{"id":1410712,"date":"2021-09-11T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-11T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1410712"},"modified":"2023-02-21T17:36:01","modified_gmt":"2023-02-21T22:36:01","slug":"wilt-chamberlain-loved-bill-russell-but-called-him-a-lousy-holiday-guest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/wilt-chamberlain-loved-bill-russell-but-called-him-a-lousy-holiday-guest\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilt Chamberlain Loved Bill Russell but Called Him a Lousy Holiday Guest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In the 1960s, there was no personal rivalry as intense as <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/bill-russell\/\">Bill Russell<\/a> vs. <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/wilt-chamberlain\/\">Wilt Chamberlain<\/a>. While Russell\u2019s Celtics <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/bill-russell-became-basketballs-ultimate-winner-because-a-painfulexperience-with-racism\/\">piled up nine championships<\/a> during the decade, the <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/best-players-lose-least-4-nba-finals\/\">only break in the chain<\/a> went to Chamberlain in 1967. Old heads often decry the friendships exhibited by today\u2019s generation of <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/nba-players\/\">NBA players<\/a>, But Wilt and Russell were close friends off the court, even as they were fierce competitors on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NBA was much smaller when Chamberlain and Russell battled, and from Wilt\u2019s rookie year in 1959\u201360 to Russell\u2019s final season in 1968\u201369, they met a whopping 94 times in the regular season. In the playoffs, they added another 49 matchups. Across those 10 seasons, the superstars collided eight times in the playoffs. <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/the-nba-player-with-the-most-championships-will-probably-never-be-topped\/\">Russell had a huge advantage<\/a>, with Boston winning seven of those series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bill-russell-and-wilt-chamberlain-personified-a-war-of-playing-styles\">Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain personified a war of playing styles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Greatest Rivals: Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QiweWb9c5z0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilt Chamberlain <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wilt-chamberlain-came-off-as-egotistical-womanizing-superhuman-quietly-helped-dying-girl\/\">developed a reputation<\/a> as a great player who prioritized statistics over wins for better or worse. On the other hand, Bill Russell\u2019s image was <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/83-year-old-bill-russell-said-5-words-prove-greatest-center-of-all-time\/\">the ultimate team player<\/a>, putting personal goals aside in favor of greater glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilt won six straight scoring titles to start his career, and when he retired, his 30.1 points per game average was the best in NBA history. His average of 22.9 rebounds per game is likely an unbeatable record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Russell was a five-time rebounding champion and is just behind Chamberlain on the all-time list with an average of 22.5 boards a night. But he had the rings. Chamberlain had the ladies. It wasn\u2019t fair to Chamberlain, but it was the narrative of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given most of the coverage of the NBA (and all sports) at the time was in the newspapers, many fans didn\u2019t realize the close relationship the two giants of the league shared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-holiday-visit-from-russell\">A holiday visit from Russell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1250\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg?w=1024&#038;h=614&#038;strip=all&#038;quality=89\" alt=\"Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were fierce competitors on the court and close friends off it.\" class=\"wp-image-1410719\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg 1250w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg?w=300&amp;h=180 300w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg?w=768&amp;h=461 768w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=614 1024w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg?w=1200&amp;h=720 1200w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg?w=100&amp;h=60 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1250px) 100vw, 1250px\" \/><figcaption>Bill Russell (R) and Wilt Chamberlain were fierce competitors on the court and close friends off it. | Bettmann Archive\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The NBA wasn\u2019t on television often in the 1960s. The network wanted to highlight Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Preferably that meant Wilt vs. Russell. Usually, the schedule would pair the two around the holidays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One year, Chamberlain recalled hosting Russell at his house on Thanksgiving, the day before the teams played. The friends shared a meal, an evening at home, and then went to war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wilt\u2019s memories of the holiday are bittersweet, per a joint interview with Russell by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=173M7ApCNKw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bob Costas in 1997<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBill would come to my house on Thanksgiving night because we had Philly vs. Boston the next night. He would sleep in my bed and take some food, and he would go out there and whip my butt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was most often the case. In the regular season, the Celtics were 57\u201337 in the Russell-Chamberlain battles. The count in the postseason was 29\u201320, but with a 9\u20131 edge in series victories for Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both players were all-time greats. But given the obsession with rings, Russell holds a higher place in the game\u2019s hierarchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-bill-russell-is-the-lord-of-the-rings-but-wilt-chamberlain-changed-his-game-to-win-a-second-one\">Bill Russell is the Lord of the Rings, but Wilt Chamberlain changed his game to win a second one<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Wilt Chamberlain vs Walt Frazier LEGENDS Game 5 Duel Highlights 1972 NBA Finals - MUST WATCH\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8xq5NvuJqD8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>No player in NBA history won as many championships as Bill Russell\u2019s 11. For all his achievements, Wilt Chamberlain finished his career with only two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, his second ring speaks to his ability to be what his team needed, something often overlooked when studying Chamberlain\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971\u201372, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wilt-chamberlain-dominates-the-nbas-all-time-scoring-list-even-without-his-100-point-game\/\">the game\u2019s ultimate scorer<\/a> averaged only 9.3 shots per game. It was almost unfathomable from a player who topped 30 attempts a night four times in his career and flirted with 40 (39.5) in 1961\u201362.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What Chamberlain did was anchor the Lakers\u2019 defense and cleaned the glass. At age 35, he led the NBA with 19.2 rebounds per game and was named Finals MVP as LA eviscerated the New York Knicks in five games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The irony of Russell\u2019s career is that while the NBA Finals MVP award now bears his name, he never won it. Though Boston won the title the year the award was introduced in 1969, Lakers superstar Jerry West received it (still the only player from the losing team to win it).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inseparable in history, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were tremendous competitors for a decade. In the process of fighting those battles, they forged a lifelong friendship that endured until Wilt\u2019s untimely death in 1999. A legacy as competitive gentlemen is a proud one to bear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Statistics courtesy of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Basketball Reference<\/em><\/a><em> and <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/stathead.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Stathead<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/bill-russell-and-wilt-chamberlain-had-a-nationwide-competition-nobody-knew-about\/\">Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain Had a Nationwide Competition Nobody Knew About<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain battled hard on the court and were close off it. But according to Wilt, Bill was a lousy house guest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":1410719,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[447323,4814,86460,4821,402343],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Wilt Chamberlain Loved Bill Russell but Called Him a Lousy Holiday Guest - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain battled hard on the court and were close off it. 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But according to Wilt, Bill was a lousy house guest.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/wilt-chamberlain-loved-bill-russell-but-called-him-a-lousy-holiday-guest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sports7\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-09-11T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-21T22:36:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Phil Watson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Phil_Watson_UP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Phil Watson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/wilt-chamberlain-loved-bill-russell-but-called-him-a-lousy-holiday-guest\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/wilt-chamberlain-loved-bill-russell-but-called-him-a-lousy-holiday-guest\/\",\"name\":\"Wilt Chamberlain Loved Bill Russell but Called Him a Lousy Holiday Guest - Sports7\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/wilt-chamberlain-loved-bill-russell-but-called-him-a-lousy-holiday-guest\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/wilt-chamberlain-loved-bill-russell-but-called-him-a-lousy-holiday-guest\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/wiltrussell.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-09-11T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-21T22:36:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/#\/schema\/person\/ee47ea0b4ff959cd6a683f377450ccc6\"},\"description\":\"Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain battled hard on the court and were close off it. 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