Chamberlain vs Russell was a thing long before Magic versus Bird. Bill Russell, the defensive mastermind and winner of several NBA championships, proved to be an equal match for the larger-than-life big man Wilt Chamberlain. Even though the two centers ended up being close friends, their rivalry still exists. Particularly when it came to something as trivial as the highest earning individual.
Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain were two very different kinds of athletes.
Wilt the Stilt and Bill the Hill handled the game differently, just like Magic and Bird did. That meant breaking scoring records for Chamberlain. That meant going above and above to win, for Russell.
Six consecutive scoring titles to start his career, including a 1961–62 campaign in which he averaged 50.4 points per game, were achieved by Wilt. Over the course of his 14-year career, Chamberlain averaged 22.9 rebounds and 30.1 points. However, Bill never finished a season with an average of higher than 18.9 points. However, he almost tied Chamberlain for rebounds (22.5) and, more significantly, finished with 11 titles in 13 seasons.
In terms of individual awards, the skyscrapers were tied despite having two distinct styles. Nine MVP honors were shared by the two, with Bill winning five to four of them. Wilt has an advantage of 13 to 12 in All-Star appearances, while Russell has 11 All-NBA choices to Chamberlain’s 10.
Russell asked for one dollar more than Chamberlain.
Six scoring titles and four rebounding titles were on Chamberlain’s résumé in 1965. He signed a three-year, $100,000 contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, but he still had no championships to his name. Wilt became the highest-paid basketball player with that deal.
Russell was negotiating a deal with the Boston Celtics at the same time as Chamberlain was signing his contract. Bill had successfully guided Boston to yet another championship—his seventh consecutive and ninth overall. However, the renowned center was only going to accept a $75,000 offer from the Celtics. Because of this, Russell was forced to say that he would quit if Wilt, his rival, paid him less. However, it only needed to be one dollar; not much more was required.
Russell eventually re-signed with the Celtics on August 25, 1965, and with a $100,001 contract, he became the highest-paid player in the NBA.
