The rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain was transformative for the NBA in the 1960s. Everyone was aware that despite ‘The Big Dipper’ boating more dominant statistics, his herculean efforts would never be enough to beat Russell’s Boston Celtics when it mattered the most. The propensity of beating the 7’1″ center wasn’t limited on the court but even off it, and once the five-time MVP even fired a playful jab, bragging about his superiority in a cross-country race.
Bill claimed he and Wilt were competitors not ‘rivals’
The 11-time NBA Champion dispelled the common perception that he and Chamberlain were never rivals who harbored the ill desire to spoil each other’s legacies and labeled each other as ‘competitors’ who simply played the center position in their respective style with a common agenda to win.
“We were not rivals. We were competitors, which is a totally different thing, because in a rivalry there’s a victor and a vanquished. Neither one of us fit either side of that,” Bill said. “Both of us had our agendas, and our agendas were to win.”