Jerry West Explains Why Lakers Couldn’t Beat Bill Russell

[@durellpowell3324]

This man said Bill Russell ERASED TEAM MISTAKES, that spoke volumes although I have never watched a Bill game in my life

[@albertsebastian4489]

Well you know when “Havlicek stole the ball”, Hondo erased Bill’s mistake…😊

[@surfdocer103]

Russell v Chamberlain was incredible

[@audieconrad8995]

Russell's intensity was unparalleled.

[@dd-1280]

Jerry is all class. Nothing but respect to him from Boston

[@BoosterGoldEarth6]

Of course he gifted y'all 8 rings 😂😂😂

[@rumarspencer7302]

@@BoosterGoldEarth6 6 against Jerry, but in the 80s as General Manager, Jerry has more rings against the Celtics than against any team.

[@jeffwatts1126]

Red wanted to trade for Jerry. Glad that never happened

[@fcharlesd8468]

Rest in peace Jerry 🙏

[@craigosterberg5045]

Jerry West was all time great. He was very quick and fast. Always wanted the ball with game on the line. He and Elgin Baylor were a great 1-2 punch.

[@mja91352]

Jerry West was the greatest shooting guard ever. Period.

[@lar7905]

mja91352...I feared Jerry West . Light out from downtown as Johnny Most would scream . He and Elgin were the greatest . I thought Elgin was the DR J of his time before I'd heard of DR J's skills . Then I said " we've already had sa guy who could float like that " . But Elgin was a great rebounder too .

[@ralphgreenwood2469]

Greatest shooting guard ever is MJ.West was my favourite player growing up but MJ was better.

[@specter290]

Thought Jerry west was a PG. he had a lot of assist to no?

[@PoliticusRex632]

​@@lar7905Julius was an amazing rebounder as well.

[@julianmarsh8384]

Ah, the good old days! My good old days re: NBA was the 80s but I can see how Jerry's time was just as magical.

[@brianjensen7985]

Awesome interview. The Logo was one heck of a player. He is right about Russell being the greatest defender ever.

[@ralphgreenwood2469]

That's opinion not fact,for all we know Wilt might have blocked twice as many shots as Russell

[@stephatkinson8606]

It's not about the number of blocks, there's this thing called team defense. Which Wilt wasn't good at, he's not helping on screens because he has to get his rebound numbers up. West said he's the best ever!

[@mrho4speed]

Great interview = Jerry West is and always has been 1st class!!!

[@jeffreyjacobs390]

Many students of the game feel Bill Russel and Larry Bird were the two best MAVERICKS of the game .... for their unique talents and styles baffled their opponents ...as well as bettered them with smarts and skills so superior. I agree with it.

[@himalayanvoices2158]

Though I'm A diehard Celtic fan since 1959, I have all the respect in the world for these two( and Elgin Baylor, too). R.I.P. Logo

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

Remember Terry Deurod?

[@henrybrowne7248]

😢So refreshing to see him again. So darn intelligent . .

[@chyoli6220]

Jerry West said this about Larry Bird: "He is as nearly perfect as you can get in almost every phase of basketball."

[@mikenb11_51]

Always love Coop's interviews!

[@terrellhubbard]

Coooooop

[@BoosterGoldEarth6]

Yeah, he does a fantastic job

[@NBAHistoryCLNS]

Set notification for Byron Scott and coop here kzbin.info/www/bejne/qmS2hZuviJuGh7s 💜💛

[@aznsensation44]

Show this to all the modern fans who disrespect Bill Russell

[@Bajirkus]

Bill Russell was an excellent rebounder in an era where teams took a lot of shots, and didn't shoot all that well. Aside from his rookie season, NBA teams averaged 99.0-109.4 FGA per game, with his rookie season at 94.6. FG% in Russell's career ranged from .380 (first season) to .441 (penultimate season). After Russell's career, the NBA's FG% dipped below .440 only twice (and even then, only as low as .437), both in seasons in which the 3-point line existed, which naturally brought down total FG%. So you had an elite rebounder in an era where a single elite rebounder could produce serious scoring opportunity disparities. He was also widely regarded as an elite defender, which dovetailed nicely with elite rebounding. During Russell's career, the Celtics were 1st in the NBA Defensive Rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) in every season except 1967-68, where they were 2nd. Amazingly, they were often below average, sometimes last, in Offensive Rating (points per 100 possessions) - they just made you even worse at offense than they were. For example, in 1963-64, they were 9th of 9 in Offensive Rating at 90.1, but produced a defensive rating of 83.8, for a league-best net rating of +6.4. The Celtics were, in some sense, only the second worst offense in the NBA - the worst being "Whomever the Celtics are playing tonight."

[@danielkyles470]

Jerry west love black ppl always had a good heart

[@jasonmartin7137]

I'd love to hear West and Coop's take on Magic wearing a Celtics shirt for Bird's retirement! 🤣

[@imushavem4061]

When Magic announced he had HIV and Larry stood by him, well, Magic knew he had a real friend in Larry, so I think West and Coop would be fine with it. I still remember how many players refused to play in any games with Magic for a while (Many thought Magic should be forces out of the NBA). Magic and Bird, those two are Class Acts and are real friends.

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

There's a story behind why Magic was wearing a Celtic shirt under his Laker jersey, who wants to hear it?

[@BrianChristopher-j9v]

Did he deep down want to play with Larry?

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

@@BrianChristopher-j9v No, not at all

[@Gregory-sm9pf]

@@BrianChristopher-j9v no, imo

[@Kentelligent24]

Living Legends!

[@jingqi9106]

Russell's Celtics featured 7 Hall of Fame players besides Russell. Sure, the Lakers had Baylor and West but nothing like the Celtics.

[@kingofthenoobs]

other than Cousy and Havlicek, those guys are in the HoF because of Russell

[@holstorrsceadus1990]

​@@kingofthenoobs Sam Jones

[@ralphgreenwood2469]

@@kingofthenoobs Stop it please

[@ernesthader1109]

Has anybody even read the stats of those hall of famers? Most of them are there because of the championships that russell brought them.

[@JoeKnows44]

Look at the actual rosters year to year and you'll see how close the talent levels are.

[@TheGateKeeper001]

Pretty tough, watching my hero's deteriorate before my eyes. Gave Kareem "my hero" moniker when I was about 12 years old, it has waxed and waned over the years because I am from Boston and a Celtic fan, but Captain you are the best, I am telling you now before I can't.

[@Grandizer8989]

Russell was the first Black guy to live in Reading, MA and they let him know it. Even when he was winning championships

[@ScottTrenum]

2 legends

[@screechowl75]

The fifties and sixties Celtics were fantastic teams but never had the following attendance wise that the Bruins had and still have. I never understood why the last place Bruins were always sold out but the multiple year world champs had seats available. I guess Boston is a hockey town being an original six team. I still loved Cousy,Sharman,Russell,Heinson,Satch Sanders,K.C.Jones, and all the other greats that played in those days.

[@Neo5GT]

Race probably

[@jimstevenson424]

@@Neo5GT NBA wasn't prime time in the 50s. It had started a few years prior. Bruins were established. Prior basketball leagues failed, there wasn't a ton of interest. People talk about the greatest coming from this era, but that would be similar to saying the GOATs of the NFL were Bronco Nagurski and Don Hutson. All cities had racial tensions and it wasn't white vs black. NHL thought non-Canadians were lesser. Boston had tension, but the didn't have a Watts. Not everything is about race.

[@BrianChristopher-j9v]

I think Boston was a hockey town before the NBA. Then you had Orr, Espo, Cashman, Hodge. They couldn't buy a beer out in town in Boston. Lots of Canadian immigrants, shitty ice cold winters, and then race. It was there but not primary.

[@XandateOfHeaven]

Basketball is a newer sport than hockey, and it took a little longer for it to gain prestige as a professional sport.

[@johncassani6780]

I think you’re right. The older generation were predominantly Red Sox and Bruins fans, but the generations that grew up in the 50s through the 80s loved the Celtics, while still loving the Sox and Bruins, obviously. The Patriots have been a later phenomenon.

[@allistermcginlay6476]

If Wilt had played from the start with the Lakers it's arguable that the two things he needed to win against the Boston Celtics would have been available? His coach in 1962 coach McGuire said that "Wilt has been simply super-human" and commented on how the Warriors lacked a consistent second scorer, a playmaker, and a second big man to take pressure off Chamberlain. In Jerry West and Elgin Baylor you had a consistent scorer twice over and a real play maker in Elgin Baylor add a peak Wilt Chamberlain and the lakers would have been practically unstoppable?

[@BoosterGoldEarth6]

I'm incline to agree with you, although I believe if Wilt was on the Syracuse nationals from his rookie year, the entire decade looks different. But that another story for another day. Would Jerry and Elgin sacrifice? Who would be the coach? Bc when Wilt showed up only he sacrifice shots and what not. Jerry and Elgin didn't change their game at all.

[@blueblur2273]

@@BoosterGoldEarth6 To add Jerry recently said in Wilt's new documentary that Elgin struggled playing alongside Wilt because of how much Chamberlain liked to operate in the low post and clog the lane. All 3 guys were immensely talented but there is obviously issues with style of play. I think a better fit for that Lakers team is Russell as he doesn't get in the way of anything they do offensively and only enhances it. If the Lakers had Russell in the 60s instead of Boston then no doubt that they are the team of the 60s and probably end up with more championships.

[@CarlosFernandez-r8o]

If Wilt would have gone full out against Russell,it would have been different. Wilt didn't always play his best. Russell and West always did .

[@Shigami-lb6oc]

Yeap

[@CarlosFernandez-r8o]

@blueblur2273 How did Wilt do it on Philadelphia.? Chet the Jet Walker and Hal Greer were good scorers,and Chet was bigger than Elg?

[@davidbirdsong8458]

He was 0-6 against the Celtics. The other two losses were to the Knicks in 1970 and 1973.

[@supadav4172]

Why is jerry west the nba logo but not bill bill Russell

[@silewis9396]

Maybe people liked Jerry's game better

[@HHSGDFootballJPD]

An artist hired by the NBA to design the logo was going through photos and just admired the action shot of Jerry West dribbling the basketball.

[@supadav4172]

@@HHSGDFootballJPD bro I'm not trying to hear that bill Russell won 11 ring in a 13 year career Jerry West only won one ring bro bill retired in 1969 THE SAME YEAR THE NBA LOGO WAS MADE forget all that they should of made bill the logo DRIBBLING THE BALL WITH AN AFRO that would of been a great retirement gift but back in the day was DIFFERENT LETS NOT FORGET

[@XandateOfHeaven]

Russell was extremely good, but he was by no means a fan favourite. There's obviously the fact he was black, and he played in the 60s, but that's certainly not all of it. Russell always had a contentious relationship with basketball fans. He was (rightly) angered by the racial abuse he received throughout his career, and as a result had very bitter feelings towards fans. He refused to smile for photos, sign autographs or talk to kids. This was understandable when you realized Boston fans had broken into his house and vandalized it. It was basically his tremendous respect for Auerbach that kept him going. Russell refused to attend his parade for his last championship, his number retirement, and his hall of fame induction. He didn't really reconcile with Boston until 1999 when he actually attended the re-retirement of his number. So the short answer is that the NBA probably didn't want Russell to represent the league, and maybe more significantly Bill Russell probably didn't want to represent the league.

[@coreythomas3633]

​@@XandateOfHeavenracism bill had every right to be angry..

[@September2004]

1:16 They could win any game. Offensive, defensive, physical.

[@redbunnytail9528]

Bill Russell accounce Celtic game for many many year. He and Cousey. I think Basketball have the best player announcers. They really fill you in about what going on. They even see fights better. I have this suspicion about Doug Collins, eager to see fight, although all about 'condemn' brawl on the court. He just see 'this.' He see 'that.' It pretty cool, what West do, as member of Lakers organization, but as a person, he not a 'known' quantity like Walton, Russell. Only organization person, who people feel like they know, just from watching game, Pat Riley. He the most exciting coach to watch, although if you from the Northeast, you a Celtics fan.

[@surfdocer103]

Love for the Logo

[@Piochasinchina]

I swear I read “The Loco” instead of “The Logo”. I was like… hmm I was unaware that ppl called him that

[@ashocck8065]

Sure, since his outline was and is still used for the NBA logo.

[@surfdocer103]

My point guard on my all time team

[@PIP...33]

HE IS SHOOTER PAT RILEY WAS PG IN LAKERS WEST CANT PASS OR BE PG HE IS SELFISH WILT CHAMBERLAIN IS PG WEST IS NOT

[@morrisparrish76]

Only wilt chamberlain stopped Boston from winning in the decade of the sixties! (Wilt haters might want to keep this in mind!)

[@FCm-tq2ho]

"Jones, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and Bill Sharman, would usher the Celtics into the greatest period in franchise history, winning eight consecutive NBA championships from 1959 to 1966. " 😎🔥👋 Jerry West rest in peace brother

[@morrisparrish76]

Boston had a better team than WNC had in the 60s!……..that should be obvious to anyone who isn’t a downplaying wilt hater! (Ykwur!)

[@rumarspencer7302]

0-7 vs Bill Russell in the finals, 0-6 with Jerry vs Russell Celtics, that's why it was important for Coop and the 80s Lakers to beat Boston, as they did by winning the last 2 finals meetings out of the 3 times they met, and the Kobe Lakers getting payback in 2010, coming from the 08 defeat, did it the hard way, down 3-2 heading home, won them a repeat.

[@patek9789]

celtics still own lakers

[@rumarspencer7302]

@@patek9789 Well we been owning them during this time, 4th straight decade that we've had a winning regular season record vs Celtics, 1980s through 2010s, won 3 of the last 4 finals meetings, Lakers ownership of the Celtics right here.

[@patek9789]

@@rumarspencer7302 3-1 still doesn’t compare to how lakers were once 0-8 vs celtics

[@rumarspencer7302]

@@patek9789 The way I see it, Celtics gave the Lakers more championship losses, just like The Lakers gave the Celtics more championship losses.

[@HarmanHundal01]

In 1987, 6 Boston squad members including McHale and Parish were injured. Otherwise there is no way the Lakers would have won that year. Bird won his last MVP in 1986, but he was even better in 1987.

[@CapAnson12345]

Well from 1960-68 they were playing the Celtics basically 2 on 5, and in 1969 it was 3 on 5 with Wilt, and they still should have won the finals that year 85 times out of 100. It was just kind of dumb luck. After that the rivalry was on pause til Larry/Magic. The Lakers were always just a worse team except for 69 and beating the Celtics Bill Russell or not was never really a possibility.

[@jeffwatts1126]

Lakers should have won the 1962 series. A missed 5 footer at the buzzer sent it to OT. If Jerry had the ball that game is over

[@CapAnson12345]

@@jeffwatts1126 I suppose that's true. So close.

[@20majza]

Bill Russell, the Goat😊

[@InvestBetter.]

Bill Russell His comp today would be Dwight Howard. Tall, fast, athletic, not a shooter or a score, but could defend and rebound like few others I don't give him and the Celtics that much credit for all the titles, because they were only playing against 7 other teams. Playing today, against 30 teams, is way more difficult to win titles. The games aren't even comparable

[@zachmartin1458]

@InvestBetter No, it's harder to win with fewer teams because the best talent is condensed. If you're already the best team, it gets easier with more teams. With more teams there is a greater difference between the mean and median performances.

[@InvestBetter.]

@@zachmartin1458 Just ask Wilt Chamberlain. All the talent, player and coaching, was concentrated on the Celtics. Stop agreeing with me! It's annoying...

[@ralphgreenwood2469]

Sorry buddy but out of 30 teams only Seven or eight really have a chance to win its the same teams in the end every year now and then.

[@newagain9964]

@@ralphgreenwood2469 incorrect. Every year under current league there’s 4-6 teams that can win it. Back then there was maybe 2. Maybe.

[@ralphgreenwood2469]

I appreciate West but Boston was as good defensively as offensively.Russell,Sanders,Havlicek,K.C. Jones,Sam Jones.How many good defenders do you want?Also all the big buckets were made by somebody not named Russell

[@clemfarley7257]

My dad always said Russell was the greatest, and the Big O was the best all around.

[@DEVILDOG1964]

IT WAS A WHOLE TEAM EFFORT THAT WHY CELTICS WERE SO GOOD!! HAD A LITTLE BIRD TOO!!

[@sterlingfury]

Bill Russell is my number one GOAT...

[@PIP...33]

HORRY IS MINE. HORRY >>> MJ

[@Anthony-i4v7h]

@@PIP...33 u comparing horry to Russel ?? Do your homework man

[@Anthony-i4v7h]

I got him behind Jordan probably. Cause I'm bias but no one else better than Russel and I can't be mad at someone who calls Russel goat.. so many ignorant basketball fans who don't know crap

[@PIP...33]

@@Anthony-i4v7h DERANGED SHOW ME JORDAN AND RUSSELL CARRY TEAM ALONE.

[@PIP...33]

@@Anthony-i4v7h YEAH I DID HOMEWORK IT SAYS RUSSELL 39% FG WAS 4T OPTION IN TEAM PLAYED WEITH 9 HOF. JORDAN NEVER SAW 2ND ROUND WITHOUT PIPPEN HAD 4 HOF 1997 VS 1 EWING U DERANGED

[@folk-talleyfamilyvideos2796]

Bill Russell is the true GOAT

[@LIONTAMER3D]

11 rings will never be equaled

[@JoshSmith222]

Not a single mention of Cousy? Without him the Celtics probably don't win a single championship either.

[@latrellsprewell653]

I wish they recorded blocked shots in this era I bet Bill averaged 9-10 blocks a game.

[@hectoraquino5267]

Bill Russell the goat

[@DavidCornwell-p3h]

Different times. Did you see the fans all dressed in suits and ties? It almost sounds like it was coaching that made the difference.

[@cornellhoward3757]

Referees cheating was amazing!

[@BoosterGoldEarth6]

They couldn't beat them bc Jerry And Elgin were too much in awe of Bill. Played too much hero ball. Never switched things up. Then when a championship player showed up, they did not want to listen to him.

[@blueblur2273]

No the person who you're suppose to listen to is the coach. If the Showtime Lakers operated the way you're talking about then Pat Riley would have never been successful in the 80s with them as a 1st time head coach. But because they brought in to what he was selling from the start they were successful. Wilt was notoriously a hard player to coach and had he just brought in to how the coach wanted him to play(which was like Russell) the Lakers would have been successful right from the start. The irony is that when Wilt decided to actually start playing the way Kolff wanted, Kolff was gone and the Lakers had their most successful season ever and finally won a championship.

[@sakhemit]

You had to have seen the games in the 60s to know how great Russel was-always made the big block or rebound to win close games-especially in game 7s or clinching games

[@ralphgreenwood2469]

Actually you hit on something there

[@PatBrooks-u6w]

Bull$h!!t. The Celtics had 4 other guys out there. Bill Russell wasn't playing out there by himself.

[@andrewfisher8749]

Too bad today’s NBA has become unwatchable.

[@ralphgreenwood2469]

Then don't watch it.

[@andrewfisher8749]

@@ralphgreenwood2469 I haven’t since 2010.

[@carlfrye1566]

Russell was a lot better than Wilt. Easy explanation.

[@rickgora2952]

Spot on and West was overrated, that 0 8 makes my argument, where was mr Clutch in those finals, should be mr Clunk!

[@ralphgreenwood2469]

The record book says Wilt is the best ever.Who you like or who your favorite player is is a different conversation.

[@JoseGomez-cj1tq]

The refs!

[@rafikz77]

😂 he’s lucky he didn’t play in the internet/social media era. Lebron is getting criticized for not having a perfect Finals record. Not blaming any of them, it’s a team sport, the better teams win (unless you’re the 88 Lakers and the refs call a phantom foul on the other team’s center)

[@hairjordan2620]

The last couple rings the Celtics won against the Lakers the latter were clearly the better team

[@danbratten3103]

You do realize Wilt was AND still is critized for not winning enough championships. Even though 50 years after he stopped playing, he still owns over 50 NBA records.

[@NBAHistoryCLNS]

Lol

[@NBAHistoryCLNS]

Exactly Dan.

[@rafikz77]

@@hairjordan2620 but ….

[@richardpare3538]

The Lakers couldn't beat the Celtics simply because they weren't good enough.

[@silewis9396]

Its better to hear it from Jerry West than someone like you.

[@arthurbarber7546]

Jerry is somehow an expert on racial tensions in Boston ? Strange that Boston has never experienced a Watts..

[@NBAHistoryCLNS]

🤔

[@silewis9396]

Strange that this is your takeaway from all this. It's not a competition. Are you more of an expert on racial tension?

[@wondersnature]

Read Bill Russell on some things that happened to him in Boston, such as excrement on his car. And this happens to a major local hero?

[@JAWrightonline]

No Boston never experienced a Watts riot. That's because the White students turned school busses over (with Black students STILL inside the vehicles) to stop school integration. Way to go, Beantown!

[@arthurbarber7546]

All it takes us one person.

[@huckleberry12]

this myth that gets perpetuated only in the sports world that somehow Boston was the only city in America in the 1960s where there was racial tension is laughably hypocritical.

[@Mrd9960]

Hey Huck, how's Tom Sawyer? Haven't seen him in a long longggg time, Lol sorry I had to say that, I couldn't resist, lmao!🤣🤣🤣

[@BoosterGoldEarth6]

I agree!!!

[@coreythomas3633]

EXACTLY

[@JAWrightonline]

Well, when you have a respected, high-profile, Jackie Robinson-like sports figure who brings championships to the city almost annually. However, when he and his Black family move into a White neighborhood and the house is vandalized and trashed and he tells about it, well as all the other racist actions he sees, what do you expect the city's image would become? Especially when other Black athletes from other sports (Jim Rice; Reggie Smith; Sam Cunningham, Mike Haynes, etc.) within the same city have similar, negative experiences. As Bill Russell wrote during his playing days, "Boston, itself is a flea market of racism" and "I didn't play for Boston. I played for the Celtics."

[@huckleberry12]

@@JAWrightonline you're right, there was only one racist city in the entirety of america at any time. thanks for the all-encompassed insight. thank goodness no other sports figure has ever written about any other city being racist at any time otherwise we'd have to pay attention to the recent kkk meetings in ohio, or the lynching in san diego 4 years ago, or churches being burnt to the ground in the carolinas, or any of the myriad of other recent racially motivated hate crimes that perpetuate in every other city and state in this country. And while Rice said in 2008 when responding to torri hunter that he never experienced any racism at home or on the road, there are plenty of other athletes with anecdotal experiences that SHOULD make you feel free to label the entire area as racist, no matter what decade those athletes played in. I'm not going to bother debunking any other claim you attempt to make about any other athlete since your mind is already made up. but it would be interesting to find out what you think about what bill russell had to say about philly or any city in the south he had to play in. it'd be interesting to find out what you think about why the celtics were the first to integrate while the red sox were one of the last, and the reasons why both of those things are true. i'm jk, it wouldn't be interesting to hear your opinion on those things at all.