In the 1960s, basketball was ruled by two players, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. They are two of the greatest centers ever to play the game.
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Both men were a class apart from the rest, which fuelled their rivalry. One that became especially heated after Wilt joined the LA Lakers.
Seeing as Russell was on the Celtics, many dubbed the rivalry a blood-thirsty one. Although, Jerry West claims the two were quite friendly with one another.
Jerry West claims that Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell used to dine together in the middle of their heated rivalry
In the 1960s, only one rivalry topped that of the Lakers and the Celtics. The rivalry between Wilt the Stilt and Bill Russell was intense. To the point where many thought the two hated each other.
However, if Chamberlain’s former teammate Jerry West is to be believed, it was quite the opposite. Wilt and Russel were such good friends that they used to dine together regularly.
“One of the things most shocking in my time, because players didn’t interact off the court with each other, was that Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell…they used to have dinner together a lot. And if you look, they would say disparaging things about Wilt and talk about how great Russell is and thought they didn’t like each other. But they were one of the first two to ever do that.”
Chamberlain and Russell had an interesting relationship, to say the least. They were rivals on the court, but great friends off of it.
Bill Russell would stay and eat dinner at Wilt’s house on Thanksgiving
If fans need another example of the friendship between Wilt and Russell, all they have to do is listen to the former. In an interview alongside the 11-time champion, Chamberlain revealed that Russell would stay and eat at his house during Thanksgiving
There certainly was an interesting dynamic between the two. But, that is what you call friendship.
