- Who is the greatest player you played against during your NBA career? (1960 - 1974)
I could not pick one single player. I played against a lot of great players. Certainly among forwards I would list Elgin Baylor and Bob Pettit. Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell in the pivot. In the backcourt, Jerry West, Earl Monroe, Dick Barnett, Walt Frazier, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, KC Jones for his defense. I’m sure I’m leaving out people I should name.
- Who do you think was the greatest player of all time?
Again, I don’t think you can pick just one player. What are your criteria? The player’s numbers? Individual achievement? Wins? Championships? Plus which, circumstances are different, depending on the role a player was asked to play on his team, and the level of competition at any given time. I will say this: Elgin Baylor belongs on any list you could make up. He is almost always left off these lists and he is certainly overlooked when he should not be. He could do everything on a basketball court. Then I would say Michael Jordan, for what he accomplished. Bill Russell. Kareem - the all-time leading scorer. Wilt Chamberlain for the way he dominated the game and opened up scoring.
- Which was the greatest team in NBA history?
What are the criteria? Wins in one season? Total number of championships? The level of competition at the time? The 1970-71 NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks won 66 games and we were never tested. The 1997 NBA champion Chicago Bulls won 72 games and they were trying to win every game and break the record. The Celtics in the ’50s and ’60s won 11 championships once they got Bill Russell. The 1967 Philadelphia 76ers with Wilt Chamberlain were a great team; they were the only team to beat the Celtics with Russell healthy during that entire period.
- Who would be on your all-time all-star team?
How do you determine who plays what position? The game is much more specialized today. You might be called a guard but play inside. Is Michael Jordan a forward or a guard? Still, I would go with the following: Backcourt: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Jerry West. Centers: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain. Forwards: Bob Pettit, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, maybe Karl Malone. This list does not include any of today’s players. Time will tell whether they should be included.
- Who is the greatest coach in NBA history? College history?
Great players make great coaches. That hasn’t changed and never will. I couldn’t pick a college coach. As far as the NBA, I never saw some of the early coaches like Joe Lapchick. What are the criteria? Wins? Championships? I would say Red Auerbach and Lenny Wilkens, based on wins.
- What did you think of the NBA’s selection of the 50 greatest players of all time?
I think it was a nice idea, but I have to wonder who made the selection, and by what criteria. I know it was very upsetting to many people, and rightfully so. For example, Bob McAdoo, an MVP, was not included and he should have been. He had a right to be upset. I think once you get past the first 10 or 12 names on the list, it became a matter of PR, who was the most popular with the media. I think who was left off the list is the biggest area of dispute rather than who is on the list. It’s ridiculous that people who not only never played the game, but never saw the athletes from earlier eras play, are allowed to make up these “all time greatest” lists.
- Compare the NBA today to the way it was when you played.
One thing has not changed and never will change: in order to win, you have to play defense and you have to rebound. Otherwise, I think the fundamentals have broken down in today’s game. The game has become more specialized, so if you play the “2” guard or the “3” forward and you’re asked to play the “1” guard or the “4” forward, you may not have the skills to play those positions. So I don’t think players today are as versatile or as flexible in being able to fit into what their teams need at any given time. I think we had more complete players - you just played the game and did whatever was asked of you. Also, I’m not sure the intelligence level is as high. Basketball isn’t just about athletic skill, it’s about being able to make the right decisions on the court in a split second. I don’t see as many players with that capability. Scoring is down. Will anyone ever average a triple double again? I don’t know. Will anyone ever average 50 points a game as Wilt did? I doubt it. Will anyone ever score 100 points in a game, as Wilt did? I doubt it. And with many teams, the mid-range game has pretty much disappeared. Now it’s all dunks and three-pointers.
- In what ways has the NBA game improved? Deteriorated? What about college basketball?
I certainly don’t think it has improved. I think it has deteriorated in that the focus today is more on individual effort, less on a team concept. For example, the pick and roll has been around forever. If you run a successful pick and roll today, people think it’s a jewel. As far as the colleges, same thing. It’s become a muscle game. Work the ball inside. No movement on the court. Some college games are exciting, most of them are boring. I think the coaches want total control instead of letting the talent dictate the way you play. I think recruiting has become totally professional. Why should a 17 year old kid have to sign a contract, one year at a time?
- How important is coaching to an NBA team? What are a coach’s primary contributions?
You’d think the level of play in the NBA would be superior to college ball, but we know that isn’t true any more. So a coach has to take what he has to work with and match up as well as possible against each opponent. He also has to make sure his bench is prepared so the level of play remains consistent when he has to substitute. Again, I say you have to have great players to be a great coach. So you have to put together the best possible combination of players and try to get them to play together as a team. If a coach has the confidence and the respect of his players, I think that goes a long way toward being able to get the players to play together. Unfortunately, I think there are many coaches who really don’t understand what the game is all about. (ADD) It isn’t just about talent and it isn’t just X’s and O’s. He has to get the players to believe in themselves, believe in each other, and believe in the coach and his system. He has to work to make the weaker players stronger so they can step up and take responsibility when called upon. If he can do these things, then he can improve his team’s level of play.
- Why can’t anybody shoot any more?
To become a good shooter, you have to practice. So I would say the obvious answer is that players don’t practice enough. And it’s not just how much you practice, it’s how intelligently you practice. This is something I emphasize in my book. Also, I think the 3-point shot has definitely hurt shooting. That’s a very difficult shot, and I think too many players focus on making 3-point shots instead of developing good overall shooting fundamentals.
- Are today’s college players better or worse prepared to play in the NBA than before?
I think they’re less well prepared. They feel that because they have a certain amount of skill, that’s all it takes for them to be successful. Then they get on the court and realize it’s a whole different story. Certainly they are less well prepared mentally. Basketball is a thinking person’s game. You have to have the right attitude in order to succeed.
- How much of this is due to players entering the NBA before they finish college?
It’s not a question of age, or maturity - age is not a criterion for thinking skills. Good habits need to be instilled at an early age. If you’re a hothead, you’ll probably always be a hothead. If you take bad shots in high school, you’ll probably take bad shots in college and the pros. The players who can adapt, who can recognize what they need to do to improve mentally as well as physically, are the ones who will succeed. Unfortunately, few players seem to want to adapt in that way.
- What does it take for a rookie to break in and make an immediate impact?
You might see one or two players a year who make an immediate impact. I measure impact by how much you contribute to the improvement of your team. So if San Antonio won 33 more games with Tim Duncan than without him, obviously he had an impact, even though part of that was also due to David Robinson’s return. A lot of players come into the league with the skill to play the game; I think what separates the impact players is how do they do when the game is on the line? That’s the true measure of a professional. Again, this is more a matter of attitude and mental outlook rather than athletic ability.
- Who do you think are the up and coming stars?
Who is a star? A star's light goes out in the daytime, and daytime is the NBA. Some so-called stars burn out quickly. I think you have to be around for a while and maintain a level of excellence before you are considered a star. I think the players who are going to be impact players have already made an impact. Often the impact is short-lived. Some so-called stars are stars to the media but not on the court. I know the NBA constantly wants to develop new stars, because that helps them create more marketing opportunities off the court. I think the focus of the NBA has become more about selling product to the public and less about the game itself, and they think they need stars in order to do this.
- How does women’s basketball compare to men’s?
Women are certainly coming on and having more and more of an impact. Otherwise, both men and women play with the same rules. Some people think women play a more fundamentally sound game, a more aesthetic game. I think they play pretty much the same as the men. They play the way they learned in college. It's still pretty much work the ball inside. You don't see that many double picks or reverses or weakside plays.
- If you were running the NBA what changes would you make? What about college basketball?
NBA: First of all, I would get all the referees together and ask them, what game are you watching? How do you define traveling? Palming or carrying the ball? Why is there so much fouling? I think a deliberate foul should result in a technical foul, the player is ejected and the team that was fouled gets the ball back. There’s too much fouling, and too much retaliatory fouling. Youngsters are influenced by what they see in the NBA, and they see that traveling, palming the ball and flagrant fouls are not penalized, and so the fundamentals of court movement, dribbling and defense deteriorate even further. Sometimes I wonder if the NBA recognizes its responsibility to the game of basketball.
As far as colleges are concerned, why haven’t they gone to 6 fouls? Why do men need more time on the shot clock than women? I think the game is boring for the most part. It’s become a muscle game just like the pros. The referees allow head-hunting, where an offensive player who is already in a stationary position steps into the path of a defensive player. That should be called a moving pick instead of a blocking foul. The officiating is inconsistent as far as what constitutes blocking or charging - not only from region to region, but even among officials within certain conferences.
- If a college athlete comes out early for the draft and is not selected, should his or her eligibility be restored?
Of course it should. This is only one of the many unfair restrictions we place on college athletes. If a college coach talks with another school about a job, and isn’t selected, or decides not to move, he still gets to keep his job. There’s a double standard. I think part of the problem is that we don’t put enough value on education. If you’re giving your services as an athlete to a college in exchange for an education, why try to beat that system if it will make you a better citizen in the long run, and prepare you for life after basketball? Often players who declare early are bowing to economic pressure from family members. The school really doesn’t care if you get an education; they just want you to produce on the court. Kids need education to become productive members of society, not just athletic training.
- Should college athletes be paid?
I believe they ought to receive a stipend of some kind, and more realistic living expenses. Kids in all other areas of college life earn money through work study awards; athletes are certainly working for the college, producing revenue and raising the college's visibility. I also believe their scholarships ought to be guaranteed for four years instead of the college having the option to renew each year. Right now there are too many abuses. The kid doesn’t get paid, but his parents or his coach negotiate for him and they wind up with a job. Who are we kidding? Also, why should a coach or an athletic director be permitted to bind the team to a shoe contract? The players are bringing success to the program but they do not participate in the revenue, and they’re told what kind of shoes they have to wear.
- What are the best sources of foreign basketball talent? How do other countries compare?
At first it was Yugoslavia, Russia, Germany, Lithuania – now you have mid and top level players from Argentina, Spain, France, and China. The NBA encourages this because they want to open up more marketing opportunities around the world. I couldn’t tell you country by country what the level of talent is like; supposedly the foreign players take the game more seriously and have better fundamentals. This is not always true. I took a team of retired NBA players, most of them in their ’40s and ’50s, to China in 1998 to play the Chinese National Team. We won one game of four and were competitive in the others until we got tired. The Chinese National Team is on a level with the top American college teams; they could probably make the Final Four in most years. On any given night they might beat some of the weaker teams in the NBA but I don’t think they could do it consistently, night after night.
- What advice would you give a young boy or girl just starting to play basketball?
Seek out people who will teach you the basic fundamentals, and help build your confidence in handling the ball. If you’re not getting what you need from one certain coach or teacher, look elsewhere. Also be prepared to develop your game on your own. Seek out the best possible competition. Competition will teach you the areas in which you need to improve. Then work on those areas of your game. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten away from competitive sports in our parks, playgrounds and schools. The other thing that’s happened is that we’ve become so obsessed with the idea of star players, even at a young age. No one cares about the average kid. So if you’re in organized competition and you see that all the attention is focused on other players, you will have to be willing to put in extra work on your own in order to bring your game up to par. Don’t be discouraged; everyone’s body does not develop at the same rate, nor do your skills. Ask for help. Find someone who can teach you. There’s always a way to get it done.
- A lot of people think the 1998-99 lockout was the first work stoppage in the NBA. But didn’t you lead a players strike at the 1964 All-Star game in Boston?
We had taken a vote and decided not to play the game because the owners were refusing to allow the Players Association, of which I had just become President, to be represented in negotiations by our legal counsel, Larry Fleisher. They finally agreed to negotiate with him and so we played the game. I think we got started about 10 minutes late. Eventually we were able to negotiate the first Collective Bargaining Agreement for professional athletes. Speaking of the lockout, I think that is one of the most harmful things that has ever happened to basketball.
- How did you become president of the NBA Players Association?
In the 1963-64 season, my 4th year in the league, I was approached by my Cincinnati Royals teammate Jack Twyman and by Tom Heinsohn of the Boston Celtics, both of whom had previously served as president, and asked if I would take the job. They felt they needed one of the premier players in the game in order to have some leverage. At that time the NBA owners could be very vindictive. Players were afraid to speak up. You could be released or traded for being a player rep. I’m glad I was considered a premier player because it strengthened my position. I felt that if I had the leverage, I had the responsibility to use it. So I served as President until I retired in 1974.
- Why did you file suit against the NBA in 1970 and what did you accomplish as a result?
First of all, I did not file suit as an individual, but on behalf of the NBA Players Association of which I was president at the time. We wanted more freedom for players in structuring their careers. Back then your team owned rights to you in perpetuity, which was illegal. It was totally their option to renew your contract whenever it expired. There was no such thing as free agency. We wanted the right to negotiate with other teams once a contract was up. Your team would have first refusal, that is, the right to match the best offer made by another team, but you would be free to accept whichever offer you wanted. This is what became known as the Oscar Robertson Rule. The case was decided in Federal Court in New York in 1976 and was the beginning of free agency as we know it today. Actually, our legal counsel, Larry Fleisher, had been negotiating with the owners for years, so it wasn’t as much a court decision as a negotiated settlement which the court approved. That became our new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The owners knew the settlement was coming and started signing their better players to long-term contracts. The CBA also included improvements in travel, training and medical care, plus a licensing agreement for use of players’ names and likenesses which in the long run was extremely unfavorable. That was part of our growing pains. We knew a settlement was inevitable; when you’re held down so long, the pendulum has to swing. So we were going from 0 to 10, and everything was wide-open for negotiation. We weren’t as well-informed on all the issues as we could have been; we were focusing more on free agency and working conditions.
- Are agents are a positive or negative influence on the NBA and pro sports in general?
They can be both. I don’t think rookies need agents if they’re going to sign for a minimum which is already established. What I mainly object to is agents sitting in on meetings of the Players Association. They’re not members. I don’t know of any other professional sport which allows that.
I think the Players Association has allowed the agents which control certain players to become too strong. Now they’re dictating who will play where and so on. Another thing that concerns me is the double standard as far as college kids who are about to turn pro. A college player cannot have an agent and still be eligible for college sports, but a college coach can collect a referral from an agent for referring a player to that agent.
- Do you think professional athletes have a responsibility to act as role models?
I think everyone, not just athletes, has a responsibility to set a good example. Our society is sports-crazy and hero-oriented, so if you’re considered a hero, certain people will emulate you even if you don’t behave properly. So you have to be conscious of that. Also, I think the media puts a lot of pressure on you to be a role model. You may not think your behavior off the court is anyone else’s business, but in reality many people think it is, so how you behave in those circumstances may determine whether you are considered a role model. However, I think the public has wised up - they recognize that athletes don’t always behave as we might wish, and in fact they often behave rather poorly. So if you’re looking at an athlete as a role model, you do so at your own risk. I also think parents have to take the responsibility and help their kids make a distinction between how someone performs as an athlete and his or her conduct overall as a civilized member of society.
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