active volcano and the scrambling of fighter jets.

Jay Blakesberg/Associated Press

This kind of thing was par for the course for Walton's early concert experiences, and the devoted Deadhead is coming along for one last hurrah as the band embarks on its 50th anniversary farewell tour.

He hasn't piloted anything through restricted airspace yet but is definitely having more fun than anyone has a right to:

Walton dancing? Walton dancing.

That point, though.

He's also vibing with Phish frontman Trey Anastasio, who joined the Grateful Dead on tour in place of the late Jerry Garcia.

Walton's shot-blocking talents remain top-shelf:

This guy? This guy.

If you see Bill Walton at a Grateful Dead concert, give him a hug. It will resonate in the chambers of his love crystal forever and immediately birth forth a rainbow.

You may have noted this in the above tweets, but Walton has been to—wait for it—856 Grateful Dead concerts in his life. That number will sit at 859 when the tour ends in Chicago on July 5.

Be free, Bill. See you at Soldier Field.

Dan is on Twitter. Live every day like Bill Walton in the pit.