Nothing new about a coach clashing with his star player. Nothing new for such controversies to involve the Lakers.

But this wasn’t Phil against Shaq or Kobe. It was an old-school battle: Butch vs. Wilt.

Things were bad enough that Fred Schaus, the Lakers’ general manager
and their former coach, made headlines by calling a team meeting that
The Times billed as a "peace conference."

Schaus said there were more issues than Wilt Chamberlain’s complaints to and about Coach Butch Van Breda Kolff. Right.

Star and coach made dueling appearances in John Hall’s column, with the coach complaining, then the star defending himself.

Van Breda Kolff: "I’ve reached a point where I don’t give a blank.
All I plan to do is keep coaching the way I coach. That’s all I can do.
Whatever is going to happen is going to happen."

Chamberlain: "I’ve never professed to win any popularity contests
but I’m not going to say the same thing as the coach. I’m not going to
say I don’t care. I do."

Chamberlain apparently was unhappy about being benched (the coach
called it rest, just like fellow superstars Jerry West and Elgin Baylor
received) and having to play outside the low post.

–Keith Thursby