NBA has seen some iconic players rivalries; Magic Johnson-Larry Bird, Michael Jordan-Isiah Thomas, and Kevin Durant-LeBron James to name a few. However, one of the greatest sports rivalries happened in the 1960s, which not many NBA fans remember. The rivalry between Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell is counted among the greatest rivalries in the sport’s history. Despite being rivals, in a recent interview, that resurfaced on the internet, Chamberlain chose the 11-time NBA champion over himself as the greatest center. This humble nature of Chamberlain might come as a surprise to many, as he is one of those players who don’t often put other stars above him.
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When it came to being cordial and nice to people, the 4x NBA MVP was very selective. Chamberlain wasn’t nice to everyone and on every day. A clear example of this is when he pulled an all-nighter 100 points against the New York Knicks some of the Knicks players offered and actually dropped Chamberlain home. After they dropped him, he said, “You guys are nice sons of b**ches, letting me score 100 points and then giving me a ride back. Here’s gas money,” said Wilt to the Knicks players.
Wilt Chamberlain explained why Bill Russell was better than him
Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell had immense respect for each other’s game and always paid due respect despite being arc-rivals on the court. While Chamberlain achieved feats as an individual player, Russell achieved more in his career in terms of winning championships. And that’s what made the Celtics legend special in the eyes of Chamberlain.
According to Chamberlain, despite having the ability to score, Russell sacrificed for his teammates. Moreover, he also credited the Celtics great as being a better overall player. This is what Wilt said in the interview;
“I picked him number one center of all time because he was a complete basketball player. I’m picking him over me, because he also helped his team to win, more than I could help my team to win… sometimes the less is better, so that’s our view. I am talking about the fact that the man could score but averaged 17 points a game, which is only about seven points less than Kareem Abdul Jabbar. He was the supreme rebounder, he got the ball for his team, he is high in assists, and we all know how he played defense.”
Kareem Abdul Jabbar scored 24.6 points per game in his career whereas Russell ended his career with 16.2 points per game.
Bill Libby who wrote Chamberlain’s biography said that the former NBA champion would only pass the ball to a player who had the hot hand in the game. ‘The Big Dipper’ might have Russell above him, but is also arguably one of the greatest centers to play in the NBA.
John Havlicek believed Wilt cheated his teammates
Another legend of the game, John Havilcek, who won a total of eight championships for the Celtics, alongside Bill Russell once criticized Wilt to be selfish. In his self-titled memoir, ‘Hondo’, the former Celtics great wrote in detail how Chamberlain cost his team several games. According to Havilcek, Wilt was always weary of being fouled out of the game. His greed to remain in the game heavily affected his game at the defensive end.
“Wilt’s greatest idiosyncrasy was not fouling out. He had never fouled out of a high school, college, or professional game and that was one record he was determined to protect. When he got that fourth foul, his game would change. I don’t know how many potential victories he may have cheated his team out of by not really playing after he got into foul trouble.”
John saw Bill play on a nightly basis and witnessed how the leader would sacrifice his scoring. Moreover, where Wilt was focused on scoring, Russell would wait for the offense to come, he could block, and generate fast break points. Bill’s game plan won him 11 as compared to Wilt’s two.
