If there was ever an assembly of big men, it couldn’t have been better than when Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Walton were invited for a Reebok commercial in 1992. And who was the star of the ad? Shaquille O’Neal, of course!
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At the set of Reebok’s Shaq Attaq in 1992, we could see the best big men to have ever played the court. And naturally, they would talk trash. Two generational rivals in the form of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.
Add Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton to that mix. We are pretty sure Shaq was more than overwhelmed. Even legendary coach John Wooden might have been a little awestruck by that mix.
Reebok pulled out all the stops for Shaquille O’Neal: NBA legends gathered for a fun time
When you have centers who dominated the game get together, they will talk basketball and they will talk trash. No doubt. Just watch the clip below. You can see Wilt talking constantly and Bill is just happy.
Hall of Famers Bill Walton, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and John Wooden chatting & laughing together on the set of one of Shaq’s first Reebok commercials in 1992.
📼 Shaq Attaq: In Your Face https://t.co/sd1Gw1Lctx pic.twitter.com/kIbP2pkW8R
— NBA Cobwebs (@NBACobwebs) February 1, 2023
The stories are mostly about Bill and how he used to intimidate opponents. His demise is still fresh in our memory and as her daughter Karen Thee Russell tweeted out, we are remembering Bill in the right way.
Dad sure loved to talk trash https://t.co/vhqXvSO4HJ
— Karen Thee Russell (@Karen_Russell) February 6, 2023
Bill Russell’s wholesome gesture during Shaq’s commercial
Bill Russell’s big heart was on full display during this commercial shoot. While the day might have been about the NBA’s next dominant big man, the real story belonged to Bill Russell.
His clothing brand was starting off and to extend a gesture of goodwill, he asked a person conducting the shoot about his dog’s name and breed. For what you ask?
Bill wanted to give Joanne Borzakian a sweater with the dog’s name and a picture. A wholesome gesture that we are sure will be reminiscent of the man Russell was.
When we made the Shaq Russell Wooden Jabbar Chamberlain Walton ad, Bill Russell told us about his clothing business & asked for my dog’s name & breed. He said he’d send something to thank me for my work. He did & 30 yrs later I still wear & treasure it! #Boston #Celtics 💚☘️ pic.twitter.com/U2gBOXV3Gv
— Joanne Borzakian O (@joanneborzakian) February 1, 2023
As for Shaq? Well, you can look at the countless stories we run on him every single day.
