Turns out the great Don Nelson was wrong.

Ever since the disciples of James Naismith witnessed the rim-rattling of Wilt Chamberlain, they knew big men would dominate the sport the good doctor, who couldn’t dunk even if jumping off one of his peach baskets, had invented.

So they went about fixing that. They drew up a limited-access zone – called a key – then widened it. They created a term – goal-tending – and banned it. They even took the game’s most exciting play – the dunk – and for a while prohibited it.

Nelson witnessed the evolution first-hand. He played against Wilt and with Bill Russell. But it was mostly guys like Zelmo Beaty, Bob Lanier and Walt Bellamy – human refrigerators designed to stand between Wilt and his nightly feast – who caught Nelson’s eye.

An innovative coach aft

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