Wilt Chamberlain vs. Bill Russell is one of the most iconic rivalries that the NBA has ever seen. While the ultimate rivalry between Bill and Wilt became one-sided due to the incredible championship success that Russell had with his Boston Celtics. While Chamberlain won a title with 2 different teams, his 2 career titles don’t even come close to Russell’s 11.
One of the reasons for the Celtics’ consistent success was that the TD Garden was a fortress for the Celtics at the time. Fans would be ruthless to visiting players and Chamberlain recalled that while discussing his rivalry with Russell in 1996.
Wilt said playing in Boston Garden was like “going to one of the old Roman amphitheaters where they threw the Christians to the lions.” And though he was wearing very dark shades, and though he is, well, Wilt Chamberlain appeared to get choked up. Things change. He and Russell get along now – fabulously, in fact.
“Yes, there was a time when things were strained between us,” Russell said, “But we’ve been fine for a while now. It was all political.” Given Wilt’s leanings, Russell seemed to have meant that literally. “I had Thanksgiving dinner six years in a row with him and his family in Philadelphia,” Russell said, shocking most of us who assumed they only growled at each other for 15 years. “The competition between us was very, very difficult. He’d feed me and then he’d go out and beat the hell out of me.” (h/t The Washington Post)
Russell and Chamberlain were both extremely feared competitors on the court, but nothing was better for them than competing against each other. Facing the best brings out the best in you, and these two regularly pushed each other to be better by the nature of competing with each other and having a high regard for each other.
Is The Celtics Home-Court Advantage Still That Strong?
When it comes to having ‘traditional powers’ in NBA basketball, the Lakers and the Celtics are both the first names that come to mind. However, as the world and the game have modernized, a lot of the reasons why the TD Garden was such a strong home court have eroded over time.
Fans aren’t scaring the players within an inch of their lives anymore. Players like LeBron James still hate playing in Boston, so there is definitely some level of an advantage that the Celtics enjoy at home. The team did make it to the NBA Finals in 2022 and will hope to repeat that feat but win the Finals this time around.
