"I would have…punched Rasheed Wallace in the nose" - Bill Walton's reaction to Wallace throwing a towel at Arvydas Sabonis

One of the biggest what-ifs of the Portland Trail Blazers ' "Jail Blazers" era was the almost-lethal fight between Arvydas Sabonis and Rasheed Wallace. It started when the audacious forward threw a towel at his former teammate's face and, fortunately, ended with Sabonis resisting every urge to lock horns with him.

Blazers icon Bill Walton saw the incident firsthand while working on the broadcast during the team's matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers. Sometime after that fateful evening, he expressed remorse for not standing up for Sabas by being the one to punch Wallace .

"It was one of the lowest moments of my life," Walton said . "If I was any kind of a man, I would have got up from that broadcast table and walked across the court and punched Rasheed Wallace in the nose. But I let Sabonis and the game of basketball and the human race down that day."

Walton and Sabonis

The late "Big Red" had a long history with Sabonis. He first saw the Lithuanian legend in the 1980s, having been left in deep awe and comparing the former European standout to the likes of Larry Bird, Pete Maravich, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Walton may also have played a key role in helping the Lithuanian men's national basketball team participate in the 1992 Olympics. With its basketball federation lacking funds, the two-time NBA champ reportedly facilitated the organization's connection to the rock band Grateful Dead, which helped sponsor the squad. That allowed Sabonis to win an Olympic bronze medal.

The pair's friendship seemingly continued to blossom over the years. Perhaps their similar experiences of playing in Portland and dealing with injuries that cut their respective careers shorter than hoped for gave them plenty of topics to talk about.

In 2011, Sabas was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the University of California, Los Angeles alum presented him on stage.

Related: Oscar Schmidt shares how beating Team USA after a miraculous 35-point second-half performance was ‘the best part of his life’

Walton and Wallace

It's easy to see why Bill wanted to avenge his buddy and clock Sheed in the nose. For his part, Wallace has said that he actually wanted to throw hands instead of a towel but opted not to because they were teammates.

Things would have probably been different had Walton pushed through with his intent to walk towards the Blazers bench and confront Wallace. The two are known for having an antagonistic relationship, stemming from the late commentator's harsh criticisms of Sheed and the Jail Blazers.

While Sheed should probably be thankful that he didn't get into a physical altercation with Sabonis, he probably could have taken on Walton, who was around 50 years old at the time of the infamous towel incident.

Related: “Ain’t no brokering the peace with that MF” - Rasheed Wallace doubles down on his hatred for Bill Walton