Wilt Chamberlain has been in the news more than usual recently with the 83-point game from Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo getting as close as anyone ever has to his iconic 100-point game not that long ago. But Chamberlain's singular scoring ability was often his undoing, as he could be game-planned into taking his own teammates out of the game with his ball dominance – or by using novel tactics to frustrate the Hall of Fame center.
The latter approach was a tactic used by Boston Celtics head coach and general manager Red Auerbach, who Philadelphia 76ers institution Sonny Hill recalled in a recent interview.
"What he would do," said Hill, "he would have Tommy Heinsohn step in front of Wilt so Wilt could not get back down the floor."
"And they did
that for a period of time," continued the longtime friend of Chamberlain. "It worked up until the point that Wilt got upset."
"Tommy Heinsohn did it one time, and Wilt picked him up off the floor. You would have to see it to believe it, because if somebody is telling you, it’s unbelievable." Given we are talking about a man who hung 100 points on another team all by himself – maybe less than Hill thinks.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: How Red Auerbach slowed down Wilt Chamberlain with the Boston Celtics
