In the 1960s the world record for points per game was broken by Wilt Chamberlain making 100 points in one game. This massive scoring game led the way for many new records or high-scoring games to follow. 1960s basketball is the true start of one of the most watched sports in the United States. Basketball got more appealing to watch and has interested young players for many years. The aspects of 1960s basketball include overall basketball in the 1960s, teams, clothing, rule changes, and the top players of the age. Knowing these different aspects will make any person appreciate the game and all its accomplishments in the 1960s. The 1960s was a small chunk of time with little accomplishments that appear in the bigger picture, if you dig deeper …show more content…
They had a good-natured rivalry and met up in many championship games. Bill Russel and Wilt Chamberlain were rivals in their division and showed up against each other in many championship games. They were both dominating centers and played for some of the greatest teams to ever exist. To start off, when Wilt was a teenager in high school he was recruited by over 100 colleges. In the NBA Chamberlain was more than 7 feet tall and averaged 50.4 points per game. He played for the Philadelphia Warriors, then the San Fransisco Warriors, and he ended his career with the Los Angeles Lakers (“Wilt Chamberlain”). Overall Chamberlain was one of the best basketball players to ever live. He left a great mark on 1960s basketball and broke many records during that time. Next, Bill Russel played for the Celtics his whole career and won 11 NBA titles in all the years he played. Russel’s contribution to the Celtics was immediate. In Russel’s first year with the Celtics, they won the championship. After his great legacy with the Celtics Russel became the first African American coach in the NBA (Shoals). Considering all of this, Bill Russel Was one of the greatest players to play the game and his name will be remembered for a long time. To conclude, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russel had a great rivalry and were undoubtedly some of the best players of the 1960s. They have both left major marks in the NBA Hall of …show more content…
While the rules of basketball have changed a lot over the past 70 years, certain decades brought about more changes to the sport. During the 1960s, there was only one rule changed in NBA and one rule changed in college basketball. There was a good chunk of rules changed in the 1950s. One of the main changes that happened was that in 1964 the court widened from 12 to 18 feet which is a major change to the court style (Irvine). Also, from 1967 to 1977 a rule for dunking was enacted in college basketball to prevent injuries and harm on the court, but it was released later (“Basketball Basics Evolution of the Game”). According to Hooptatics, “In the 1960s, in order to provide each team with an equal chance, Sudden Death was replaced by overtime periods.” This means that teams no longer played sudden death on a tie so that the game was fair when a tie occurred. Also, the court widening was used to extend the 3-point line and make the court wider for teams of five players to easily spread out the court. To wrap things up, the rules of 1960s basketball changed during the decade to format the game of basketball better than it had