Bill Walton’s love for the Grateful Dead explained: How a basketball legend became “Celebrity Deadhead No. 1”

Bill Walton, who died Monday at the age of 71, will be remembered for many things.

Some will remember him as one of college basketball’s most dominant stars during his time at UCLA. Others will remember him for winning two NBA titles and being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 1978. Still others will remember him for his extensive career as a commentator after his playing career ended.

But there was another aspect of Walton’s life that everyone should know: He was a Deadhead. Everyone has a favorite band, but not everyone loves their favorite band as much as Walton loved the Grateful Dead.

The classic rock band has a loyal following in the rock world. For 30 years, they captured the hearts of many music lovers with their eclectic style and live performances. Even nearly three decades after the death of frontman Jerry Garcia, the band remains one of the music world’s most popular (and had just begun guest appearances at The Sphere in Las Vegas at the time of Walton’s death).

How did Walton become such a big Grateful Dead fan? Here’s everything you need to know.

MORE: Bill Walton’s funniest moments as a unique broadcaster

How did Bill Walton become a Grateful Dead fan?

Walton has long been a Grateful Dead fan. According to USA Today, he first saw the band perform live in 1967 when he was 15 years old. That same year, the band released its first full-length album, “The Grateful Dead.”

Since then, Walton has attended countless shows. He told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2015 that he had been to 854 Grateful Dead shows, although he didn’t start counting until he started playing at UCLA in 1970, meaning the number is likely higher. According to the report, he was dubbed “Celebrity Deadhead Number One” by Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann.

“Over 854 shows in 48 years,” Walton told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “That’s less than 20 shows a year, so nothing.”

His wife, Lori Walton, said if she wasn’t a music fan, it would be difficult to be married to Walton, “because our lives revolve so much around the Dead.” She recalled to the San Diego Union-Tribune that the two first met at a Grateful Dead concert, although their versions of events differ.

“This is my version: ‘We met backstage at a Dead concert,'” said Lori Walton. “Bill’s version is: ‘We met in church.’ But I think that’s because he thinks of Dead concerts as church! My mother read once that we met in church. She called me and said she was so happy that I met Bill in church. I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth.”

MORE: Looking back at Larry Bird’s career from Celtics legend to Pacers manager

Walton’s fan base quickly became legendary. Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart recalled to USA Today how he wondered at a concert why everyone was sitting and only one person was standing. Lawrence “Ramrod” Shurtliff, a Grateful Dead crew member and manager, told Hart that everyone was standing. The towering presence was the 6-11 Walton.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the story goes that a crew member thought Walton was standing in his seat, and when they found out that wasn’t the case, he was given a backstage pass so he wouldn’t block the view of others. Walton recalled being asked to come to the front, but he remembered being turned away until intermission.

“I got to know everyone in the band and things were never the same again,” Walton told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “They became our best friends and a part of our lives. My life has been incredibly enriched by my friendship and relationship with the Dead.”

Walton made an effort to spread his love of the band to his teammates, putting stickers around the Celtics’ practice facility at Hellenic College, according to USA Today. His teammate Danny Ainge wasn’t convinced no matter how hard Walton tried, which also meant giving Ainge a tape to listen to.

Rick Carlisle, a teammate of Walton’s on the Celtics, told USA Today he had been to 25 to 30 Grateful Dead concerts, but he called it “a completely different experience going with Bill Walton.”

MORE: Remembering Bill Russell, basketball’s greatest mentor ever

“Over the next few years, I went to a lot of shows with Bill and got to know the guys in the band and some of their stage crew,” Carlisle said.

Larry Bird was also a successful convert for Walton, who later reportedly called Jerry Garcia “the Michael Jordan of musicians.”

The band members became close friends with Walton over the years. Grateful Dead historian Dennis McNally, the group’s former press secretary, said the band often stayed at Walton’s San Diego home instead of staying in a hotel.

“The members of the Dead did have friends in other cities,” McNally told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “But generally they stayed in a hotel when they were on tour. Because the problem is, ‘How much privacy do you have when you’re staying with friends?’ They were able to have that privacy with Bill. Staying with him is very peaceful.”

MORE: Looking back at Pacers coach Rick Carlisle’s NBA career

Over the years, Walton’s house became increasingly filled with Grateful Dead memorabilia. There are instruments given to him by band members. There are framed pictures and posters. The furniture featured the iconic logo. In the shower, the logo is depicted on red and white tiles.

Even in a fan base as large as the Grateful Dead’s, Walton stands out among celebrity fans. Fans have widely recognized him as the band’s most well-known Deadhead. He hosted shows on SiriusXM discussing the band and hosted the pay-per-view broadcast of the band’s farewell tour.

Many will remember Walton as a fixture in the basketball world for years to come. For Walton, that was just part of his story.

“The Celtics and the Grateful Dead represent so much of everything I believe in, what I live for and what I try to do with my life,” Walton told USA Today. “Because of the culture that Red (Auerbach) had built, the Celtics were a family organization. The Grateful Dead are family as well. They both have the ability to inspire, encourage and allow you to be yourself and become something that is bigger and better and more important than you as an individual.”