Exactly Dave. Some of this is better than the past 10 yrs of watching guys repeatedly jack 3's and try to dunk over 2 defenders. Though, this yrs' playoffs have been impressive.
@slip satch Yeah, I like the 3 WHEN it's used judiciously. Reasonably. Not when guys just come down and jack em like a 15 footer. Some guys can shoot em well enough to do that. Not most of the players. Same with just tossing up alley oop passes to the rim. Miss the old days of in the middle game. Passing, cutting, mid range high pct shots. So now you see teams shooting 30% one game and 58% the next. Largely cause of such casual use of 3pt attempts.
Winning one title as a player-coach is wild and Bill did that shit back to back, including the first 3-1 comeback just to get to the Finals in 68 (against Wilt, which made him come to the Lakers... only to lose again lol)
Joseph Joestar Butch Van Breda Kolff was definitely not the Head Coach suited for the Lakers, as provened by Bill Sharman, who took a Lakers team that was doubted by many due to their aging star players to one of the Greatest NBA Teams of all time with the 1972 Lakers campaign. Heck, I’d say Frank Vogel would’ve let Chamberlain play, because he would’ve known that Chamberlain’s important, just like how the Lakers have rested up occasionally due to minor injuries. Anyways, as a Lakers fan, I’ll be awaiting till June for the season to hopefully resume, but at least I have plenty of games, either with good or bad moments happening, to watch while I’m in Quarantine.
For everyone commenting on the dribbling there were different rules. There were very strict carrying rules. Your hand had to be on top of the ball when you dribbled. This limits the kinds of crossovers and change of direction dribble moves you can do. If the game today were officiated like it was then there would be 100 palming violations a game. I like the rules today better but don't judge the dribbling of past players by today's rules.
3 things while watching...1. Bill Russell as a leader on the floor 2. Wilt Chamberlains great passing 3. Jerry West is silky smooth. This recording is a priceless piece of art. Thank You for sharing.
Yes, ABC had the NBA contract through the 1973 Finals. Then CBS took it over and had it through the 1990 Finals. NBC had it for the next 12 years. ABC has broadcast the Finals since 2003.
Footage from 80s/90s looks just as good if it has gone straight from TV broadcast film to digital form with a modern codec. Sadly, NBA is really terrible at going back to tapes for the clips that were digitized in early-to-mid 2000s. Also, many 90s full games on youtube and elsewhere on the internet are actually just home video recordings of TV broadcasts that have been converted to digital (so you've got multiple format conversions with non-professional level equipment).
Important things to remember when watching this game - 1. Russell is the head coach and starting center for the Celtics 2. Jerry West is the only player to win Finals MVP on a losing team 3. Look at the shoes they're playing in 4. Look at Don Nelson's free throw jump shot lol. And he hit the 18 foot game winner for Boston 5. Bill Russell and John Havlicek played every single minute of this series 6. Jerry West achieved the first game 7 triple double in the finals here 7.John Havlicek averaged 28.3/11/4.4, he would've been the Finals MVP if it was given to a player on the winning team 8. The Celtics won this series after being down 0-2, the first team to ever do that in the finals
Except the Celtics' superteam was by then getting old, considered washed up. They weren't even supposed to make the Finals, much less beat the heavily favoured Lakers.
@@SaucySnaggs I'm having hard time understanding your gibberish. I grew up in Boston in the 80s... saw Bird's entire career. But we all knew about the greatness of Bill Russell, and the legacy he set. HE was the greatest Celtic, and we were lucky that Larry was a close second. Leave Kobe comments for Kobe videos.
Game 7 finals, Sam Jones last game before he was retiring fouls out, he gets an applause for an amazing career in the opposing arena, that's respect man.
Sam Jones in fouled pit in in his last game in Boston also but he had to guard Jerry West for the series,and you see h of w many baskets Kerry gets after Sam is out of the game.
Wilt was such a bad free throw shooter because his hands were too big! If you don't believe this makes a difference,get a ball you can easily palm one-handed,and try shooting free throws with it!
@@boydotero4239 actually it has been noted that he didnt have unusually big hands for a man his size. So that throws your theory out the window. Face it, he was just a horrible shooter.
@@davidlafleche1142 I think the quality of the players is better than ever and the NBA is certainly more inclusive. It seems that the spirit of the competition has changed however.
celtic fans know and respect a good clean player. michael cooper got one when he fell on the court and went down to an injury and was carried off the court. celtic fans would rather beat the team at full strength. dubs fan.
Yeah they where very strict on the rules but when the players fouled it was basically some american football shit. Players where very careful to use their fouls in the right moments and to their full advantage.
Don’t blame the players or the nba, the nba started calling more fouls because it was better for business, while players flop more because it leads to more fouls which means more free throws which means more points, if the nba legends were in this era they would do the same thing but I do agree I prefer less flopping
Imagine trying to tell your grandkids “yeah I saw Jerry west go tf off against Boston in game 7 and still lose to Bill Russell” “Okay grandpa. Sure you did”
CRAZY as hell. 1969: no I didn't see the game, my parents were watching "all in the family" and freaking Lawrence welch. damn. 53 years later: your parents? what about your TV dufus? Damn internet went down, had to watch it on my phone.
Yeah I'm 16 and I enjoy watching old games. I watch it like a historical document. I like seeing the plays they ran, which star players got the most shots. It's much better than watching highlights. Some kids don't watch old games because it's different, I actually enjoy the difference. It's like a history lesson but more fun.
Don Nelson's free throw motion, some guy threw a beer can at the ref, no 3 point line and Jerry West dropped 42 ... this is era of basketball was incredible.
@Young_Soldier23 He almost did actually even though he lost the finals a few of the voters thought he deserved the award but somehow Andre Iguodala won it.
The Lakers fan didn't have a strong fan base until the 1980s. When Jerry West was coach in the 70s he was once quoted as saying that if you walk around town and talk to people, that absolutely nobody was interested in the Lakers (and this is when Kareem was there) the entire atmosphere changed when Magic Johnson brought the fun
This is also back when the Lakers did not recognize the Minneapolis titles, so at this point it was considered Boston -10 and Los Angeles - 0 Sam Jones and Bill Russell went 7-0 against the Lakers in the Finals and the people at that time couldn't help but pay tribute to a near flawless career
Here is Magic (in Lakers warm ups) receiving applause at the old Boston Garden during Bird’s retirement ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FTBXilcGdY4.html
@@barbaramaier4758 You are entitled to your opinion but M.J is the Best Shooting Guard Ever , 49.7 % Regular season 48.7 in Playoff 's,.....West Shot 47.4 Regular Season 46.9%in Playoff 's and they played almost the same amount of games. and if you want to be technical Magic Johnson 52.0 RES---50.6 PO was better than them both but he also played power forward.
Fuck me. Watching their dribbling makes my dick hurt. Did they seriously just win Game 7 and walked off like it was an exhibition game? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Plus, during a massive war of white people killing Vietnamese people, so no reason to celebrate. Plus, Russ couldn't even eat in restaurants across America because he was black. All makes sense.
I watched this game and remember well when Sam fouled out. I was a huge fan in high school and convinced the principal to bring Sam as the featured speaker at the varsity club banquet. I was invited up to meet him. This was Maine. Years later I met him again in Washington D.C. A gentleman and one of the greatest clutch players and 10 time NBA champion.
I can only imagine the thoughts and emotions going through Bill's heading during that interview, he got to the end of the road and couldn't put it into words, all he could do was thank his teammates and just like that Havlicek came in to help his leader and showed that he was always their for his coach and friend. What an incredible player, coach and man who never gave up and elevated everybody around him to a level of greatness. Thank you for this beautiful moment in NBA history Mr. Russell you deserved everything you work for..
When the game is close and Celtics score it sounds like half the arena is cheering. I think that it’s more likely that a good amount of Boston fans showed came to Cali for the Game 7 given the Celtics were a dynasty at this point
Some cities had better fans than others. I remember listening to a Minnesota Twins game in the 60’s up in Detroit and Harmon Killebrew hit the ball out of the stadium which had never been done. And the crowd cheered like crazy ! They had an appreciation for great feats even when they were accomplished by opponents.
@@primitivochapa7837 the VCR wasn't even invented until 1976 and did not exist whatsoever in the USA until late 1977. Primitivo Chapa has not idea what he is talking about. No cassette based recording format existed at all in the 1960s. The U-Matic format is what was used in the early/mid 70s, and became obsolete once VHS and Betamax debuted. Most NBA games that were broadcast on ABC were not preserved, or were shredded/wiped. This was common practice at all of the major networks for most sports, talk shows, game shows and soap operas until the mid 1980s. Johnny Carson was furious when he learned NBC had destroyed most of the episodes of his show. Back then network executives had no foresight to think anybody would care to see this stuff again, and it was less expensive to reuse the same tape again and again
For a long time I have heard a recurring rumor that all of WIlt Chamberlain's greatest games that had been preserved were destroyed by somebody in the league office who had a personal dislike toward Wilt, and only kept the biggest disappointments of his career. All of the footage of the 1967 Finals was destroyed, and in the series against the Celtics, the only game that was saved was the one that Boston won. 1970 and 1971 final game of the NBA Finals is fully preserved with the championship celebration in tact. But the 1972 Finals 4th quarter and Lakers title celebration original broadcast were destroyed forever and do not exist.
I won $20 on this Series when I was stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, just before I got my orders for Vietnam. Winning the bet against a Lakers fan who just about cried when the Celtics won, offset my upcoming trip to Vietnam. LOL!!! I grew up in Massachusetts and followed the Celtics since around 1960 when I was 11 years-old. The C's made me proud!!! They were our NBA answer to the New York Yankees! Thank you for the easy $20 Specialist Larry Worsham.
Meredith Leavitt I watched him in the 60’s M, and you are sooo right. How many times he killed the opposition in the playoffs. Had he been in there for the rest of the game it would never have been that close.
Bogdan P Sigh lol. He is the overall leading scorer for the greatest dynasty in sports history. If he is perfectly rated, Bill is very overrated. If Bill is top 10 all time Sam is top 20 no question
@@back2back379 He made a clutch bank shot, off the glass in game 4 to win the game, 89-88, to tie the series at 2-2, going back to LA, sooo clutch he was! Very underrated player.
Incredible recording, a piece of history. The real meaning of Celtics pride. Russel, Hondo, The farmer Don Nelson and Sam Jones. But JerryWest and Wilt..wow....
Oh my God, this is beautiful. We don't need time machine to watch or witness a game like this. Man it feels so live like I'm actually excited of what was going to happen. Thank you RU-vid.
My respect for bill Russell grew even more watching this. In his older days, he’s running up and down the court with more effort and actual speed than almost any big that came after him.
well to be fair he was a track star, he was the fastest big man after Wilt and could jump pretty high himself which was why he was such a legendary defender
It's just mesmerizing to see how Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain read rebounds and passes for drives in the paint. They just instinctively knew exactly how to react to get rebounds or read passes from teammates. Both legends, Rest in Peace WIlt, and Bill, stick around a few more years buddy. I'll be sad when you go too. But make sure to play a game of 1 on 1 with Wilt when you go up there for me. Maybe Jerry West, Kareem and maybe Larry Bird will join them up in heaven one day for one legendary display of athletic ability. What a comment! Written May 1st, 2022, at 8:45AM, Sunday.
He was gunning the hell out of His team if u ask me. Which played into the Celtics hands. Dude was turning the ball over trying to play hero ball. Siegfried got x4 Steals in the 4th alone. The offense was very stagnant, which always result in a L. Wilt chamberlain is shooting 87% cooking Russell. Give him the ball, give it to erickson. Wilt is shooting 87%
@@coachwane he had one crucial turnover and one rushed shot cause there was less than a minute left in the game. The offense was tired not stagnant and they were playing a great Celtics defense can’t blame them.
@@coachwane I agree, to an extent. But when you have a guy scoring like West, and your team is down by double-digits, you have to feed the guy who is making shots and take your chances. But you're right, Wilt should have been more involved, too. I would have attacked Russell and fouled him out of the game.
You also got to see what trainers had to work with 50 years ago.....Freon! to freeze up the knee. That is one thing that's definitely improved with time, tending to player injuries with better equipment, remedies, etc.
@Victor Wiley True It was said Wilt Chamberlain was the biggest most gifted player however was soft🙄 That’s why Bill Russell had 11 titles and Wilt had 2 and his second came after Russell retired… Every video I see of Wilt he looks way bigger and more skilled however he’s always getting out hustled especially by Bill Russell…
it's true the dribbling appears less dynamic, but let's not forget they had to be very careful about not traveling or carrying the ball, which is hardly ever called today
+Gato Dribbling appears less dynamic here because the rules were different. Players back then were only allowed to touch the top of the ball while dribbling. They changed this later on to make the game appear more exciting.
Absolutely, but the ridiculous ball handling of today is also within the rules.....the NBA has changed both the carrying and traveling rules to accommodate "exciting plays."
@@vika0194 WTF does the year have to do with the word of GOD? His world is eternal and absolute and since you just demonstrated how stupid you are, I have zero doubt your dumb ass you are on the HIGHWAY TO HELL. Hope you like it toasty.
I don't know what was more entertaining. This classic game and 4th Quarter, or the super intelligent comments by actual basketball fans who KNOW the game. In my opinion watching how the game was played then and now a lot has changed, but one thing hasn't. When you play as a "team" no matter what, sitting egos aside and realizing how to win will ALWAYS rise to the top. The Celtics who aged like fine wine, led by no doubt the best "leader" in the history of American sports Bill Russell looked like they knew they wouldn't lose and it showed all through that 4th period. The Lakers had the better one on one players, and West was on fire, but with about 3 mins left you could see he was out of gas. That makes the Lakers coaching decision to not bring Wilt back that much more a bonehead move. With Wilt in the game, the Celtics had to play much more cautious because of the foul trouble with Russell in the middle. The Lakers could have fouled out Russell, or kept the pressure on by driving to the rim and getting fouled. Plus then the Celtics started doubleteaming West in the corners and Baylor wasn't hitting the long jumpers, and was a bit slow getting to the rim and the defense could recover.
The Celtics went ice cold from about the 6 minutes mark until the final minute of the game when Nelson got that lucky bounce. Back in those days, without a three point shot, overcoming a 15 final quarter deficit was a monumental task.
wilt hurt his knee after that 23rd rebound, he had to go out....a top team nowadays blows both of these teams out easily, as great as some of those players were, most of them (larry siegried, mel counts, john egan, etc) would not even make a G league squad today
@slip satch i highly doubt that, though if he were around today surely his overall skills might be better, and perhaps he would train all year and not smoke in the offseason...he had a decent shot and good fundamentals, but looks kind of weak for today's monsters, that said, he did not travel there, and adding that to many other horrible calls by the lousy refs back then, lakers could have easily come back and taken that game
I remember watching this game. I was a huge Celtics fan. I would with the ear to my transistor radio by an open window strain to hear Celtics vs 76rs playoff games just barely hearing it. I so clearly remember that Don Nelson shot going straight up and straight down. The NBA used to be great. Today I wouldn’t watch it if you paid me.
@@anthonyhutchins2300 Pace has more to do w/ team scoring rather than individual scoring. The lowest league average for FGA was 75.4 per game. Even at that rate, Wilt could still attempt 39.5 FGA like he did in his 50-point season. In other words, ball hogging is the real ingredient.
@Salvador Luna Call it shot jacking, if you want. But the point is that Wilt was the type of player who would've still taken 40+ shots even during a slow pace era if he wanted to. It was still a fast pace era when he decided to be a playmaker instead.
@Salvador Luna The subject is Wilt's 50-point season in which he averaged 39.5 FGA. He attempted 63 shots in his 100-point game. His average went down in the 2nd half of his career when he decided to play a team game. Prior to that, he averaged 33.3 shots for the Warriors. The point is he could do that in any era no matter if it's fast or slow paced.
Funny how people used to say that Russell had the better teammates and hence won..But apart from Russell you really start thinking about true gamechangers in his team after his name..on other hand Chamberlain did have a good support cast but found a way to loose.
@Aaron D. Digby, Sr. Please check the roster again almost the same squad was on the roster for 76ers the next year too..and apart from Gale Goodridge and Elgin Baylor retiring almost similar squad atlead the same starcast of 72 played in 69 and 70 as well.. You can check if you feel like..Just cz now they loose the support cast doesn't become bad..You win once and you can't suddenly discredit them of being bad next year altogether or they can't be poor players once you fail to get over hump.. Let's face a fact it's not easy to win year after year..Celtics were special..But it was Russell who had the mental stamina to come back year after year..Even after when Cousy retired, even after Sharman was gone or KC Jones gone, Heinson gone, abeit with younger guyz like Havlicek, Barnes, Em Bryant or Mal Graham..I mean man to man 69 Celtics vs Lakers it was a joke Lakers should've won but they didn't and who went out of the game Mr Big Dipper only to come back and steal the glory when his team with Jerry West and Mel Counts had bought them back in the game..
Correction-Baylor went on to play three more years... unfortunately retired early in the season that the Lakers went on to win 33 straight games and the Championship!
Daffy's Looney Yep. Retired nine games into the season because he felt that he was hindering the team’s chances. After his retirement, the team was able to do more offensively with Wilt as the rebounder and distributor inside and West and Goodrich as the shooters. Not many people have the guts to do what Elgin did. One of the twenty greatest players ever, in my opinion. If I remember correctly, he did end up getting a ring from the team after they won the title even though he was no longer on the roster, which was a classy move after they finally won a title in Los Angeles. That was their sixth title in franchise history after being the NBA’s first dynasty from 1948-49 to 1953-54, winning five titles in six years in the pre-shot clock era when they were the Minneapolis Lakers.
I was 12 in 69. Remember growing up and in the spring time the celtics always winning when they got to the finals. And Friday night radio broadcasts, yes radio broadcasts were a joy to listen to. I remember this game and Don Nelson's high bounced shot off the rim that went in like it was yesterday
I wish video of the whole game had been kept but I'm thankful we at least had the fourth quarter. This was also Bill Russell's final game. RIP Sam Jones and John Havlicek.
@@FuShengAlexthis is an old wilt. His role was to be a distraction for defenders so that other players got more opportunities. And he was still averaging a Triple-double in this final. Also had best average BPG in the playoffs and finals
@@utthamprakash4976 yeah too bad he was a distraction to his own team. Old Wilt???? Russell was even older than Wilt. Excuses from you. Kareem at the same age averaged over 30ppg in the playoffs for LA en route to Showtimes first title. Hakeem at the same age at 69 Wilt absolutely destroyed David Robinson and outplayed Shaq in the Finals. If wilt averaged anywhere near his regular season scoring average....LA would've won the title easily. Instead he couldn't even outscore some scrub teammate named Johnny Egan!!!
@@FuShengAlex His game was entirely different at this point, Even his coaches told him to change it and be less offensive. How much rebounds did Johnny Egan make? Wilt averaged 25 rebounds in the finals. Don't forget that Wilt at the ages of 34-36 completely destroyed Prime Kareem in every match that they played. And Kareem destroyed Prime Hakeem at the age of 39 and even he even dropped 46 on him. Wilt at the time was more Defensive and cared about blocks and rebounds, That's why his stats deteriorated. Also Russell didn't have Knee surgeries like Wilt did. Kids be looking at stats and judging, Defensive centers generally don't have good stats. If you looked at the stats of Ben Wallace, Dikembe Mutumbo and Bill Russell, They might be considered as 2nd class players
Lol you just showed how little you know about the game. This style of playing isn't efficient and rarely ended in the highest percentage shot available. I will say this style is far better than the slow ass, ugly ass 90s game.
I liked the game then too but one thing that is definitely better is they did away with shooting common fouls until the bonus. Even watching old highlights it drives me nuts watching them walk to the other end of the court to shoot one free throw.
poor jerry west. you can see the determination and utter desire to win with every move he makes. Jerry west was 0-5 in the finals up until this point, he ended his career with a 1-8 record. The celtics are just a different beast with bill russell, arguably the greatest player of all time, on the floor
@@greyk610 The only players from that era considered "GREAT" were Oscar Robertson & Elgin Baylor". West was never mentioned as a great player. If u believe otherwise, provide the magazines, documents, and footage where anybody else besides these 2 "Oscar" & "Elgin" were dubbed "GREAT". This is a myth, a modern narrative. In actually, West never had a really good grasp of BB much less team play.
@@rjmbluesmanns FAR from the best? I'd say he was a LOT closer to the best than the worst. If you wanna talk winners start with Russ. Far from the best......LMFAO what a STUPID comment, and I don't mean bent over.
Live organist, tough but fair reffing with actual rules being followed, polite commentary, and an insane 2 point victory! 2! With PLENTY of time left to tie or even win. Good stuff. Thank you for sharing. ♥️
This was the best and most important NBA Finals of the pre NBA merger era. A classic that forever cemented the hatred Los Angeles Lakers had for Boston Celtics.
I would put the NY Knicks mild upset win over these same Lakers a year later as say the 2nd most important NBA Finals of the pre ABA merger. FYI. This was the first time, all 7 games of a NBA Finals was shown across America on ABC. Prior to that I think (correct me if i am wrong)I think only weekend games was shown on ABC and before that in the early 1960's on NBC.
I always heard Jerry West was great, but man actually watching play i can now see why he's the NBA logo! He was amazing in the 4th quarter of the biggest NBA game possible game 7 of the NBA finals! He kept his team in the game comeback from 15 points! Just falling short of winning the game.
He was great; felt sorry for him, the year following this, again losing bad in a game 7 finals to the Knicks and Frazier; but he finally got his ring a few years later. Such a great player
The previous video I watched was from the 1964 Finals, and it's amazing how much better the quality of play is here, just five years later. Weird ending! The Celtics were like "Is the game over? Do we start celebrating now?"
yeah the nba was trash until really the mid 70's.....9-12 teams dont really make a good league...when half the best players are in the aba ...thats like if durant curry and lebron were in separate leagues today lol...imagine if lebron didnt have to play curry ever again in the finals...and only had to win 2 rounds...he too would win 10-12 rings.....no artis no dr j...no barry ...the nba until 1974...is garbage....to me magic and bird saved the league....mj made the nba popular ....shaq and lebron have elevated it past baseball in america....now its the 2nd biggest sport easily in the world....and hopefully in 10-20 years it can be recognized as the worlds most popular sport...but we need another top 10-15...all time nba talent to be drafted....we have always had one in the league...losing kobe duncan kg is tough...once lebron wade dirk retire...you dont have any top 20 or even 50 players left.....the nba will feel shallow...you wont even have any top 5 players of their own era anymore....think about it...curry?...nope...i hate the new crop of players....wetsbrook?.....good but not legends
You could also make a case that fewer teams meant that the talent was less diluded - the cream of the crop so to speak. And the ABA had far from half of the best players - that's why it folded after 9 yrs.
Both teams look like they're wearing evening slippers for shoes. Nowdays everyone on the court would be 1.2" taller thanks to the design of modern basketball shoes.
Yeah I can’t understand how these guys or anyone before the late 1980s played basketball in those old fashioned Converse or Addidas that had zero cushioning in them.
RIP Bill Russell and John Havlicek. Two legends of the game who did everything they could for their team and will never be forgotten. Incredible how despite this team being past its prime, they still managed to win one for Bill and Sam. Jerry West was incredible. First Game 7 triple-double in Finals history, no three-point line, and led his team from 17 down. Shame Wilt had to choke away the game with his 9 bricks at the FT line and getting outscored by Sam Jones yet again. They were up 3-2, and this was supposed to be their year. West even said he almost quit basketball after this loss.
