Wilt Chamberlain is Drafted | Ancient NBA 4| Pt. 2 #philadelphiaeagles #nbahistory

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This is Ancient NBA, Episode 4 the 1960 Finals

Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics just swept the Lakers in last year’s Finals for their 2nd championship win in 3 years. Bill Russell and Red Auerbach are starting their mountainous climb to become the greatest basketball dynasty there’s ever been.

But the Celtics would have to deal with one of the greatest obstacles basketball will ever see. Because the Philadelphia Warriors just drafted a man named Wilt Chamberlain.

The whole country had their eyes on Wilt, as he’d skipped his last 2 years in college playing for the Kansas Jayhawks taking his talents to the Harlem Globetrotters.

This had never been done before, and the hype around Chamberlain was immense. The league didn’t know what to expect, other than that he’d be able to hang in the NBA. But What Chamberlain does his rookie year, will be remembered forever.

The Warriors last year had finished last in the Eastern Division at 32 and 40. Not a horrible team, but they definitely needed some help. Chamberlain would give them more than that, averaging 37 points, 27 rebounds, playing nearly every minute of every game.

He broke 8 records as a rookie, becoming the first player in NBA history to average more than 30 points per game. Chamberlain was voted Most Valuable Player as a rookie. He was so dominant both offensively and defensively, the league was now looking at Philadelphia as possible Finals favorites.

Bill Russell and Red Auerbach knew their team was better than one man, but Russell had been the best player in the league since he entered, that was no longer the case, as Chamberlain was personally re-writing the record book in just one year.

Wilt single handedly improved his Warriors to 49 and 26 on the season. Good enough for second in the Eastern division. He was unstoppable, the first to successfully use the jump fade, and nobody could guard him, he was way too strong.

Bill Russell was the greatest defensive player the game had ever seen, and that on top of having a stacked team of hall of famers, kept the Celtics on top of the league with a record of 59 and 16. And although Philly finished 2nd in the East, Wilt was looking like he could be the greatest offensive player ever.

Meanwhile out West, the Lakers were regrouping. From last place in the league to a Finals appearance last year, they knew Elgin Baylor was their guy. They’d just have to build around him, as the firepower from Boston was too hot for the Lakers to handle.

As the Lakers regroup, so does St. Louis. Who had been burned by Minneapolis last year in the Western Division Finals. Bob Pettit was determined to get back, as he had the Hawks looking like a dynasty there for a few years, beating Boston in the 1958 Finals.

St. Louis stays on top of the West with a record of 46 and 29. While Minneapolis slips to 3rd place, with a record worse than last year 25 and 50, and even fewer fans were showing up now. The Lakers were working on building around Baylor, but that takes time. And in round one of the playoffs the Lakers face the Detroit Pistons again.

Minneapolis had owned the Pistons throughout the 50s. They’d beaten Detroit several times over the years to advance in the playoffs, but this year Detroit was second in the West.

But Elgin Baylor didn’t care, it’s the Pistons, so he gets the broom out and sweeps them 2 to nothing in the first round.

This would be the second year in a row the Lakers would face St. Louis in the Western Division Finals. Where this year, all that was on Pettit’s mind was revenge.

But back East, Boston was getting ready to match up against Ball God Wilt Chamberlain and his Philadelphia Warriors. Philly beat the Syracuse Nationals 2 to 1, in the first round.

And the rivalry has officially begun between the league’s two best players, Bill Russell, and Wilt Chamberlain. Russell wasn’t worried, because when you’re psychopathic about winning, fear doesn’t exist.

But Chamberlain wasn’t scared of the league’s best defense, because the Cetlics couldn’t even think about defending him. He dropped 42 points in game one of the Eastern Division Finals.

Wilt also grabbed 29 boards, but Bill would beat him with 30 rebounds. And on top of the 9 rebound advantage Boston had, they also had scoring depth. 4 guys scored 19 or more for the Celtics.

And they take game one 111 to 105.

Wilt was just about scoring all by himself. The second leading scorer was Paul Arizin I’m sorry man I don’t know how to pronounce that name. Paul would also be a hall of famer one day, But the Celtics had 9 hall of famers. The greatest team ever assembled was picking up right where they left off.

This Philly team was really good. They had 4 hall of famers in Arizin, Chamberlain, Tom Gola, and Guy Rodgers.