Dynasty's End: Bill Russell and the1968-69 World Champion Boston Celtics (Sportstown Series)
During Bill Russell's 13-year NBA career, his Boston Celtics won 11 championships, the last in the 1968-69 season. Whalen explores how Russell rallied his aging teammates for that one last run at glory. He sets the context by examining how the Celtics--the first NBA team to start five black players and to hire a black coach (Russell)--were almost an afterthought in Beantown among the city's largely white fan base. Through first-person interviews, Russell's two memoirs, and newspaper accounts, Whalen explores the team dynamic that made this aging, often-injured group much more formidable than it should have been. The Celts limped into the playoffs as a fourth-place team but pulled off upsets against highly favored New York and Philadelphia to reach the finals against Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and the Los Angeles Lakers. Whalen misses the mark slightly in his analysis of Boston's ambivalent relationship with its championship team but scores big in his examination of the pride, determination, and mutual respect that propelled these nearly middle-age men to one more title.Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved