When making a list of the NBA's greatest centers, one might consider Neil Johnston. Who was Johnston? He was an all-around force in the 1950s.
Between these dynasties there was Johnston, who was less famous than his sharp-shooting teammate, Paul Arizin, and certainly less well-known than Bob Pettit – who supplanted Johnston as the scoring champion the year Johnston’s Warriors won the NBA title in 1956.
“Neil just loved to play, and he didn’t make a big deal out of anything,” Caplinger said. “As time went on, the man was so obscure, hardly anybody knew about him – even in his hometown.” They called him “Gabby” because he didn’t talk much – but, Caplinger noted, “Even at a young age, Neil Johnston was mean as a snake on the court. We’re talking competitive.”
In two years with Terre Haute of the Indiana-Illinois-Iowa league, Johnston won 21 games and lost 24. In his third year of pro ball, with Wilmington of the Interstate League, he came up lame with a sore arm. Johnston was an All-Star who came out of nowhere. He got his ring in 1956, when he and Arizin were an unstoppable Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside for the Warriors. Their toughest playoff test came against the Dolph Schayes and the Syracuse Nationals in the semifinal round. The Warriors won the best-of-five by three games. Johnston’s hashline for the series: 27.0/17.6/5.8. Dang.Everyone seems to forget about Neil Johnston.
It’s clear Chamberlain, who was often triple- and quadruple teamed when he touched the ball, was frustrated by getting beat up every night. It was a rugged league back then, especially for Goliath., it was suggested that Johnston wanted Chamberlain to show more fight against his aggressors, and that Wilt wanted a new coach. In any case, Johnston offered no excuses. He just slid away into a relative obscurity.
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