Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell beefed in retirement

SB Nation

For most of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain’s illustrious, decorated careers, they were in direct competition with each other. They faced off in the playoffs 8 times in 10 years. And they got along well those 10 years. For this is a story of reverse beef– direct competition equaled friendship.  Their playing days no longer overlapping, the end of direct competition, equaled... beef.  Enjoy.  Written and produced by: Clara Morris Directed and edited by: Charlotte Atkinson Motion Graphics by: Phil Pasternak  Subscribe: http://goo.gl/Nbabae  Enter the Secret Base: http://www.sbnation.com/secret-base  Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/secretbase  Follow us on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/secretbasesbn  Follow us on Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@secretbasesbn?  Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/9pMHRV  Visit our playlists: http://goo.gl/NvpZFF  Explore SB Nation: http://www.sbnation.com

Transcript

00:00 For most of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain's illustrious, decorated careers,

00:04 they were in direct competition with each other.

00:07 They faced off in the playoffs eight times in ten years.

00:11 And they got along well those ten years.

00:14 For this is a story of reverse beef.

00:17 Direct competition equaled friendship.

00:19 Their playing days no longer overlapping,

00:21 the end of direct competition,

00:23 that equaled beef.

00:26 [music]

00:28 Bill Russell joined the league in 1956.

00:31 His specialty was defense and rebounding,

00:34 and he left the scoring to his teammates.

00:36 It was an extremely successful strategy.

00:39 Within his first three seasons, he won an MVP award,

00:42 two rebounding titles, and two championships.

00:46 Probably would have been three championships

00:48 if he hadn't destroyed his ankle during the finals his sophomore season.

00:52 The guy was king of the league,

00:54 but at the end of his third year, his reign was predicted to be over.

00:59 And I mean the exact end of his third year.

01:01 As Russell was waiting for a flight home after winning the 1959 NBA championship,

01:06 he had to field questions about a young hotshot center who was set to replace him.

01:11 Wilt Chamberlain had been famous since high school,

01:14 where his teams took title after title,

01:16 and he once scored 90 points in a game.

01:19 The center's reputation preceded him.

01:21 Here's a sampling of comments from before Wilt ever played a professional game.

01:25 "Chamberlain's better than Russell could even hope to be."

01:29 This one's from Russell's own all-star teammate, Bob Cousy.

01:33 "Russell and Chamberlain haven't even played each other yet."

01:37 So, here we have our first opportunity for beef.

01:40 "Russell, ya pissed?"

01:42 "The press said so."

01:43 "Russell's working on his shooting over the summer because he won't be outdone."

01:47 "But uh, these quotation marks are just decoration."

01:51 "Russell didn't say war."

01:53 "He said, 'You can bet I'll be working this summer.'"

01:56 "That's not beef. That's the most casual comment I've ever seen."

02:01 So, Beef Opportunity 1 rejected.

02:03 Once they actually played each other,

02:06 Wilt didn't end up eclipsing Russell.

02:08 He was very, very good his rookie year,

02:10 but Russell didn't have a bad 1960 either.

02:14 So, who was superior?

02:16 That was debated widely.

02:17 Beef Opportunity 2?

02:19 "You guys wanna pitch yourselves or denigrate the other guy?"

02:23 Nope.

02:23 They only had the nicest stuff to say about each other.

02:28 Turns out, all this...

02:30 was the start of a beautiful friendship.

02:33 These guys were used to dominating with ease.

02:36 It was fun to play hard and be challenged.

02:39 The competition with each other united them.

02:42 And apparently, loving competition is the basis for the strongest friendship imaginable.

02:47 Because these two had so many more legitimate beef opportunities that they totally bypassed.

02:54 Let's take a step back and look at their careers on the whole.

02:57 Chamberlain went on to dominate Russell in individual statistics, as you can see here.

03:03 Okay, well, Russell was never gonna be a scoring champion, he was all about defense.

03:07 The All-Star comparison doesn't look that substantial,

03:10 but All-Star games were East vs. West,

03:12 Chamberlain played in Philly for six and a half years,

03:15 thus our pal centers were often on the same All-Star team.

03:18 And there's only one starting center per team.

03:22 Usually Wilt.

03:24 Russell admitted that stung.

03:26 But he kept those feelings to himself until after his playing days.

03:31 Russell held this record before Chamberlain with 51 rebounds per game.

03:35 And Chamberlain actually set this record while playing against Russell and the Celtics.

03:40 But the Celtics won that game.

03:44 So this one didn't sting.

03:46 And Russell's quote here brings us to this row of the chart.

03:52 Bill Russell, 11 championships.

03:55 Wilt Chamberlain, 2.

03:57 Wilt has the stats, but Russell has the rings.

04:00 And if we zoom-enhance that row, we see that in the 10 years their careers overlapped,

04:05 they met in either the Conference Finals or the NBA Finals eight times.

04:09 Seven out of those eight times, Bill's team beat Wilt's teams.

04:13 It's in this one-sided playoff record that we get the bulk of our beef opportunities.

04:18 There's the year Russell not only beat Chamberlain in the Eastern Division Finals,

04:22 but got league MVP despite the fact that Chamberlain averaged 50 points per game.

04:28 That seems frustrating, eh, Wilt?

04:30 Feeling a little resentful, maybe?

04:34 Nope.

04:35 In fact, this is what Chamberlain said after Russell ended his season.

04:38 "There's nobody like him.

04:39 Boston should win the finals with a man like Russell around."

04:43 The public, the press, and the league asked to speak with the restaurant manager.

04:46 They'd been waiting too long for their beef.

04:49 So, fine, whatever, they'll make their own.

04:52 The year Chamberlain didn't make the playoffs, he got roasted alive in the press.

04:56 He's selfish.

04:57 He doesn't try hard enough.

04:58 He's a crybaby for claiming Russell has better coaches and teammates than him.

05:03 Meanwhile, Russell enjoyed headlines like...

05:06 Russell the Great!

05:08 Bill Russell is the Emperor of Basketball!

05:10 Hail Russell!

05:11 A narrative was forming.

05:13 Bill was the good guy.

05:15 Wilt was the bad guy.

05:17 The loser.

05:18 And the waiter left the kitchen with two plates heaped high with beef.

05:22 But before he arrived at Wilt and Bill's table, Chamberlain gave a subtle shake of his head.

05:27 Nah.

05:28 The waiter turned on his heels.

05:30 Chamberlain wasn't resentful toward Russell because of the roles the press thrust upon them.

05:35 In fact, during all this time, Chamberlain was having Russell come to his house for Thanksgiving dinner.

05:41 With Chamberlain's mom and extended family and stuff.

05:44 That's the highest level of friendship.

05:46 It's friends becoming family.

05:48 And it was a reciprocal relationship.

05:50 Russell didn't just sit back and enjoy the turkey and the hero role.

05:54 He spoke out against his friend's "loser" label.

05:57 That was a stand-up move, especially because Chamberlain had confided in Russell.

06:02 The "loser" label hurt.

06:04 But okay, how about the 1966 Eastern Division Finals, Game 2, a fight?

06:10 The Pals nearly come to blows here.

06:13 Was that a little shove?

06:15 The chef tossed the beef on the grill, but then the waiter ran in.

06:18 That's not what they ordered.

06:20 Bill and Wilt ordered friendship pie.

06:22 They wouldn't discuss the argument with the press and held no grudges.

06:26 It happened on the court, it did not come off the court.

06:29 The incident and lack of aftermath was emblematic of the guys' relationship.

06:32 Enemies on the court, all good off the court.

06:36 Remember, it's the intense competition that bonded them.

06:39 They liked being challenged.

06:40 If they weren't nearly coming to blows while playing, it would be a sign something was off.

06:45 But now it's time to find out what could break their bond.

06:49 1969, NBA Finals, Game 7, 5 minutes and 19 seconds left.

06:55 Russell Celtics up 7 points on Chamberlain's Lakers.

06:58 Chamberlain hurts his knee and comes out of the game.

07:01 And he looks pretty hurt and pretty upset.

07:04 Minutes later, the Lakers are down only 1, and Wilt is begging to come back in.

07:09 Maybe the initial shock and pain of his knee injury had receded.

07:13 Seems reasonable to want back in.

07:15 But that was a sentiment Chamberlain's many, many critics did not consider.

07:21 What they did consider was when the Lakers looked like they were gonna lose,

07:25 Wilt was too hurt to play.

07:27 And then minutes later, when it looked like they could win, he was apparently fine.

07:32 And one of those critics statting his injury and integrity?

07:36 Chamberlain's close personal friend, Bill Russell.

07:39 Ladies and gentlemen, the beef is finally served.

07:42 Russell was so pissed at Chamberlain for leaving the game,

07:46 because now his title was tainted.

07:48 He had to endure people who believed the Lakers would have won if Chamberlain wasn't hurt.

07:53 He had to endure press clippings that literally said he did not beat Chamberlain for this title.

07:58 You might be thinking, "So what? Who cares what people say?

08:01 Why can't Russell just be happy with his ring?"

08:03 Well, Game 7, 1969, was the last NBA game Bill would ever play.

08:08 He hadn't told anyone beforehand, but he had decided to retire.

08:12 So, thanks to Wilt leaving the floor, Russell's career ended not with a big bang,

08:17 but with a tiny little star.

08:20 Now, if you believe Chamberlain was really injured, how could you be mad at him?

08:24 It's not a guy's fault he gets hurt.

08:25 But Russell did not believe Wilt was injured.

08:28 At least not enough to come out of the game.

08:30 We didn't see bone. His spine was still functioning.

08:34 Stay and compete! Fight me!

08:35 That's what our friendship relies on.

08:37 And if that competition is gone, well, buddy, get ready to see another side of Bill Russell.

08:44 Not only did Russell cast doubt on the severity of Chamberlain's injury,

08:47 but he joined the "Wilt is a loser" bandwagon.

08:51 He became the most credible source,

08:53 validating the narrative the press had pushed for years,

08:55 the narrative his friend told him was hurtful,

08:58 the narrative he himself didn't buy in his playing days.

09:01 "Hey, recently retired Russell,

09:03 why does Chamberlain have fewer championships than you?"

09:06 He's selfish.

09:07 Does Chamberlain deserve the loser label?

09:09 Yes and no.

09:11 "Oh, hey, that doesn't sound too bad."

09:14 So Bill said yes, he deserves it because he is a loser and a braggart.

09:19 Okay, well, the yes part was always going to be harsh.

09:22 How about that no, he doesn't deserve it part?

09:25 Recently retired Russell said Chamberlain didn't deserve his bad rap because

09:30 "people see his potential as greater than it is.

09:33 They don't take human frailties into consideration."

09:36 In other words, everyone overestimated a frail man.

09:40 That's mean.

09:43 These quotes came out a few weeks after the finals.

09:45 In his autobiography published 22 years later,

09:48 Wilt admitted he was furious,

09:50 but in 1969 he simply didn't respond to the betrayal.

09:53 And then he and Russell did not speak to each other for the next 24 years.

09:59 They spoke about each other during those two and a half decades

10:03 because people asked them about each other.

10:06 And also maybe because a certain someone was still angry.

10:11 A decade after Wilt left the floor,

10:13 Bill Russell wrote a book in which he continued to cast doubt on Chamberlain's Game 7 injury.

10:18 And continued to lend credibility to the "Wilt is a stat-obsessed loser" narrative.

10:23 Russell did write that his anger toward Chamberlain was selfish,

10:27 but even recognizing that, he didn't hold back.

10:30 Meanwhile, the only retaliation from Chamberlain that I could find in the decades of silent

10:36 treatment was extremely passive and weighted with hurt.

10:40 He defended his legacy, saying Russell always had better teams and coaches than him.

10:44 In his 1973 autobiography, Chamberlain said he grew more in defeat than Russell did in victory.

10:52 But Chamberlain's 7'2", does growing more really make up for rings in reputation?

10:57 And I know he's not talking about height.

10:59 My point is, the solace of quietly being a better man doesn't seem like much solace.

11:05 In a 1987 TV interview, Chamberlain awkwardly avoided admitting Russell's

11:10 the best player he ever played against.

11:12 Would it automatically be Bill Russell or maybe a surprise?

11:15 No, not at all. I think Bill Russell did a great deal for his team.

11:19 There's a lot of great, great players out there. Willis Reed, Nate Thurman, Oscar Robertson.

11:25 Protesting too much, you know?

11:26 He also suggested that Russell wasn't happy in retirement.

11:31 But today, I'm not so sure that he is a very happy man.

11:35 Perhaps alluding to Russell's not super successful stint as a broadcaster.

11:40 Or his also minimally successful attempts at coaching.

11:45 And sure, maybe Russell's not as happy as when he was celebrating a championship on the court.

11:50 But none of Chamberlain's comments seem like an equitable comeback for the vile Russell spat at him.

11:56 I guess that's where the 24 years of not speaking comes into play.

12:00 Chamberlain doesn't get petty or vengeful. He just drops his old friend completely.

12:04 Now, on one hand, it's odd that the beef lasted so long because Russell has said...

12:10 And while both men say there was an apology, the details are a bit murky.

12:25 But then he apologized a few years later on, but never to me, but through the press or what have you.

12:30 Then in his 1991 autobiography, Chamberlain specifically asks his former friend

12:35 why it's so hard to apologize to him directly.

12:38 Both of their various books shed light on why this beef had no expiration date.

12:43 Russell said, essentially, competitive people are stubborn.

12:46 Chamberlain admitted there might be some deep down,

12:49 never expressed resentment toward Russell for the good guy, bad guy roles.

12:54 With no reconciliation in sight, Reebok came to the rescue. Kind of.

12:59 In 1993, Reebok cast this collection of legendary centers in a commercial for rookie Shaquille O'Neal's new shoe.

13:06 And as you can see, this ad featured Chamberlain and Russell standing next to each other.

13:12 And Wilt said, "Fuck it. Let's have fun and be friends again."

13:16 Look at how hard they're laughing in this behind-the-scenes footage.

13:20 You cannot tell these guys hadn't spoken in over two decades.

13:24 Wilt would rather just have fun with his old friend than get revenge or justice for some shitty quotes.

13:30 And just like that, the beef evaporated.

13:32 They did interviews together and talked on the phone all the time.

13:37 All this was no match for the bond formed when the best compete with the best.

13:45 In this story, friendship wins.

13:48 Enjoy the rest of your day.

13:50 [MUSIC]

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