Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell's beef turned a beautiful friendship into 24 years of silence

For most of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain's illustrious and decorated careers they were in direct competition with each other, they met in the playoffs eight times in 10

years

and they got along well for those 10

years

because this is a reverse

beef

story . Direct competition equals

friendship

. his playing days no longer overlap the end of direct competition that equalized meat Bill Russell joined the league in 1956 his specialty was defense and rebounding and he left the scoring to his teammates it was an extremely successful strategy within of his first three seasons he won an MVP Award two rebounding titles and two championships probably would have been three championships if he hadn't destroyed his ankle during the finals of his second season, the boy was the King of the league, but at the end of his third year his reign was predicted to be over and I mean at the exact end of his junior year, as Russell was waiting for a flight home after winning the 1959 NBA championship, he had to answer questions about a young standout center who was ready to replace it.

Will Chamberlain had been famous since high school where his teams won title after title and he once scored 90 points in a game the center's reputation preceded him here is a sample of comments before Wilt played a professional game Chamberlains better than he Russell Could Expect This Was From Russell's Own All-Star Teammate Bob Koozie Russell and Chamberlain haven't even faced off yet, so here's our first crack at the issue. Russell, you mad, the press said that Russell is working on shooting him over the summer because he won't be left behind, but these quotes. they're just decoration Russell didn't say Guerra, he said you can bet I'll be working this summer that's not

beef

, that's the most casual comment I've ever seen on the scene, so the beef opportunity was

turned

down once he really They played with each other. he ended up overshadowing Russell, he was very, very good in his rookie year, but Russell didn't have a bad 1960 either, so who was Superior, that was widely debated.

Opportunity for you guys, you want to jump in or put down the other guy, no, you just had the best one. There are things to say about each other. It turns out that all this was the beginning of a

beautiful

friendship

. These guys were used to dominating with ease. It was fun to play hard and be challenged. The competition between them. It brought them together and apparently love competition is the basis of the strongest friendship imaginable because these two had so many more legitimate opportunities to fight that they completely overlooked, let's take a step back and look at their careers in general.

Chamberlain went on to dominate Russell and individual statistics, as you can see here, well, Russell was never going to go. to be a scoring champion, it was all defense, the All-Star Game comparison doesn't seem that substantial, but the All-Star games were East versus West. Chamberlain played in Philadelphia for 6 and a half years, so our center friends were often in the same place. All-Star team and there is only one starting center per team, usually Wilt Russell admitted that it hurt him, but he kept those feelings to himself until after his playing days, Russell held this record before Chamberlain with 51 rebounds per game and Chamberlain actually set this record while playing against Russell and the Celtics, but the Celtics won that game, so this one didn't stick and Russell's quote here takes us to this table row Bill Russell 11 Wilt Championships Chamberlain two Wilt has the stats but Russell has the rings and if we zoom in In that row we see that in the 10 years in which their careers overlapped, they met in the Conference Finals or the NBA Finals eight times, seven Of those eight times Bill's team beat Wilt's teams.

It's in this one-sided playoff record that we get most of our meat opportunities. It's the year Russell not only beat Chamberlain in the Eastern Division finals, but also won the League MVP despite that Chamberlain averaged 50 points per game, which seems frustrating to Wilt, who is feeling a little resentful, maybe not, in fact, this is what Chamberlain said after Russell. his season ended there is no one like him Boston should win the final with a man like Russell among the public the press and the league asked to speak with the restaurant manager they had been waiting too long for their fine meat no matter what they did He owns it of the year Chamberlain did not make the playoffs.

They roasted him alive in the press. He's selfish, he doesn't try hard enough. He's a cry baby for claiming Russell has better coaches and teammates than him, meanwhile Russell was enjoying headlines like Russell, the great Bill Russell. is the emperor of basketball hail Russell was forming a narrative

bill

was the good guy Wilt was the bad guy the loser and the waiter came out of the kitchen with two plates full of beef but before he got to Wilt's table and Bill Chamberlain gave a subtle squeeze Chamberlain did not resent Russell because of the roles that the press imposed on them, in fact, throughout this time Chamberlain invited Russell to his house for Thanksgiving dinner with Chamberlain's mother and her extended family and things that are the highest level of friendship, your friends become family and it was a reciprocal relationship.

Russell didn't just sit back and enjoy the turkey and play the hero, he spoke out against his friend's loser label, which was a firm move, especially since Chamberlain had confided in him. in Russell, the underdog label hurt, but hey, how about game two of the 1966 Eastern Division Finals? One fight where the friends almost came to blows here was that with a little push the chef threw the meat on the grill but then the waiter ran in. That's not what they asked for. Bill and Wilt ordered a friendship cake, did not discuss the argument with the press, and held no grudges.

It happened on the field. He didn't leave the field. The incident and lack of consequences were emblematic of the boy's relationship. The enemies on the field were fine. off the court remember it is the intense competition that brought you together, you liked to be challenged if you weren't about to come to blows while playing it would be a sign that something was wrong but now is the time to find out what could break their bond. Game of the 1969 NBA Finals. Seven, 5 minutes and 19 seconds left Russell's Celtics up seven points over Chamberlain's Lakers Chamberlain hurt his knee and leaves the game and looks quite hurt and quite upset minutes later , the Lakers are down just one point and Wilt is begging to come back maybe.

The initial shock and pain from his knee injury had subsided, it seems reasonable to want to return, but that was a feeling that many of Chamberlain's critics didn't consider, what they did consider was when the Lakers looked like they were going to lose. Wilt was too injured to play. and then, minutes later, when it seemed like they could win, he was apparently fine and one of those critics who criticized his injury and integrity. Chamberlain's close personal friend Bill Russell, ladies and gentlemen, the meat is finally served. Russell was so angry at Chamberlain for leaving the game because now his title was tainted he had to endure people who believed the Lakers would have won if Chamberlain wasn't hurt he had to endure press clippings that literally said he didn't beat Chamberlain for this title, you might be thinking thinking then who cares what?

People say why can't Russell just be happy with his ring? Well, the 1969 game was the last NBA game Bill would play in. He hadn't told anyone beforehand, but he had decided to retire, so thanks to Wilt leaving the court, Russell's career didn't end. with a big bang but a little star now, if you think

chamberlain

was really hurt how can you be mad at him? It's not a guy's fault that they listen to him, but Russell didn't think Wilt was hurt, at least not enough to get out of the game we didn't see bone his spine was still working stay and compete fight me that's what our friendship is based on and if that competition ends well friend prepare to see another side of Bill Russell Russell not only questioned the severity of Chamberlain's injury, but joined the group, he is a loser.

He became the most credible source validating the narrative. The press had for years pushed the narrative that his friend told her he was hurtful. The narrative that he didn't believe in his playing days. Hey, Russell, recently retired. Why does Chamberlain have fewer championships than you? He is selfish. Does Chamberlain deserve the underdog label? Yes and no. Hey, that doesn't sound so bad. Then Bill said yes, he deserves it because he is a loser and a braggart. Well, the yes part always was. He's going to be tough, how about it then no, he doesn't deserve it? part recently retired Russell said that Chamberlain did not deserve his bad reputation because people see his potential as greater than he is, they do not take human weaknesses into consideration, in other words, everyone overestimated a fragile man, that means these quotes came out a few weeks after the finals of his autobiography published 22 years later.

Wilt admitted that he was furious, but in 1969 he simply did not respond to the betrayal and afterwards he and Russell did not speak. For the next 24 years they talked about each other during those two and a half decades because people asked them about each other and also maybe because a certain someone was still angry a decade after Wilt left the track. Bill Russell wrote a book in which he continued to cast doubt on Chamberlain's Game 7 injury and continued to give credence to the

wilt

as a statistics-obsessed losing narrative. Russell wrote that his anger toward Chamberlain was selfish, but even acknowledged that he didn't hold back in the meantime, Chamberlain's only retaliation I could find in the Decades of Silent Treatment was extremely passive and Hur-laden.

He defended his legacy by saying that Russell always had better teams and coaches than him in his 1973 autobiography. Chamberlain said that he grew more in defeat than Russell did in Victory, but Chamberlain 72 does growing more really make up for rings and reputation and I know that Aren't you talking about height? My point is that the consolation of being a better man in

silence

doesn't seem like much consolation. In a 1987 television interview, Chamberlain awkwardly avoided admitting that Russell is the better player. Have you ever played against him? Would it automatically be Bill Russell or maybe a surprise?

No, no, not at all. I think Bill Russell did a lot for his team. There are a lot of great players playing Willis Willis Reed, uh Nate Thurman Oscar Robertson. Protesting too much, you know, he also suggested that Russell wasn't happy in retirement, but today I'm not so sure he's a very happy man, perhaps alluding to Russell's not very successful time as a broadcaster or his also minimally successful attempts as a coach. and sure maybe Russell isn't as happy as he was when he was celebrating a championship on the court but none of Chamberlain's comments seem like an equitable response for the vile Russell spit at him, I guess that's where the 24 years of no talk.

Chamberlain doesn't get mean or vindictive, he just dumps his old friend completely now on the side, it's strange that the fight lasted so long because Russell said that a couple of years later I had a chance for us to be alone. I looked him in the eyes and told him. I apologize and although both men say there was an apology, the details are a little murky, but then he apologized a few years later, but never to me, but through the depression I would have you then, in his 1991 autobiography, Chamberlain told him specifically ask your ex-friend why it's so difficult. apologize to him directly, both books shed light on why this issue had no expiration date.

Russell said that essentially competitive people are stubborn. Chamberlain admitted that there might be some deep, never-expressed resentment toward Russell for the good-guy, bad-guy, no-make-up roles. On sight Reebok came to the rescue in 1993, Reebok featured this collection of legendary centers in a commercial for rookie Shaquille O'Neal's new shoe and as you can see this ad featured Chamberlain and Russell standing side by side and Wilt said, "Come on have fun and be friends again, look how hard they're laughing in this behind the scenes footage, you can't tell these guys haven't talked in over two decades. Wilt would rather just have fun with his old friend." than get revenge or get justice. some shitty dates and just like that the flesh evaporated they did interviews together and talked on the phone all the time all of this was no match for the bond formed when the best compete with the best in this story friendship wins. enjoy the rest of your day hey everyone thank you for watching to subscribe click here to watch our carefully crafted videos click here what a world to have so much beauty at our fingertips for the secret base I'm Clara Morris good night and good game