Bill Walton towered over his competitors as he took the stage at Capcom's Street Fighter V media exhibition tournament on Thursday afternoon. The 6-foot-11 top pick in the 1974 NBA draft played no differently than he did on the hardwood in the virtual world of Capcom's fighting game. He elbowed, taunted and laughed throughout his three-match series with Craig Skistimas, the co-founder and owner of the popular video gaming website Screwattack.
"I love pressure. Put me in, coach," Walton said before entering the matchup, having practiced the game an hour beforehand against all who came his way.
While the other combatants from the ESPN Esports branch were unable to take a single round, Walton on his trusty Ryu was able to push his opponent to a third set after winning the second match of the best-of-three series. Ultimately, Skistimas was able to pull out the victory, and Walton descended from the main stage as the massive crowd that gathered to watch him play took pictures of the new pro-gaming giant.
Bill Walton is a natural gamer. #E32016 pic.twitter.com/j0vOiTSmot
- Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) June 16, 2016
"My fireball just wasn't working," Walton said minutes after his defeat, shaking his head in a postgame interview alongside Skistimas. "This was much more difficult [than playing basketball]. I had no idea what I was doing out there.
"It was fantastic," continued Walton. "The intensity, the ferocity, the tenacity -- all the things I love in competition -- and we have a great champion here like Greg."
"Well, Bill was sneaky," said Skistimas of his wily rookie opponent. "He was a very sneaky competitor."
"I'm a dirty player," Walton interjected with a grin on his face.
"The elbows were flying, and I wasn't expecting that," Skistimas fired back. "But at the same time, I know how many rings and championships he has, and sometimes you gotta play a little dirty to get the W."
After Skistimas offered to help Walton train for the upcoming 4,000-player Street Fighter V tournament in Las Vegas at Evolution 2016, Walton congratulated his newfound rival and returned to the masses at E3. Everywhere he turned there was either an interesting booth to check out or an onlooking fan hoping to get a few seconds of his time to say hello and get a picture. Walton obliged happily, stopping for every person who asked him for an autograph and/or picture.
The day began with Walton getting his very own tie-dyed ESPN Esports T-shirt, and the former two-time NBA champion and league MVP didn't stop moving for the next few hours. He rebounded balls and chatted with fans at the NBA 2K interactive booth, hung out with the cosplayers of Tekken, and talked to Sirius XM about his growing level of interest in esports.
Still, the lifelong competitor he is, Walton was focused on the opponent he hoped to meet in a rematch. Jokingly, he said, "I just can't believe I lost to Craig from Dallas from Screwjob -- which is basically what it was."