The Wayne Embry Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Monday, January 11th, 2004
In 1966 Red Auerbach acquired you to provide backup
support to the great Bill Russell. The Celtics had just
won their eighth consecutive NBA championship and Auerbach
had retired as coach. What was it like coming to Boston,
and how did you feel when the Celtics failed to win a
ninth consecutive title?
Did you learn anything from Red in terms of running an NBA
franchise?
Bill Russell and Sam Jones – what is the first thing that
comes to your mind when you think of each of these
individuals?
Sam Jones’ greatness continues to be one of the most underrated aspects of that dynasty. He was superior to the vast majority of his contemporaries, but his greatness tended to get lost in the shadow of Russell and some of the other players on the team.
How did Russell the player differ from Russell the coach?
The Celtics were back on top a year later, winning a tenth
NBA championship. What was it like for you to finally
reach that pinnacle?