NBA Greatest decade of all time: The 60s

[@Phillygoat1983]

Imma new sub GO SIXERS

[@jmoountfort5204]

Two very important things that always get overlooked when comparing eras of b-ball: the ball and the shoes. Gripping, dribbling and shooting were all affected by the evolution of the ball. The way people move and jump on the court changed as sneakers gave way to more-supportive shoes, then high-tops. Players were still wearing low-tops into the late 80s that were basically glorified tennis shoes. Combine all that with restrictive rules and sports and performance/sports health industries that were in early stages of development and you can see why players played the way they did. A guy like West who could shoot that awkward, slippery excuse for a ball at an efficient rate would be insanely efficient today. The only thing that would really shake up the rosters in terms of those who could or could not play in different eras is the degree to which athleticism is rewarded in the modern game. Equipment and rules helped to slow the game. Some players benefited from that. Chris Mullin could be in the conversation for GOAT if he had been born a generation earlier.

[@gjpyoung]

I believe there was a comparison between 100m sprint era's somewhere on the internet that showed the same thing. One thing that I absolutely didn't know was that the tracks back then were lined with gravel, and hence when they got modern sprinters to run on old tracks their times were slower than their best, but they weren't too far ahead of the old timers.

[@davidgreen330]

I'm 70 years old and you are spot-on about Wilt he is the GOAT

[@kiefercourt271]

I’d love to have a conversation with someone like you who was a fan of basketball back then

[@davidgreen330]

@kiefercourt271 I'm always willing to dialogue. Big fan of the ABA as well

[@lukesmith9692]

Great video. I completely agree

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

The 60s is not the best decade

[@reality7078]

16:30 holy crap perfect example

[@gjpyoung]

Nice video! But you forgot Cousy!! I agreed beforehand that the super-stars of the 60's would be just as dominant today as they were back then. Chamberlain was a beast physically, but Russel was no slouch in that department either. I think he was ranked number 7 in the high jump before concentrating on basketball, and lets not forget either, that he was a mentality monster. He monstered the other teams by his sheer will to win. Listening to Jerry West talk about how he was absolutely sick of how they could never beat the Celtics during the 60's you knew that Russell had gotten into his head. He wasn't the only one. Russell made his team mates better than they were, and indeed, his defence made up for those earlier Celtic champions being less than stellar in offence. Enjoyed your video, I look forward to the rest of the decade reviews.

[@TheOGHoopByTheBook]

Great video I was born in 2004 so obviously I’ve had to learn through my own eyes and videos like this. I totally think The 1960’s was insane the most dominant player ever and would’ve been the GOAT so easily if it wasn’t for Bill who’s literally the best winner teammate and defender. Then Big O was a revolutionary too like the previous 3 on the court and like Bill off of it. He created modern free agency before any other leagues even did too. The Logo was amazing and Elgin Baylor is still the most underrated ever or at least Shares that title with Moses Malone. That’s just the best 5 so many more hall of Famers. So it’s sad that media doesn’t share these guys stories or teach us about how brilliant they really were. Definitely has 5-7 Top 25 players ever in one era which genuinely may be the most at one time from the list. At least during their primes

[@TheOGHoopByTheBook]

The Only Reason I don’t have Bill or Wilt as My Goat is because MJ is kinda like both of their effects combined with obviously not the full effect of each individual but combined goly it was more then enough

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

​@@TheOGHoopByTheBookno it wasnt you m0r0n

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

​@@TheOGHoopByTheBookJordan is Jordan. He needs no Russell and Wilt in him you i/diot

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

​@@TheOGHoopByTheBookno best defender, winner and teammate you i/diot

[@TheOGHoopByTheBook]

@@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo your stupid af and completely missed the point

[@pjtheory]

MIKE: It's important to note that Wilt Chamberlain has the highest T.P.A. or Total Production Average in playoff history. The T.P.A. is a combination of career average points, rebounds, and assists. Chamberlain has a career playoff T.P.A. of 51.2 which makes him the only NBA player to have a playoff T.P.A. of 50 or more. His T.P.A. would have been even more impressive if he played a majority of his playoff games when he was the league's most dominant scorer. Wilt led the league in scoring in his first 7 seasons and he led his team to the playoffs in 6 of those 7 seasons. In 6 post-season appearances, he played in 52 games and averaged 32.8 points, 26.6 rebounds, and shot .505 from the field in a league that shot .426 in that time span. No player in NBA history averaged 32 points and 26 rebounds in a single playoff series, yet Chamberlain averaged that over the course of TEN playoff series. In the last 7 seasons of his career, Wilt was asked to score less/pass more and to remain the greatest 7-foot rebounder and shot blocker in NBA history. In that time frame, Chamberlain played in 108 playoff games, he won 2 NBA titles, and his 67 76ers and 72 Lakers squads were arguably 2 of the 5 greatest teams (e.g., 67 76ers 46-4 to start the season, finished with a then record 68 wins, 72 Lakers won a record 33 straight games, finished with a then record 69 wins) in NBA history. Wilt would have been named the 67 Finals MVP if the award existed at the time and he was named the 72 Finals MVP. In terms of the playoff matchups (e.g., 49 playoff games) with Bill Russell, Wilt outscored/outrebounded Russell in all 8 playoff series... Russell 14.9 PTS 24.7 REBS Chamberlain 25.7 PTS 28.0 REBS ...and he almost carried his 62 and 65 Warrior/76er teams to victory over the heavily favored Celtics. In the 65 Eastern Finals, Wilt became the only NBA player to record a 30-30 (e.g., 30.1 points, 31.4 rebounds) in a playoff series. Not only did Chamberlain accomplish this against Russell, he scored the last 6 points of Game 7 to cut the Celtics lead to 1 point with 5 seconds left on the clock. Russell then hit a backboard support wire on an inbounds pass, but Havlicek stole a Hal Greer inbounds pass that ended the game.

[@MikeTheNBAGuy]

@pjtheory Very impressive, and yet he still consistently fell off in the postseason as a whole and disappeared in most big moments. A TPA of 51 sounds great until you realize his regular season TPA would be around 60. Consistently dropping around 10ppg every playoffs is putting your team at a massive disadvantage no matter how good your stats still look in a vacuum

[@pjtheory]

​@@MikeTheNBAGuy You're certainly entitled to gloss over a majority of my post, but Wilt was THE reason that the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors were able to compete with the loaded Celtics squads from 1959-1967. The facts demonstrate that as a rookie, he was a monster (e.g., 53 points, 22 rebounds ) in the deciding Game 3 of the 1960 Eastern Division Playoffs, he outplayed Russell in the first 2 games (e.g., 42 points, 29 rebounds/29 points, 28 rebounds) of the 1960 Eastern Finals, but injured his shooting hand after punching Tom Heinsohn in the head at the end of Game 2. The Celtics won the next 2 games and took a 3-1 series lead. By Game 5, Wilt's hand had sufficiently healed and he destroyed Russell to the tune of 50 points and 35 rebounds. Russell then returned the favor by outplaying Chamberlain and the Celtics closed out the series in 6 games. By any measure, this was a fantastic rookie playoff run by the Big Dipper. In the 1961 playoffs, the Warriors were swept by the Nationals in 3 games and despite the gaudy (e.g., 37.0 points, 23.0 rebounds) numbers, Wilt had an average series. Chamberlain turned that around in the 1962 playoffs and was clutch when it mattered most. In the deciding Game 5 of the 1962 Eastern Division Playoffs, Chamberlain almost single handedly took apart the Nationals with an insane stat line of 56 points, 35 rebounds, and 12 blocked shots. In the 1962 Eastern Finals, the Celtics were heavy favorites over the Warriors, but Wilt's clutch play (e.g., Game 2 42 points, 37 rebounds, 5 assists/Game 4 41 points, 34 rebounds/Game 6 32 points, 21 rebounds) resulted in a Game 7 in the Boston Garden. Warrior coach Frank McGuire asked Wilt to concentrate on defense in Game 7, Chamberlain obliged with 14 blocked shots, and he also scored the teams last 5 points to tie the game at 107. Sam Jones hit a 20 foot jumper with 3 seconds left on the clock to win the game 109-107. Wilt continued to play lights out in the playoffs from 1964-1967. In the 1964 Western Division playoffs, the San Francisco Warriors defeated the St. Louis Hawks in 7 games and Chamberlain dominated (e.g., 38.5 points, 23.4 rebounds) future HOF center Zelmo Beaty. In the deciding Game 7, Wilt scored 39 points, he grabbed 30 rebounds, he dished out 6 assists, and he blocked 12 shots. In the 1964 NBA Finals, Chamberlain outplayed Russell (e.g., Russell 11.2 points, 25.2 rebounds, .385 FG% Chamberlain 29.2 points, 27.6 rebounds, .516 FG%), but the Celtics won the series in 5 games. In the 1965 Divisional playoffs, Wilt's 76ers defeated the Royals in 5 games and in the deciding Game 5, Chamberlain again put up cartoon-like (e.g., 38 points, 26 rebounds, 5 assists, 11 blocked shots) numbers. You now know that in the 1965 Eastern Finals, he kicked Bill Russell's ass, he scored the last 6 points of Game 7, and he became the ONLY player in NBA history to post a 30-30 (e.g., 30.1 points, 31.4 rebounds) in a playoff series. In the 1966 Eastern Finals, Wilt put up gaudy numbers (e.g., 28.0 points, 30.2 rebounds, .509 FG%), but lost in 5 games to the Celtics. This had similar feel to the 1961 playoff loss to the Nationals, so Chamberlain and his teammates proceeded to make NBA history in the 1966-1967 campaign. The 76ers won 46 of their first 50 games, they won a then record 68 games, and Wilt went on a historic playoff run. In 15 playoff games, Chamberlain averaged 21.7 points, 29.1 rebounds, 9.0 assists, and 9.2 blocked shots. His match-up with Russell in the 1967 Eastern Finals (e.g., Russell 11.4 points, 23.4 rebounds, FG% .358 Chamberlain 21.7 points, 32.0 rebounds, 10 assists, and .555 FG%) was no contest and if the award existed at the time, Wilt would have been named the NBA Finals MVP. The facts clearly demonstrate that for the most part, Wilt was a dominant AND clutch performer in the playoffs from 1959-1967. Chamberlain was fantastic in the 1968 Eastern Divisional Playoffs (e.g., 25.5 points, 24.2 rebounds, 6.3 assists, .584 FG%, 76ers won in 6 games), he played great in the first 5 games of the 1968 Eastern Finals, but Wilt and his 76er teammates played poorly in the final 2 games of the series. In the 1969 Divisional Playoffs, Wilt outplayed Nate Thurmond and the Lakers defeated the Warriors in 6 games. Chamberlain played even better (e.g., 19.2 points, 25.6 rebounds, .638 FG%) against Zelmo Beaty and the Lakers defeated the Hawks in 5 games. In the 1969 NBA Finals, Wilt was up and down in the series (e.g., for example...Game 1 15 points, 23 rebounds, 4 assists 12 blocked shots/Game 2 4 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists) and the Lakers were upset by the aging Celtics in 7 games. In the 1960's, Wilt Chamberlain played in 18 playoff series, he was dominant in 13 playoff series, he was very good in the 1969 Western Divisional series, and average or above average in 4 playoff (e.g., 1961 Divisional Playoffs, 1966 Eastern Finals, 1968 Eastern Finals, and 1969 NBA Finals) series.

[@lukesmith9692]

The Celtics and Hawks made a trade for Russell's draft rights. They were offered two all star players and a free ice capades show(which the owner of the Hawks really wanted) not because they didn't want Russell. That show was very important

[@HiNRGboy]

60's is my favorite decade followed closely by the 80's. My favorite player of the 60's is Sam Jones. Bill Russell is the GOAT in terms of winning championships. Wilt is the GOAT in terms of pure dominance.

[@lukesmith9692]

New age fans are clueless. No defense, no dribbling, no plays, no coaches etc etc etc. Just shoot threes and double dribble to a dunk

[@erics9754]

Agree the 60s was a much more entertaining game and the good players back then would kick the good players of today's asses.

[@hakanerdem780]

No handels? 60s players were dribbling like kindergarteners they had no moves no bag compare their dribbling and movement to kyrie curry james harden iverson there are universes between them in terms of handels and skill level 😂

[@casualfandestroyer2503]

Russell and wilt don’t get enough credit for popularizing the game

[@nonamewillbegiven6847]

The game wasnt popular in the 60s

[@dumisatonyjohnson8145]

The NBA wasn’t as popular in the 60s as the NBA was in the 80s or 90s

[@Amick44]

​@@nonamewillbegiven6847 tv and coverage ( or lack of ) was key.

[@Amick44]

​@@dumisatonyjohnson8145 keep in mind the league didn't even form til 46-47. So still a pretty new pro league. The 60s ushered in a multitude of great, transformational stars. Sure, Magic, Larry, Mike and Hakeem did the 80s and beyond proud. But Russell, Wilt, Jerry and Oscar set the tone for revolutionary style and overall play. They set, more or less, modern type standards.

[@Amick44]

Larry said just that.

[@romeo8199]

thank you im going to watch your whole playlist now really think ima show others these ima sub keep posting thanks again i love the brutal honesty im young being a post 2000 born but i def have bill russell as my i guess like who id pick as my big even until todays era and my biggest reasoning is why i loved your video i look at basketball fundamentally all about fastbreaks (space and pace) which is fun but if thats the fundamental the roots, in a beautiful or graceful way its boring or maybe stale is a better term. basketball at one point was a game of whoever can reach the highest wins before goaltending and now it went from having two bigs to not even having a center with power forwards being the biggest guy. glad you highlighted how basketball even tho at that time had high pace it was like watching volleyball seeing bill and wilt make a basketball ping pong off of the glass and iron so i guess thats why bill russell is actually happy about his blocks not being tracked he said it was like an offensive stat which make sense since if they did track blocks itll add to the rebounds. your goated for shouting out the old school ball if anything its impressive how many more minutes they played with way less of well everything

[@bassdogmarco]

Those so-called people telling you Wilt would be a scrub are the same people who never won anything in their life or ever achieved anything because of hard work. If you averaged 50 a game in a beer league, I'd be impressed, this guy did it against the best of his time

[@jets4687]

Love the video! I do wanna say though when u were talking about certain teams not being around in the 60s like the Hornets for example..u mentioned the kings. They may not have went by the kings yet but that franchise has been around a long long time lol they were one of the originals..back than they were known as the Cincinnati Royals before eventually moving to Kansas City in the early 70s I wanna say and became the kansas city kings. Than they moved to sacramento where the would remain til today and that was in 1985 I wanna say. Just wanted to give u the heads up in case u weren't aware. My bad if u knew this already lol

[@jets4687]

Also u mentioned russell being turned down by atlanta but they were the st Louis hawks back than after being the tri city Blackhawks until the early 50s. Sorry if it sounds like I'm bashing u cuz I'm not like I said I love the video I just figured I'd help ya out here haha

[@MikeTheNBAGuy]

@@jets4687 No I appreciate it! The Hawks I did know about I just called them the wrong thing

[@erics9754]

I agree it was the best era but kids today are ignorant when it comes to sports history period.

[@mobrown1198]

Jerry West was actually 6’4-6’5 and lightning quick. He was touching the top of the square in his mid 30’s(there is film) Oscar Robertson-6’5 220 pounds. Gus Johnson with his supreme athleticism standing 6-6/6’7 235 Archie Clark was doing modern style crossovers, super fast… Big 6’11 250 pound Walter Dukes raining jumpers from outside. lol. Yeah the reason why i mentioned these players is just to highlight, that humans haven’t really evolved like fans believe.~ moreover it has been the sport technology, and modern medicine that have changed more than the players have evolved… weight training and specialized training. Athletically, “humans” haven’t evolved in 60 years… evolution doesn’t work that way. The MEN were greater men… society was tougher… it just was. No doubt in my mind that many of these athletes could play in the modern game. Bill Russell, was a tremendous athlete, who could handle the ball and had hops~ plenty of film on him. If the players in the 60’s who by default of their era were “stronger men” had the same opportunities to capitalize off of modern sports technology … they would’ve assuredly been on par with the modern athlete. Without a doubt. There’s a video about an Olympic sprinter who ran under similar conditions of Jesse Owens in the 30’s… custom shoes for that era, dirt track… and the Olympic sprinter, performed worse than Owens “under the same conditions “ some 80 years later…. This same can be applied to basketball… guys played in Chuck Taylor’s, dimly lit Gyms, terrible flooring, tight baskets, heavier basketballs… in context they played under tougher conditions… If they were around today, with the benefit of modern gym shoes, modern gyms, break away rims… and if the players today had to play under the conditions the players in the 60’s did… Then their performance wouldn’t be as great as fans believe. Don’t get me started on the rule changes and how players of the 60’s- early 70’s were “handicapped” by the rules. I mentioned JJ

[@KrispyKleenex365]

Whats funny to me is that people saying Wemby could end up being the GOAT in the future yet Wilt Chamberlain cant get RESPECT its sad AF I personally have Wilt #3 ALL TIME

[@DrakeBrunette]

I understand that there were only 10 teams and they were made up of the best of the best. But the US population was significantly less than what it is now, the game was still growing and not every school or city had basketball courts & programs like we do today. There were also 0 recruited players outside of the U.S… The best players back then had talent, sure! But their average player still couldn't make it in todays game. Many wouldn't even make the G League. The talent overall really is THAT MUCH BETTER. I'm not saying it's dumb to appreciate this era. By all means, marvel at it if you want to! But don't think it could honestly compete head to head with present day basketball. It cant! Past the 80's this sport just skyrocketed upwards to a whole other level of athleticism and Wilt or Russell would be able to keep up with it. But most of these guys in the 60's are just dinosaurs.

[@edwardcoward1062]

Exactly! Ymca league players.

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

Basketball sucks today

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

You m0r0n

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

​@@edwardcoward1062i/diot

[@DrakeBrunette]

@@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo nobody cares that you don’t like it. Watch whatever else it is that you like and have a good time. But don’t be disrespectful to the people who do enjoy the game.

[@casualfandestroyer2503]

Bill Russell said in his book that some college all Americans couldn’t even make the league at that time

[@MikeTheNBAGuy]

less teams = less talent dillusion, only the very best could make the league

[@tj5180]

Can u explain why ? I'm learning that's why

[@mymountrushmore6235]

Bill won 5 mvps…the players in the league believed him to be the best player in the league.

[@rapbrown310]

They had like 8 teams then. Relax

[@mymountrushmore6235]

@@rapbrown310 yeah and just as much talent. Bill Russell, Wilt. Oscar, West, n Baylor r just as good as any top five players from any decade.

[@rapbrown310]

@mymountrushmore6235 I'll give you West and Wilt. Elgin Baylor is literally the only great Laker to never win a ring, so he doesn't even make the top 5 greatest Lakers list. Bill Russell stats where mediocre besides his rebounding, which came in an era where rebounding numbers were just ridiculous. And I'm sorry, but Oscar Robinson isn't even a top 10 player. In I like Oscar Robinson.

[@mymountrushmore6235]

@@rapbrown310 Bill Russell has by far the highest DWS ever recorded for multiple seasons. Best defender to ever play…by far. Had they kept track of blocks he would have had records (someone addded up all his recorded games n got like 8 a game. His rebounding is the highest per 36 average ever. His passing ability for a center was exceptional. Not sure what ur getting at w the star thing. Looking in the wrong places. He didn’t care about scoring.

[@rapbrown310]

@mymountrushmore6235 His defense was good for the era, and if he was such a great rebounder, then why does he have only 4 rebounding titles? To say Bill Russell is the greatest defender is laughable. Shaq would drop 50 on him.

[@B90-y6n]

Really dig this kids takes, but these essays could use some more references and citations in regards to knowing players names

[@MikeTheNBAGuy]

Yeah this was real early on my channel, i wasnt doing as much research as I shouldve been for my videos at the time

[@williamhagman2586]

In 100 years if we're still here, Wilt Chamberlain and Babe Ruth will be remembered and any athlete after steroids will just be a "who?"

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

No

[@josephmcfarland8442]

St Louis Hawks

[@1LETHALMC]

Imagine if they had the shoes we wear today

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

No. M0r0n

[@jknumber5138]

James is not near Jordan. The 60s need more shine💯⛹🏾‍♂️

[@bonniejohnson1518]

the rules were strict back then and the players were far more mature...Willie

[@wmden1]

The stories are; He broke the toe with a dunk, after it went through the goal. Also he caused the dislocated shoulder, because the shooter hit the floor, after a block. He didn't rip the man's shoulder out of socket, although he probably could.

[@vsavage9773]

Wilt was the greatest athlete of the 20th century.

[@JMC786]

No way Wilt could bench 500 lbs., arms are too long

[@bealburner3581]

nice vid when i saw the title i thought you was gon say 60s best decade lol didnt think this was the series you was talking bout 50 sub thing

[@casualfandestroyer2503]

No way wilt was better than Russell. You could find footage of wilt saying Russell is the goat

[@MikeTheNBAGuy]

you can find footage of Bird and Magic saying that the other one is the goat. NBA players opinions don't matter, they're more biased than anyone.

[@erics9754]

Not true Wilts team only lost by one or two points and basketball is a team game so I disagree strongly. Wilt is easily the goat!!!! Also, I find the '60s games very entertaining and find today's games boring.

[@MikeTheNBAGuy]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@libfit9068]

Jesus just look at them play.. they’re missing wide open shots and layups.. no offense but the majority of 60s players wouldn’t even make a high school team today.

[@NoNameWillBeGiven-si1wo]

Shutup

[@kippdurron5502]

hahahaha

[@KrispyKleenex365]

Wilt Chamberlain is Wemby 2.0 Bill Russell is Dennis Rodman 2.0 or a Hakeem that didnt want to score IMO Wilt would Dominate today’s league Bill Russell would Dominate on Defense in todays league