Red Auerbach Interview with Bob Costas 1991

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/ @nbahistoryclns -~-
In 1991 Red Auerbach was promoting his new book, “MBA: Management By Auerbach” 😆 I mean cmon, only Red! Haha
Anyway, Bob Costas and the Boston Celtics patriarch spared no subject
Conversation Points:
00:00 - Network ID
00:09 - Introductions
00:23 - Red’s book, “MBA: Management by Auerbach”
00:45 - Could Red Auerbach Coach today 1991)
01:42 - How would Red Auerbach coach players of the
1990s?
03:10 - How Red Auerbach impacted the NBA and game of basketball
04:00 - Red Auerbach explains how he figured out game changing philosophies such as the fast break, 6th man
04:45 - Red Auerbach explains how he coined “the victory cigar
5:42 - Red Auerbach tells how Tommy Heinsohn almost ruined the victory cigar
06:20 - Who did Red Auerbach annoy most with the “victory cigar”?
06:51 - Red Auerbach and Wilt Chamberlain
08:23 - Red Auerbach compares Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain
10:04 - Wilt Chamberlain vs the Celtics Mystique
11:10 - More Wilt and Red Auerbach explains the 1969 NBA Finals, game 7
12:30 - Red Auerbach fist fights Wilt Chamberlain
13:55 - Red Auerbach on Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson
16:00 - Red Auerbach: from making greatest deals in nba history to the death of Len Bias
17:20 - Red Auerbach talks about Len Bias
19:50 - Red Auerbach lights up the victory cigar with Bob Costas

[@todd3563]

Red is an amazing personality. You can see why the players respected him. Costas was terrific in letting Red answer his questions without interuption.

[@88949597]

It's refreshing to hear someone from an era gone by, so blunt just saying what's on your mind... Its rare to hear anyone be 100% themselves anymore

[@JohnJohn-qj4sc]

My college coach, Indiana University's Bobby Knight, always said flattering remarks about Mr. Auerbach's unmatchable finesse and intellect of everything basketball!

[@johnnoone4323]

I am an LA Lakers fan and have been since 1966. When a person wins as many championships as Red did, he has the right to act cocky. All that aside, he studied the game thoroughly and knew the rules. Auerbach, Russell, and the Celtics need to be respected.

[@johnmontag]

I miss both these guys. I know Bob hasn't passed like Red, but still miss his presence during Sporting events

[@Amick44]

Yes. Both set a standard of excellence like few others.

[@Vince6816]

I hate Bob Costas, a real ass

[@margarinetaintedgreen8140]

“Later with Bob Costas” is one of the most underrated talk shows ever. His guests were from an extremely wide swath of professional fields, and Bob was a perfect host with each.

[@916Smoke]

Costas is that kid nobody wanted to pick on their sports team.

[@margarinetaintedgreen8140]

⁠@@916Smokeafter that, he went on to make millions of $ just for talking to some of the world’s most famous and interesting people. I wonder which one was the real “winner,” here…hmmmm…

[@916Smoke]

@@margarinetaintedgreen8140 so? He is still a big douche bag.

[@thomasleary2814]

@margarinetaintedgreen8140 This was an excellent interview and Costas was one of the best at what he did. That's my definition of a "winner." Money doesn't have anything to do with it.

[@DJ-bj8ku]

I laughed when Red said he got pissed at Heinsohn for fouling. Red said he bawled out Russell but I heard he’d yell at Heinsohn instead of Russell to get his point across. lol

[@NM-qo6cd]

Just 7 seasons or so into his career & Red states Jordan was 1 of the GOATS. Astonishing.

[@Amick44]

He was right.

[@x-man9473]

Yes. Aerbach loves smart player and great/impactful leaders. He recognized MJs talent from the jump. Red Auerbach called rookie Jordan a superior athlete with heavy court vision who loves to play basketball. He later in his life said that if he could build a team around any one player, he would build around MJ because of his dominance on both sides of the ball and his ability to make players around him better

[@bigcolt5256]

Costas forgot to mention Red drafting a Toronto Blue Jay named Danny Ainge and the trade for Dennis Johnson.

[@ibzanarroyo704]

Long live the Celtics. Greetings from Atlantic City!!!

[@mark11967AD]

Auerbach kind of reminds me of MJ because he can be ruthless and it’s all about winning. The problem is that deep down when you don’t possess much empathy you do suffer. I don’t believe he or Michael honestly were or are super happy people as hard as that may be to believe with all those championships. But they sure made a lot of people happy and inspired with that standard of excellence that’s for sure not to mention the sheer joy of winning and entertainment.

[@TimothyZakaria]

Historic Boston Garden nothing like it. Greatest Basketball games played there

[@KingSyilver]

lovely

[@beazy7751]

Two Legends

[@Pats308]

what a legend

[@wmden1]

Red's memory of that game 7, against the Lakers, is a little fuzzy. Yes, Wilt twisted his knee and Mel Counts replaced him. Mel counts traveled before the only basket he made, so he didn't even score. West is the player who got the Lakers back in the game. Footage of that 4th quarter, game 7, 1969, is on youtube.

[@antonewilson4310]

It's Red and Lombardi and that's it. GREATNESS.

[@johnharris3455]

Red wasn't just a great coach and front office executive. He was an awesome man as well. Who cared about his players and told it like it was.

[@johnharris3455]

@user-kt6lh5br7f Bruh, back then, I wouldn't have doughted it. Who wasn't greasing their palms back then. At least he was sharing some legitimate knowledge of the game on the floor. And a lot of which is the basics of how the game is played today. So I hope that not all of "Reds dirty past " makes any of "Red's good past" any more irrelevant. I chose not to go down that that end of the court and kept it basketball.

[@johnharris3455]

Hey, your comments about Red got me curious so if you could, please direct me somewhere that can backup what you're saying. Not that I'm doubting your accusations but your words were harse and slanderous and needs to be varified and shouldn't have been said without you giving one. Because as I said back, then who wasn't taking /getting money or making side/under the table deals at the expense of their players , teams and even the league itself. In the beginning. All players was cheated and under paid because players had no rights just a contract that told the owners and the league that they basically owned them. Players had to go as far as threaten to boycott I think the 1st Allstars game just to be heard which resulted in the formation of the players union. I would've been more surprised if I knew that he wasn't taking money.

[@manny4552]

No one has ever known the game and players as well as red did

[@SpaceGhost67]

Interview Costas relished most, his head for facts and figures, teams and players, and still like a kid talking sports over with his dad.

[@RemoWilliams1227]

That top 5 he named is tough to beat

[@rashb3994]

Red feels like some mythical creature, especially with that cigar, haha. He acts like a character in a movie who kind of believed in his own legend and BS but actually ended up living up to it. I liked his unofficial Mt. Rushmore/ GOAT candidates. Though without having studied enough Kareem I would personally replace him with Tim Duncan for now on that list. He is really fascinating to listen too.

[@jamesball5743]

Duncan over Kareem??! Oy ve!

[@onehungrypanda316]

The cigar adds a nice touch but sadly cigars makes you lose breath. His lungs sound its laboring. I recall a time ago ppl smoked indoors like nothing.

[@thomasleary2814]

​@onehungrypanda316 He lived to be 89 and was an avid handball player into his 60's. I'm not advocating it, but cigar smokers do not inhale as much as cigarette smokers do.

[@johnokapal9537]

After watching this interview, it is clear Larry bird learned how to trash talk from Red? He was the founder .

[@nonyobussiness3440]

No lol wtf

[@bobdole4916]

Can't remember who it was - might have been Bird or McHale, but whoever it was, they said that Red was a very fair individual and not racist in the slightest because he hated everybody equally.

[@floatsting20]

@@bobdole4916 Not racist? What an idiotic comment?

[@bobdole4916]

@@floatsting20 If you're just a mean person who pushes people as hard as they can take, but you'll do it no matter the color of their skin, then you're like Red. They made that statement as a joke - which is pretty obvious. I mean, Red drafted the first black player into the league, put together the first all black starting five, and hired the first black head coach in any of the big four leagues. He just happened to be a pretty harsh guy to have to play for or work with, but people did it and stuck around because he wasn't doing it just to be mean, he was doing it because it got the best results possible.

[@floatsting20]

@@bobdole4916 Stop blabbing. You put me to sleep

[@caesard.8711]

Red was real !!!

[@BoosterGoldEarth6]

Man @<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="890">14:50</a> Red Auerbach must of been dipped that cigar in something. Because to claim that Wilt Chamberlain not even in his top five or even have an argument over Kareem, MJ, Magic ,Bird or Russell is laughable and outright petty.

[@tabibnialawfirm]

Red took a lot of shots at Wilt; Red and Wilt did not like each other.

[@gregorywilson2124]

i agree. Wilt has to be in the top 5. But who do you kid off the list that Red has?

[@Amick44]

@@gregorywilson2124 tough call. I'll say this, while Russell and the Celts held Wilt to one title during their reign, that matches the one Kareem had til Magic joined him in L.A. Kareem was looked at in MUCH the same vein as Wilt until then. Dominant and great, but didn't bring home the hardware enough.

[@wmden1]

Red and most of the old Celtics, will stretch the truth, when it comes to Wilt vs Russell. They are either delusionally biased against Wilt, or they know the truth, and won't tell it. No matter how many championships won, or lost, no matter the quality and skills of the players, back then, or the pace of the game, or Wilt's personality, or coachability, or all the other stuff people use to detract from him, Wilt Chamberlain was the baddest ass to ever set foot on a basketball court. 40 plus points and 20 plus rebounds, and probably, conservatively, 10 blocks per game averages, for the whole first 6 years of his career, all have not even been gotten close to, by any other player, ever. He changed his game to concentrate more on defense and assists, after that 6 years.

[@manny4552]

Sometimes he said Russell and wilt were the best centers ever and sometimes red replaced wilt with kareem

[@simonsadlier6170]

Dinner was pizza hut paid by NBC with $20.and $4 extra for Coca cola and 3 ice cream cones somewhere in New York City.

[@creates100]

Costas is incorrect in saying the Celtics won world championships. They won NBA championships. Pure speculation to say they would've won a world tournament.

[@antonewilson4310]

The 974 and 1976 Nets might have beaten the Celts. I don't think the Oakland Oaks would have beaten the Celtics nor the Pittsburgh Pipers.

[@thomasleary2814]

Semantics (and perhaps political correctness?). The best players and the best teams were in the NBA in the 1960's.

[@mikeyposs3132]

The Celtics can't afford 10 background checks?

[@stevesmith0459]

Costas, no thank you!

[@thomasleary2814]

Costas, everyday and twice on Sunday!

[@youtuber3328]

at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="378">6:18</a> the INDOOR smoking SHOULDN'T be allowed AT ALL and i'm NOT anti tobacco AT ALL and i smoke cigars WEEKLY but what if red aurbach was the head coach for players like patrick ewing alonzo mourning hakeem olajuwon kareem abdul-jabbar and/or wilt chamberlain and what if the hawks kept bill russell

[@NBAHistoryCLNS]

Stop it.

[@youtuber3328]

@@NBAHistoryCLNSplease tell me why should i

[@TimothyZakaria]

​@NBAHistoryCLNS comparing LA and Boston I would of chose the Celtics cause of the city being less distracting LA is historically with a lot of glamour just like South Florida distractions

[@youtuber3328]

@@TimothyZakaria please tell me why you said that

[@TimothyZakaria]

@youtuber3328 no brainer whenever you get drafted being in a city or the city is very important if you get distracted a lot then LA or big cities like Miami can cause you to lose interest in Basketball. Everyone is different when they are in that world

[@ap6160]

Red exposing how overrated Wilt is

[@DL-tp2nr]

He was the greatest just bad coaches

[@capitanfuturo594]

Stop writing nonsense. Wilt Chamberlain was the real GOAT. Wilt Chamberlain's bad luck was the mighty Boston Celtics of the 1960's.

[@73Trident]

Wilt's biggest problem was Wilt.

[@Chevy-hw6lw]

Ridiculous statement. Wilt lacked great teammates and great coaches . Soon as he had Jerry west and Elgin Baylor they win . He was mj before he had Scottie and Phil Jackson. MJ played for 7 years with squat for wins, all kinds of personal accomplishments though ! It’s a team game and he just couldn’t do it himself. Neither could Wilt.

[@BoosterGoldEarth6]

Or either exposing how insecure Wilt made Red/Russell feel..