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Celtics Video
Chat with Red Auerbach
"The Celtics were a family. They keep in touch, even today."
The NBA will enter its 55th season in 2000-01. At the same time, Red Auerbach will begin his 51st year with the Boston Celtics franchise. The man is a basketball establishment.
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Whether as a coach or front-office executive, Auerbach has had a hand in each of Boston's 16 NBA championships. He posted a record of 938-479 as a head coach, the role he filled for the Celtics' first nine titles. He was the NBA's career leader in coaching victories until Lenny Wilkens broke the record on Jan. 6, 1995.
Auerbach, currently the Celtics' Vice Chairman of the Board, made several shrewd moves as an executive. Bill Russell, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson are among the players Red acquired in trades, and he drafted Larry Bird a full year before the Indiana State product entered the NBA.
Auerbach chatted on Friday, Sept. 8, to commemorate the launch of the new celtics.com, official Web site of the Celtics.
16Titles at 9:53 a.m. ET
Of all the championships, plays and moments you have been involved in, could you single out something that was the defining moment of you career?
Red Auerbach at 9:54 a.m. ET
I would say so. Winning the first championship (in 1957). When it was over, I was emotionally spent. I sat alone in the room and say, "God, isn't this a great feeling, being the coach of the greatest basketball team in the world?"
Brett Michaels at 9:55 a.m. ET
What is the biggest difference between basketball in the '40s and '50s as compared to the game in the year 2000?
Red Auerbach at 9:56 a.m. ET
Actually, none. When I coached, we used the fast break, used a lot of pressing defense. The difference is not in the talent -- please believe me in that. When I coached, we had some great, great players who could be All-Stars today, from Bill Russell to Wilt Chamberlain to Bob Cousy to Oscar Robertson. The difference now is that there's more of them. But we were big. Talk about a Dream Team -- we could've fielded a Dream Team!
Wilson at 9:56 a.m. ET
Red, do you keep in touch with any of the Celtic greats that you coached?
Red Auerbach at 9:57 a.m. ET
To tell you the truth, I am contact with every single player that ever played for the Celtics when I was there. I'm talking about Russell, Dave Cowens, Cousy, John Havlicek. In fact, when I had by 80th birthday party in Boston (1997), all of the players came. It was a memorable night.
Federico at 9:58 a.m. ET
Since you are one of the best coaches in NBA history, which of the new coaches form today you think will have a very prominent future?
Red Auerbach at 9:58 a.m. ET
I think there are a lot of fine coaches in the league. However, now your coaching prowess depends a lot on how much money your owner has, and the salary cap.
Charlieee at 10 a.m. ET
Red, do you feel the Celtics are on track to being a successful team again?
Red Auerbach at 10 a.m. ET
The Celtics are going to come back. When you have a guy like Paul Gaston who owns the team -- he's a real fan. With Gaston and with Rick Pitino as coach, I think they'll be on their way.
Mike at 10:01 a.m. ET
How would your great teams of the '60s compare to the great Bulls teams of the '90s?
Red Auerbach at 10:02 a.m. ET
I think we could beat 'em. People might say that's a very rare statement, but analyze it. If anybody could do a decent job on Michael Jordan, it's Havlicek. He's bigger, he's quicker, he's a great athlete who never got tired. And with Russell, Cousy, Tom Heinsohn and the Jones boys, Sam and K.C. ... Oh, I would look forward to that. And there were very few players quicker than Sam Jones. In fact, I had lunch with him two days ago.
Bevie from Maine at 10:03 a.m. ET
You admired Larry Bird's work ethic. Who fits those shoes on today's Celtics?
Red Auerbach at 10:04 a.m. ET
Take a Larry Bird. He worked unbelievably hard. Kevin McHale, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan would do the same thing. Guys like that loved the game so much, they didn't mind practices. They had a great time. The great players continue to be great, and they want to get better.
For example, Magic was a terrible shooter when he entered the NBA. But he became one of the best shooters in the league. So that had to be attributed to hard work.
Alessandro at 10:05 a.m. ET
Was it special naming Bill Russell as your successor as head coach?
Red Auerbach at 10:07 a.m. ET
Certainly. You see, Bill Russell had told me he would prefer not to play for another coach at that time (1966), so he tried to persuade me to stay on, and he called my wife to try to persuade me to stay. But I couldn't, with so many jobs to do. So I figured, "Who better to motivate Bill Russell than Bill Russell?"
As far as somebody being a player-coach today ... I kind of laugh. I look at teams and they have four or five coaches. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but what do you need them for? You only have five players on the team! The game hasn't changed that much.
David Blatt at 10:08 a.m. ET
Could you tell me what you looked for in a player when making your personnel decisions?
Red Auerbach at 10:10 a.m. ET
First of all, you look at ability, upside and potential. And you try to determine that by watching him. Then you try to get a read on his pontential and his attitude.
As I said, I had no scouts or assistants. So I used to make a lot of phone calls. ... I drafted Paul Westphal by watching him one time on TV. But I saw his upside.
But I made mistakes. I drafted a player once who wouldn't fly,
so we had to let him go.
Fleet_Center_Freak at 10:11 a.m. ET
Do you think it was Bird's time to hang it up as a coach, or should he have continued as head coach of the Pacers?
Red Auerbach at 10:12 a.m. ET
I was not surprised he hung it up. Larry Bird is a man of great tenacity and integrity. When he says something, he means it. He doesn't say things just to say things.
He did a wonderful job with that team, in terms of its togetherness. Sure he got a ready-made ballclub. But it took a special coach and person to do what he did with that team.
Alessandro at 10:13 a.m. ET
Did you have a favorite player as a coach?
Red Auerbach at 10:14 a.m. ET
Well, no. Everybody I had, they had their own personalities. ... I appreciated the smartness of my players. I would ask them for opinions. We would discuss things individually, and so forth.
A lot of coaches want to show that they're the boss, and they're autocratic. I don't mean this as ego, but I didn't do things that way. I would go to Cousy or Russell or Havlicek and ask for their opinions. I respected their intelligence.
A at 10:14 a.m. ET
What areas do you think the current C's should improve on? Personnel moves? Who do you think is the one last missing ingredient to make it and do well in the playoffs?
Red Auerbach at 10:15 a.m. ET
Rick Pitino is a very hard worker, is very knowledgeable and a great motivator. He's a good coach. But the old saying is, "You can't make chicken salad out of chicken feathers." He needs some help with a new rebounder, etc. With things like that, they can get better.
Ltrain at 10:16 a.m. ET
Give me your spin on the Knicks' efforts to get rid of Patrick Ewing.
Red Auerbach at 10:17 a.m. ET
It merely fortifies what people are talking about. There's very little loyalty left; everything's based on money on the salary cap. But the Celtics were a family. They keep in touch, even today.
Will Watson at 10:20 a.m. ET
How do you think Russell would handle Shaq?
Red Auerbach at 10:21 a.m. ET
They said this once about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Russell. I'll never forget Russell's answer. They asked, "How would you do against Jabbar?" Russell said, "You've got it wrong. The question should be, How would Jabbar do against me?'"
So the question should be, "How would Shaq O'Neal do against Russell?" But don't get me wrong. I like Shaq.
Wilson at 10:21 a.m. ET
Is there any player today that you would like to coach or that would fit in with the Celtics?
Red Auerbach at 10:22 a.m. ET
Oh, a lot of them. Shaq, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett in Minnesota. ... And I think Allen Iverson is terrific. I coached him at the 1997 All-Star Weekend. When it was over, he came over to me and said, "It was an honor to play for my coach's coach." In other words, I coached his Georgetown coach, John Thompson, when he was with the Celtics.
Adrian at 10:22 a.m. ET
Do you think that any country can get close to Team USA in the Sydney Olympics?
Red Auerbach at 10:24 a.m. ET
Every year, more and more foreign players are filtering into the NBA. One of these days, one of these foreign teams is going to get guys together who can give the NBA some trouble. ... Some day, they're going to put together a team that will whip us if we're not careful.
Wilson at 10:27 a.m. ET
Do you think there will be another dynasty in the NBA, or is there too much competition right now?
Red Auerbach at 10:28 a.m. ET
Today, there are too many issues involved with a dynasty. Again, I'm going to harp on the salary cap. If you win, and then a guy is offered $5 million more from another team, he's going to leave.
Also, the simple fact of injuries. It's very competitive. How many championships would Chicago have won if Michael Jordan went down? In Boston, we were fortunate to have a minimum of injuries.
Green and White at 10:28 a.m. ET
Coach, tell us about witnessing the Russell-Chamberlain rivalry first-hand. Also, they were actually good friends off the court, weren't they?
Red Auerbach at 10:30 a.m. ET
Yes and no. They started out as real good friends, then there was animosity, possibly because we beat them a lot. But later on, after they retired, they became real good friends again. And the same with me; Chamberlain and I became good friends again.
It was beautiful to watch them play each other. The finesse and
quickness of Russell vs. the power and relative quickness of
Chamberlain. Wilt was a big, powerful man. And it was a sight to
see somebody block Wilt's "Dipper Dunk." We didn't shut him down,
but we won a lot of ballgames.
David Blatt at 10:31 a.m. ET
Does a great offense beat a great defense, or the other way around?
Red Auerbach at 10:32 a.m. ET
You need them both. I look at a player like Michael Jordan; he worked hard on defense. Havlicek played hard on defense. Russell, probably the best defensive player who ever lived, still averaged a good amount of points on offense. You need them both.
Top 5 at 10:34 a.m. ET
Who would be your all-time NBA starting five?
Red Auerbach at 10:35 a.m. ET
You can start out with, in my opinion, Magic, Russell, Jordan and Bird. But to add balance, I'd add McHale. It looks like I'm biased toward the Celtics -- which I am. But that's a pretty good team.
Right there, however, are Oscar Robertson and Shaq. It's practically impossible to name just five. And don't forget my boy Jerry West, or Cousy. And what about Chamberlain or Jabbar? There were three great centers: Chamberlain, Russell and Jabbar. Shaq's won, but he's only won once so far.
Sergi, Austria at 10:36 a.m. ET
What do you think about Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter?
Red Auerbach at 10:37 a.m. ET
I think Kobe is super. He's one of the great players in our league today because he says, "Give me the ball, and I'll get it done." And then he gets it done. More importantly, he plays hard defense, just like Jordan.
Vince Carter is spectacular, like Dr. J. Sometimes he gets a little too spectacular, but Carter is going to be a great player.
Wilson at 10:37 a.m. ET
Do you see yourself lighting a victory cigar for the Celtics soon?
Red Auerbach at 10:37 a.m. ET
I'm not a kid, but I hope so. The Celtics only won the championship 16 times; I'd like to get some more.
Red Auerbach at 10:39 a.m. ET
I'd like to thank the Celtics fans, not only in Boston, not only in New England, but throughout the world. You'd be amazed over the years how many people talked about the Celtics in awe. The epitomized "team." They were good people.
I just hope Celtic fans stay Celtic fans, because we'll be back.
