There was a Finals game back when the Nets were good and Tood Maccullough made a nice move to score on Shaq. Walton proclaims, “Todd Maccullough, the real T-Mac.”

During that same Finals, some center made a hook shot, I don’t remember who—It was probably Shaq, but with Walton it could’ve been Jason Collins—and Walton goes, “The grace, the footwork, the skill level, the shades of the all-time legends. Jabbarrrrrrrrrr! Jabbarrrrrrrr!

I was 14 years old and I’d just hear him and think, this guy is so ridiculous and I wouldn’t be able to stop laughing. And the hyperbole was what made him so entertaining.

Plus he was teamed up with Snapper Jones who had the perfect personality to respond to him. Maybe I’m just being overly sentimental, but they made broadcasting basketball an art form.

The only guy who’s reached that level since Bill and Snapper is Jeff Van Gundy, who’s brilliantly astute when calling a game, yet will still make fun of Matt Carroll for wearing a doofy-looking headband like he did last Friday. Carroll missed a garbage time jumper and JFG confidently states that the reason for the miss was karma. If Carroll didn’t look so ridiculous the shot would’ve went in.

I still remember this one play where Derek Anderson tried to make a one on one move and dribbled it off his leg and lost the ball and Walton said, “and Derek Anderson just had the worst offensive possession of his entire career”