Charles Barkley Gives Special Tribute to the Late Bill Walton on ‘Inside the NBA’

Charles Barkley and the rest of TNT’s Inside the NBA cast took a few minutes Tuesday to reflect on the late, great Bill Walton, who recently passed away at the age of 71.

“When I got that news yesterday, it hurt,” Barkley said. “You’re talking about [someone who was] great at basketball, great at life, great as a broadcaster. But just a great person. I’ve never seen someone who was more joyful to be around, who was always in a good mood.

“I explain it like this, Ernie. The world isn’t as good of a place as it was yesterday. The world was better for having Bill Walton in it.”

Barkley went on to say that one of his most prized possessions in life is a signed picture of himself, Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from a Final Four over a decade ago.

Shaquille O’Neal also saluted Walton, who he considers one of the four fathers of the Big Man Alliance along with Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.

Reggie Miller, who played at UCLA from 1983 to ’87, detailed how his relationship with Walton began around the Bruins.

Walton, the two-time national champion at UCLA and the 1977-78 NBA MVP, will be forever missed in the basketball world.