The Clyde Lovellette Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Thursday, September 15th,
2005
You began
your NBA career by winning a championship as a backup to the great George
Mikan, and finished it by winning two as a backup to the incomparable Bill
Russell. What was it like to play with Russell, and what was it like to win
those titles in Boston?
On May 3,
1988 you received basketball's highest honor – enshrinement in the Naismith
Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Please take me back to that special day.
You were
the first player to play on an NCAA, Olympic and NBA championship team – a
feat that has been duplicated only three times since. What does this mean
to you?
Final
Question: You’ve achieved great success in your life. You are universally
respected and admired by many people, both inside and outside of the NBA.
If you could offer one piece of advice on life to others, what would that
be?
Well,
it was definitely better playing with him than against him [laughs]. Once
you got to know him, Bill was a great guy. Just to sit on the bench and
watch him play, it didn’t seem as though he ever got older. It seemed like
he could go on and on forever, even though age catches up with everybody.
But there were nights when he'd play the whole game – forty-eight minutes –
and you could only sit back and marvel and how he could do that after
playing in the league for ten-plus years. Of course, it was my job to be
his backup, so there were nights when I didn't step foot on the floor.
Every once in awhile I'd get to go in and play. I remember one time, Bill
got poked in the eye and had to come out. I went in against Walt Bellamy
and had one heck of a night. I scored over twenty points that night. So
every once in a while I could still have spurts [laughs]. But I was there
in the twilight of my career, enjoying playing when I did, and enjoying
watching guys like John Havlicek play ball. He was rookie during my first
year with the team. He was really something special. And, as you've
mentioned, I was able to win a couple of championships before I retired from
basketball. It was really special to be a part of the Boston Celtics.
Anytime
you get honored by your peers, it has to be considered a great honor. You
have to be voted in – I think there are eighteen people on the panel who
have to endorse you, so it's very special to be selected. You look at the
players in there – guys like George Mikan, and even guys farther back than
that…guys like Bob Kurland, who I'd heard about but had never seen play –
and you realize how great a thrill it is to be selected. It's something
that I'll cherish for the rest of my life.
Either
I was awfully lucky, or the teams that I played on – and I give credit to my
teammates for this distinction – were awfully talented. Because without the
other players you can't win. The kids that I played with at Kansas and in
the pros, and in the Olympics…they were the reason that I won at those
levels. I just wish that I could have won the state championship in 1947,
because then I would have had a title at all levels. We came ten points shy
[laughs].
In
1980, I was fifty years old. I'd played a lot of ball, and I'd won a lot of
awards, and I was generally looked upon as a great success in the world of
athletics. But it seemed as if I were still searching – I wasn't complete,
I wasn't fulfilled, and I was still searching for something. That year I
gave my life to Christ, and my life from that time forth has been the best
years of my life. I don't get noticed as much for basketball. I'm still
known, but I don't search out the spotlight. I enjoy being a child of
Christ, and I enjoy my relationship with Him a lot more than anything I ever
accomplished on the basketball court. That might be hard to understand, but
even when I was young and playing and in control, I knew that something was
missing. I knew that I was going to find Him and the He could fill the
emptiness that was in my heart.
Athletes today need to realize that all the money that they make, all the
accolades that they receive…those things will fade. Their popularity will
fade. My advice is to look for something permanent, and for something that
is going to be eternal. Jesus Christ is the answer.