This article is a translation of The Ringer reporter Jackie MacMullan and does not represent the views of translators and platforms.
Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell are the first generation of superstars in the NBA league, and they have had close friendships, but due to the competition on the court, there has also been a huge friction between the two, and eventually two shots and two breaks.
The NBA leagues of the early years were not as attractive as they are now, and the games of that time were not as attractive as they are today, without the support of funds, let alone the fame.
Look at NBA games now, where Drake (Drake, rapper, Raptors fan), Spike Lee (Spike Lee, Filmmaker, Knicks fan), Jay-Z (rapper, NBA iron fan, once the Nets' little boss), and Jack Nicholson (Jack Nicholson, filmmaker, Lakers fan) are often on the sidelines.
But in the 1960s, no celebrity would sit on the sidelines and not want to be seen on the broadcast. Even then, most of the games were not televised.
Bob Cush (Celtics star, 6 championships, 1 regular season MVP) told me, "We were the least known of all the sports in the NBA at the time, and a lot of things were lagging behind. In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first black athlete in baseball history, which was an international headline at the time. And it wasn't until three years later, when the Celtics' admirable boss Walter Brown said at a league meeting, 'The Celtics are going to pick Chuck Cooper from Diuken University this year.' As far as I know, the owner of another team at the time stood up and said, 'Seriously?' Don't you know he's black? Had to give my boss a thumbs up because he said at the time: 'I really don't mind if he's black or not.' Importantly, the head coach I just hired, Arnold Auerbach, told me that if the guy could help us win, I would choose Chuck Cooper. Chuck Cooper was the Celtics' first black player and the first NBA black player to be drafted in the draft.) Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. ）
"The point of this story is that to this day I have not read the full coverage of this matter." Bob Cush said, "And even more regrettably, no one cares at all, right?" We are insignificant, and even people can care about what color we are! ”
Bob Cush stressed to me that he wasn't telling me about racial discrimination, but that the league wasn't doing well enough compared to other sporting events.
Due to the overall status of the league, the salaries of the players are very low. Even most of the top players have had to find other jobs in the offseason. Bob Cush started a driving school and a basketball summer camp; Hall of Fame forward Thatch Sanders worked in a sporting goods store and later at a real estate company; Andrney Wilkens also did marketing. Rick Barry, who won the All-Star Game MVP in 1967 (Note: Rick Barry has a lot of honors, and the original text only mentions this one.) He once told me, "To make more money, I sold season tickets for the Warriors. ”
Of course, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell don't need to work part-time to make money. They were the signature of the league at the time, and if it was a game where they played with their respective teams, it would be a hard ticket to get. At the time, the Celtics averaged 7,455 spectators at home, and whenever Chamberlain came to play away, you'd be surprised to see that there were more than 14,000 people on that stadium who actually paid for tickets.
Bill Russell also really cared about the competition with Chamberlain, not only on the pitch, but also in the competition for status and reputation off the field. When Chamberlain had just signed a $100,000 contract— a huge sum of money in 1965 — Russell walked into the Celtic boss's office with his championship rings, threw them on the table, and demanded a $100,000 contract.
The two Ancient Gods have something in common — or, more precisely, responsibility: they're both black players, tall and doomed to fit into the lives of ordinary people; they have to drag the struggling league forward together, while also considering how to snatch the championship trophy from each other. Of course, they are racing as hard as they can, and they are also competing for who is the best person in the sport.
Despite the tension between them, Chamberlain and Russell managed to maintain a very good personal relationship.
Whenever the Celtics challenged the Philadelphia Warriors on Thanksgiving (note: the Warriors moved to San Francisco in 1962), Russell would come to Philadelphia an evening early and stay at Chamberlain's house. Russell later said he had done so for six years in a row.
In 1997, Chamberlain told ESPN host Bob Costas, "On Thanksgiving, the Russell guy would come to my house, eat mine, live with me, and then 'whip my butt' the next day's game. Later, my mother said, child, next time don't give him food so good. ”
In fact, many later suspected that Russell used art of War tactics against Chamberlain, giving him the wrong sense of accomplishment on the field.
Kobe Bryant interviewed him in his final season, and Bryant shared with me a phone call he had with Bill Russell in 2000. Russell told Bryant that when the outcome of the game is uncertain, he will definitely take a serious look at Chamberlain; and when the victory is in hand, he will relax the defense to let Chamberlain score high points, so that even if he loses the game, Chamberlain will be satisfied with his stats. Bryant said to me: "Russell thinks that if he keeps Oxlade-Chamberlain too tight, Chamberlain will take it as a challenge and 'destroy' Russell because Chamberlain is so tall and strong." ”
Russell can accept Chamberlain being named to the NBA's Best Team seven times, while he's only been selected three times. In Russell's view, the important thing is not that Chamberlain has won seven scoring awards and he has not once. The most important thing for him is the championship, and in this comparison, Russell has an overwhelming 11-2 advantage. Chamberlain has never experienced the sense of accomplishment of beating Russell and Celtic in the Finals.
It could have happened in 1969. Chamberlain was with the Los Angeles Lakers, and among his teammates was the famous Jerry West. Everyone was bullish on the Lakers at the time, but Chamberlain injured his knee in Game 7 of the Finals and limped back to the bench. Although he made a request to Lakers head coach At the end of the game to return to the court, he could only sit on the bench until the end of the game. Once again, the Celtics lifted the championship trophy.
Russell, like everyone else, has questioned the seriousness of Chamberlain's injuries. Russell even thought Chamberlain's absence had cast a shadow over his victory, and he was furious about it. After all, it was the last game of Russell's brilliant career. Later that year, in a speech at the University of Wisconsin, Russell claimed that Chamberlain had given up the game, and in his speech there was a sentence that "unless it is an injury such as a broken leg or a fractured back, no one should give up the game." ”
The injured Chamberlain had nearly two decades of stopping talking to Russell. Russell wrote in his autobiography Second Wind: "The conflict with Chamberlain is like a typo at the end of a precious book. My anger toward him that night caused us a great deal of resentment. ”
By Jackie MacMullan
Compiler: Former lord of the city