1959-60 - Wilt Chamberlain arrives with a big bang
The NBA had seen a big man dominate before. George Mikan from Minneapolis
Lakers won five NBA titles in six years . But in terms of individual dominance,
no one had seen anything quite like Wilt Chamberlain. With his huge body, Wilt
towered over Bill Russell and the other centers of his time. In his rookie
season with the Warriors, Chamberlain won both Rookie of the Year and Most
Valuable(MVP) Player, leading the league in scoring (37.6) and rebounding
(27.0). Chamberlain scored 50 or more points in seven times. Philadelphia team
went 32-40 improved to 49-26.
But despite the arrival of Chamberlain, Boston was still the league's top
team. In a 75-game season , Boston won 59 games and the Eastern Division, while
St. Louis won the West. Celtics defeated the Warriors in six games to advance to
the Finals, while St. Louis was pushed to seven games by the Lakers before
advancing. After six games, a 3-3 series, Boston dictated the rythm of each
game. The Celtics easily won Game 7 as Russell starred with 22 points and 35
rebounds.
The Celtics had built a dynasty piece by piece. It started with Bob Cousy in
1950, later in 1951, Bill Sharman was added , Frank Ramsey in 1954, Jim
Loscutoff in 1955, and Tom Heinsohn and Bill Russell in 1956. But after the
championship in 1957, the Celtics didn't stop biulding. In 1957 Sam Jones came
aboard, K.C. Jones and Gene Conley, and Tom Sanders in 1960. Auerbach's
legendary eye for talent players had never failed him.
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