Bill Russell Interviews Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Jamaal Wilkes (1980) 

What's cool about this 42 year old interview is that they are all still here today. 💯

The actor For Kareem on winning time deserves an Oscar

Young Bill Russell laugh what else could you want

What amazes me the most is how soft spoken Kareem was. He is so tall and strong but he speaks so gentle. indeed a gentle giant. 😃👍👍👍

Magic and kareems mutual respect is special

Bill’s laugh is so contagious. He cracks up at every joke and stands up on his chair

Kareem is so articulate and intelligent. What a legend

All legends!!! These four guys won a total of 8 NCAA titles and 25 NBA titles!!! That's staggering!!!

Real questions and real answers. Not bloated or biased media like today.

The interaction between Kareem and Bi11 is awesome. Everybody including Bi11 is praising Kareem as that guy, Kareem makes sure to tell Russell "I learned from watching you....I vouch for you."

Magic really was so loveable. Million dollar smile.

R.I.P. Mr.Bill Russell!!!!🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿❤❤❤🌹🌹🌹

RIP Bill Russell 💚🙏🏾🕊

Bill Russell has the best laugh.

Magic and Kareem was a good duo. They really balanced each other out. I think Kareem enjoyed playing with Magic and appreciated his talent and big, upbeat personality.

THIS IS LIKE A BIG PIECE OF HISTORY HERE

What an interview, rest in peace Bill

Magic’s smile is contagious😊😊

When Magic answered "Give him the ball' Bill Russell laughed because he knows that's true 😄

Bill russell looks like a awesome guy to hang out with.

R.I.P. Mr. Bill Russell!!!🌹🌹🌹❤❤❤🙏🙏🙏🏀🏀🏀💎💎💎🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

Kareem Abdul Jabbar, speaks so intelligently! The greatest ever!!

The level of IQ of each of these players is beyond. When Magic talks he mentions that he is better this year because he is trying to figure where every players specifically wants the ball. And knowing that Kareem is a sensitive, thoughtful kind of guy, he strokes his ego by saying to just give him the ball. There are different kind of leadership, but this is the best and most balance of them all.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a dream 💭 when he was younger

This is why I love RU-vid you could find videos like this from 1980 I didn’t even watch it yet and I am pretty sure it is going to be amazing I love the legends

Bill Russell had the greatest laugh in human history!

Both Bill Russell and Magic sure do love laughing. Always impressed as how these young athletes almost always answer these questions so well. No arrogant no selfish and no offending responses.

hah! Magic's "give him the ball" line was great xD

This is an epic interview.......Bill and Kareem are such humble people...they all are.

Wow..what a combination of players and personalities. You could tell they liked each other and enjoy playing b-ball together.

"What did you learn from him?" "Give him the ball" Dude 🤣🤣

This is the team I grew up with 🥰

Very Cool, never seen this interview.

In this short interview you can see why Russel won 11 rings. He’s just incredibly thoughtful and a natural coach/leader. The only player to lead a team on the court as a player AND a coach. Incredible combination of maturity, humour, leadership and basketball skills.

That was MAGNIFICENT! Magic response to Russell on Kareem...just give him the ball. Then getting serious saying he finds out (studies) were each teammate wants the ball is just compelling.

People talkin about Kareem Magic and Russel but I am kinda impressed af by Jamal Wilkes! Old school Lakers fans called him THE SILK!!! Without him, Lakers wont win those many titles in 80s! He was perfect complimentary piece. There is a reason why Mr. Buss considered him a Lakers legend. Wilkes jersey is in rafters at Staples center!

The greatest scorer in history (the GOAT), the greatest point guard; both agree “it’s not what we do individually but how we play as a team”. For those who don’t know, after this interview they went on to win 5 champions in the 80’s. Players today pay attention.

LOVE HIS LAUGHING MAN HE IS THE GOAT KING ENERGY THANKFUL THANKYOU 🙏 🙌 MUSCLE MUSCLE 🎶 💪 💙 MR.BILL RUSSELL 🥰🥰🥰😇

This is awesome! You always know Russell's laugh is coming at some point, but it always scares the crap out of me when it hits! This is a priceless video!

Bill set this precedent where winning was everything. Modern NBA players don't understand this at all. It's a game. You play to win. Money, fame, endorsements, mansions - all professional athletes have those - but not all athletes can win.

This is 4 legends of champions talking about championships and winning the big one with the big guy!

I can't believe how fast a prime bill Russell was back in the day the legend took off like a Olympic sprinter

Magic was extremely thoughtful about his responses. He loosened it up so much once he started talking.

Game 6 of the 1980 NBA finals was when Magic showed he belonged.

Kareem such a legend man 🐐

Bill russell's laugh got me rolling 💀

RIP Bill Russell legend

The Super Team of 1980! 3 Hall of Famers.

Bill Russell has the most joyest laugh of all time..! LOL!😆

It’s nice to see real men talk to each other instead of seeing players now not give much detail in their interviews with long pausing and looking like they did not want to be there.

It was a great interview. Unfortunately we lost the Greatest winning in Basketball 🏀 history William Felton Russell this year. RIH Bill Russell.

R.I.P Bill Russell the 🐐 💍×11 🙏🏿

Great interview i always heard Magic and Kareem talk but it was cool to hear Silk speak because he was very quiet an a very underrated player Rest In Peace Bill.

Magic Johnson, “give him the ball!” Legends in harmony

4 amazing players talking basketball. So beautiful to see.

that bill russell laugh @ 3:02 caught me off guard im ngl

So much insight here -- "Learning where your teammate wants the ball, where he can 'operate' with it. Like a master's class in winning basketball games!

I love Russell's laugh.

I remember reading an interview of Kareem . He said the hardest center(also power forward) he had to play against was Nate Thurmond 6'11" of the Warriors from 1963 - 1974 , then a couple years with bulls and cleveland . Kareem said Thurmond was the the best player at blocking or making Kareem miss shots, and that Thurmond was a hell of a rebounder . I don't remember Thurmond that well , but just look at photos of him in action and he is like looking at one of those illustrations from an anatomy textbook . very strong looking, lots of muscle definition .

Rest in Peace, Bill

Im 52 and remember watching showtime as a kid. Jamal wilkes stood out because he had this funky twist of the ball in an upward position before he shot it. Very odd looking shot. Time flies!

Russell, Kareem, Magic, legends of course; however Jamaal Wilkes? What a ball player. Could do everything, and a winner wherever he played. It’s funny how that works! Jamal Wilkes is forgotten now, but not by those of us fortunate to have saw him play.

Magic and Kareem , Scottie and MJ, Stockton and Malone... The greatest duos ever.... For me magic and Kareem all day long

Somewhere on this stage is the real GOAT, back in these four guys era, they let you play basketball. Young people don't know what they've missed

So cool Winning got the outfits right.

People sleep on Jamaal Wilkes A.K.A. Cornbread A Walk N Buckets. This Is Classic!

RIP Bill Russell🍀

This is fascinating. Thanks for sharing, mate.

It’s amazing to see two of the best players of all time in Kareem and Magic (Wilkes was exceptional as well) giving the great Bill Russell complete respect throughout the entire interview. Every time he speaks their focus is entirely on Bill. They treat him with such reverence, it’s quite beautiful. I think the new generation of players can learn a lot from this. All I hear from todays players is so and so couldn’t hang in todays game and I’m better than so and so, it’s crazy to me. Kareem and Magic took these opportunities to learn from the best player of all time, there was no thought of I’m better than this guy. It was all this man won 11 championships, he’s the greatest player of all time. I want to get to that level, I’m going to pay attention to what he has to say. R.I.P. to the great Bill Russell, you will be missed champ, god bless you.

WOW Bill Russel and Kareem.....two of the greatest of all time and Magic and Jamal......we have all this on tape!!!

Rest in peace to the legend, GREEN BLOOD, celtics for life

Not now rip bill Russell 🕊❤️

Jamaal Wilkes is an underrated Laker

Wow 4 Amazing good looking, thoughtful guys

I’ve been looking for this video for the best part of ten years. Thank you so much!

The Captain,The Magic Man,& The Silk/Cornbread!!!

The intellect in that room 🤴🏽🤴🏾🤴🏾🤴🏾

How good is it to be a basketball fan? No other sports fans are blessed with so many eras of their legends still alive and involved with the game. How many of the top 75 are still with us and can be seen or heard from every year. And beyond the 75 greatest, so many others that are still apart of the league in some shape or form.

Everyone decent,intelligent and well spoken.

True Legends!!!!

I always will admire and respect humility, world champions at the moment, and famous, popular NBA team with their feet on the ground.

Winning Time!

WOW!!!...This Is Just Beautiful...All Legends...One Love Fam...

Bill Russell asking some mere 2 or 3 time champions about stuff? PRICELESS, given his core leadership of the only *8* time in a row championship team. Kareem has stated in several videos that he considered Bill his role model - too bad so many modern players have ZERO respect for those that came before them.

Wow, just wow how good of a find this was on RU-vid. A 42 year old interview, and this was great.

Winning Time has me here. Great actors!

Amazing interview and I loved Bill's laugh .

Amazing footage

Incredible interview. Also, that 70s set decor and outfits before everything went 80s

Such an excellent interview, to look back on what was ... thank you for posting this

Just discovered this interview. Great stuff, great players, great memories.

If you listen to Magic today, he laughs a lot like Russell

Fantastic interview!

Love this video. Thanks bro.

This interview is pure gold.

god damn legends

Give him the ball...lol You could tell Magic was a real asset to Kareem, not only getting him the ball, but keeping things upbeat.

This looks like a scene from the series. Damn HBO, y’all did a good ass job.

Winning time brought me here

Nice interview, brings me back to the memories of “Showtime”.