Mel Counts: “Olympic Gold; Played With Bill Russell, Wilt, Havlicek & West” | Tom Nelson Pod #399

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 ========= Slides, summaries, references, and transcripts of my podcasts: https://tomn.substack.com/p/podcast-summaries My Linktree: https://linktr.ee/tomanelson1