Dead & Company paid tribute to longtime Grateful Dead fan Bill Walton with dozens of massive roses during the band’s first show since the NBA legend’s death earlier this week.
The NBA Hall of Fame center, who died Monday following his battle with cancer, said he learned “how to become a champion” due to the Grateful Dead and wrote in his 2016 memoir that he attended more than 850 of the band’s concerts.
Dead & Company — a spin-off band which features members of the Grateful Dead — showed love to the late 6-foot-11 Deadhead with a performance of “Fire on the Mountain” during the band’s residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Thursday.
The venue’s 160,000-square foot screen flashed photos of the NBA icon supporting the Dead as well as Dead & Company at a number of shows and events over the years.
A sea of roses fell among the pictures before a “WALTON 32” tie dye-style graphic appeared on the screen in a nod to the NBA legend’s jersey number.
The Las Vegas crowd roared with applause as the band ended the performance as the graphic remained on the screen.
Mickey Hart, a percussionist for Dead & Company and a drummer for the Grateful Dead, saluted Walton on social media ahead of the concert.
“Tonight we pulse, we vibrate, we dance, for Bill. The BIGGEST deadhead in the world!,” he wrote.
Dead & Company, in a social media post following Walton’s death, wrote that the band loves him “more than words can tell.”
“Bill was an irreplaceable force and spirit in our family. Father Time, Rhythm Devil, biggest deadhead ever. Over 1000 shows and couldn’t get enough. He loved this band and we loved him,” wrote Dead & Company on X.
Pearl Jam also paid tribute to Walton with a performance of “Man of the Hour” during the band’s Seattle show on Tuesday.
Lead singer Eddie Vedder, in remarks at the concert, said Walton was a “big man with a huge heart” who cut a wide path of “peace and love behind him.”
