Mel Counts recounts growing up in a small Oregon town, being mentored by an early coach, his rapid growth to 6'11", and recruitment to Oregon State, where he made a Final Four and later realized he could turn pro. He describes making the 1964 U.S. Olympic team under Hank Iba and winning gold over the Russians, his most cherished team honor. Drafted by the Boston Celtics, he won two championships and shares stories about Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, travel and pay in the era, and later stops including the Bullets, Lakers, and Suns, facing legends like Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem, and Walton. He discusses pensions, family, faith, giving back, and staying active at 84.
00:00 Meet Mel Counts
00:21 Small Town Beginnings
01:29 Oregon State Breakthrough
01:51 Slats Gill Lessons
03:12 Final Four Teammates
04:01 Olympic Tryouts Camp
04:40 Tokyo Gold Medal
06:45 Celtics Rookie Life
08:21 Traded To Bullets
09:25 Scary Team Flight
11:21 NBA Travel Pay Then
14:53 Red Auerbach Stories
16:35 Wilt Chamberlain Era
17:42 Rings Watches Stages
18:32 Physical Game Changes
19:24 Wilt Strength Tales
21:24 Guarding Legends Film
22:26 Lakers Suns Wilt Sweat
23:41 Wilt Helped My Role
24:46 Practice With Russell
25:39 Road Trip Win Streak
26:23 Playing With Jerry West
27:30 Game 7 Balloons Drama
29:27 Bill Russell The Ultimate Winner
30:36 Boston Life Lessons
33:02 Hall Of Famers Era
33:57 Pete Maravich Memories
34:46 Three Point Revolution
37:21 Durability And Old School Training
39:53 Nutrition And Wilt Hot Dogs
41:46 Pensions And Player Benefits
43:40 Money Mistakes Then And Now
45:17 Rings Faith And Family
45:57 Giving Back And Life Advice
48:51 Staying Active And Final Wrap
Basketball Reference: https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/countme01.html
Mel Counts highlights: https://youtu.be/7XcO7xAc_r4
Mel Counts NBA2K: https://youtu.be/JllZNFwnn9A
Mel Counts replaces Wilt Chamberlain late in 1969’s NBA championship game seven: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lnu5vMfPtbw&t=8256s
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Slides, summaries, references, and transcripts of my podcasts: https://tomn.substack.com/p/podcast-summaries
My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tomanelson1
