YouTube Gold: A Deep Dive Into The Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain Rivalry
The foundational rivalry of the NBA.
The NBA is largely defined by rivalries and the two greatest rivalries are Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird and Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain.
Magic and Bird basically rescued the NBA in the 1980’s after it had fallen on some hard times, at least partly due to drug use in the 1970’s which destroyed many careers and teams. When Michael Jordan joined the Chicago Bulls for instance, he said he was shocked at the level of drug use among his teammates during his rookie year.
It was different for Chamberlain and Russell.
Prior to Russell’s entry into the league, the dominant big man had been George Mikan. He was a fine big man by the standard of his day (1946-1956) and much more skilled than earlier centers, but he was obsolete as soon as Russell entered the league in the fall of 1956.
When Chamberlain came along in 1959, one NBA revolution was complete: agile, athletic big men would henceforth always be in demand.
This video breaks down their rivalry. Essentially it comes down to this: Chamberlain was freakishly dominant. He set more records than anyone could believe, including averaging 50 points in one season and, amazingly, never fouling out of a game. He also averaged 22.2 rebounds for his career.
As for Russell, his teams always were defined by winning. Other than his second season, when he was injured, and 1966-67, when Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers were clearly superior to Russell’s Boston Celtics, Russell’s team always won.
And consider this: he never lost a seventh game.
He was the greatest winner in the history of team sports.
Still, although Chamberlain’s career was and will always be measure by Russell’s relentless winning, his statistical dominance is still hard to believe. Both men set standards that have never been equaled. It was a blessing that they both played at the same time.
Note - we got a link wrong in Saturday’s YouTube Gold. The first link about weird college arenas should have gone to this.