"It's just like hearing Zeus... That legend and myth around those guys" - Kevin Durant on Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain's legacy
The NBA has a storied history of elite big men, from Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell to Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley, and the center position has always been the birthplace for future legends of the game.
Yet, no centers have ever reached the illustrious heights of Chamberlain and Russell - two players who dominated their opponents and underwent fierce battles that have lived in NBA folklore for decades.
On this date in 1960, Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics pulled down 39 big rebounds and scored 26 big points in a 120-90 win over Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia Warriors in the ECF. https://t.co/JNrsy4vb4v
Of course, both of their games were different. Russell was the original rim-runner, dominating the glass and offering vertical spacing on the offensive end, while Chamberlain was a low-post savant who excelled as a rebounder. But both men were lockdown defenders and rim protectors.
"Rusell didn't care about scoring. He was much more concerned with dominating the defensive end of the floor. Russell was not as physically imposing as Wilt, but was vastly underrated as a passer. He thought nothing of snaring the rebound and pushing the ball up the floor himself," Former Celtic Casey Jones recalls on a recent episode of the Icons Club podcast.
It's fair to say that Russell and Chamberlain set the golden standard for the center position, at least until the pace and space revolution swept through the NBA. Without the two legends, we may never have had the likes of Patrick Ewing, O'Neal, Barkley and co.
"I remember the first time talking to Mr. Russell was for the hours. It wasn't about basketball, it was just about all the legendary stories about him, and he would call me every now and and be like, hey man, don't go to the middle, drop step. You're going through the middle and you know the double was coming from the top dropped every time. I'm like thank you," O'Neal told Jackie MacMullen on a recent episode of the Icons Club podcast.
Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain inspired an entire generation of NBA stars
The art of low-post offense is lost on the new generation of NBA big men, but until the mid 2010's, every center worth their salt had a drop step in their arsenal, along with a post-hook, and some form of spin moves. The more dominant bigs had a plethora of go-to moves out of the block, all of which were inspired by the likes of Russell and Chamberlain.
It's unfortunate that neither of these two basketball legends played during the social media era of the sport, as by all accounts they were walking highlights. Unfortunately, that's not the case, and we're stuck watching grainy highlights on YouTube to get a sense of how gifted these former stars truly were, and even then, that doesn't do them justice.
"It's just like hearing Zeus, that legend and myth around those guys," Kevin Durant told Jackie MacMullen.
Regardless of their standing in NBA lore, we can all agree that Chamberlain and Russell are two of the greatest big men to ever lace them up, and while their style of play is no longer en vogue in the league, we wouldn't have seen so many dominant big men if they hadn't paved the way.
And for that alone, we should be thankful.