Was Bill Russell really that great?

Question

I mean he won all those tittles where there were at most 14 teams in the league. There 9 teams total his first few rings. Imagine playing against teams like Memphis like 20 times a year and only having like 2 series in the playoffs to win it all. Factor in the fact that he played with like 3 or 4 top 50 guys.

Answer 1

Yes, he's a great player, but to declare him as the greatest of all time or the greatest center ever is an overstatement. Russell dominated the game only on one side of the court, that is, the defensive end. He was a great rebounder and shotblocker. But what about Chamberlain? Ain't he got the highest career rebounding average? And what about Olajuwon? Is he not the all time leader in blocked shots? What I'm saying is other great centers were actually at par with Russ as far as rebounding and defense are concerned. What about on offense? Well, Wilt, Willis Reed, Kareem, Olajuwon, Ewing, Robinson and Shaq, and now even Yao Ming, were far better offensive players than Russell.

As far as his 11 titles are concerned, I take my hat off to Russell. Those were legit titles for sure. But then again, Russ had had superstar teammates throughout his career - there was Cousy, Hondo, Sam & KC Jones, Nelson. Most of all, he won all those titles at a time when there wasn't any competitive balance in the league. Let's face it, Boston was unmatched and unchallenged in the 60's.

Answer 2

factor in that he was a winner in college also 2x champion, leading his program to 55 straight wins, that his focus was not to be a star or score lots of points ' scoring is not the most important facet of playing winning basketball' factor in that he played in a time where he couldnt eat or room with his white roommates, factor in that he was so well revered that he was the first black coach in any major american sport, factor in that had he not been black that he would have had larger number of MVPs...the people that post that he wasnt that great are usually about 30 years old or younger and never saw the greats play, just the tail end of MJs career...those that have no idea that MJ would never have won 6 titles without a system to play in (or probably the lakers most recent 3 also) that maximized the effort of less than star players using isolation plays (triangle offense), leaving the star players in favorable match ups...

Answer 3

bill russell woud dominate even today. with the kind of game he played and the WAY he scored his points there would still be no one who could stop him. and his blocked shots would still hold up today except for the ones against shaq. really shaq is the only threat to bill russell. he is a basketball god and is irreplaceable in nba history.

Answer 4

but his defense and big games in the clutch he was the only man to stop wilt at the time or that team would not have been so sucsessful

Answer 5

bill russell is one of the best big men to ever play the game

Answer 6

More rings than fingers... enough said!

Answer 7

he is a hall of famer right?

don't tell me you are smarter than the selection committee.

so stop your pathetic whining.

Answer 8

absofrickinlutely

Answer 9

First of all, Russell's AND Chamberlain's blocked shot totals would have dwarfed Olajuwon's, but the NBA did not officially record blocked shots until 1974 (Chamberlain retired in 73, Russell in 69). Even Jabbar would have had more blocks than Olajuwon, except for the fact that he played the first several years of his career before blocks became an official stat.

Russell's 1956 Olympic team was the most dominant Olympic team in history, winning by an average of 55 points per game.

In college, he won 55 straight games, and two straight NCAA titles... he is one of only about 6 or 7 players in NCAA history to average 20 points and 20 rebounds per game for his NCAA career.

Russell was 11-0 in deciding playoff games. (He was 10-0 in game 7s, and also won his only 5th game of a best of five series).

How'd Russell do in those deciding games? Let's have a look:

1) 1. Los Angeles at Boston, April 18, 1962 NBA Finals
Aiming for his fifth title in six seasons, Bill Russell, the MVP in 1962, was never better when it counted. Playing all 53 minutes (including overtime), he logged 30 points and grabbed 44 rebounds.

As regulation play ended, the game was tied at 100, but Sam Jones scored five in the extra session and Russell had four. Final score was 110-107.

This was the greatest game 7 performance in NBA history.

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2. St. Louis at Boston, April 13 1957 NBA Finals
His first game 7 was against the St. Louis Hawks, a West powerhouse that competed in four finals in five years. The Hawks were ahead by a point in regulation with under a minute left. Jack Coleman drove in for a layup that would have upped the lead to three. But Russell chased him down from behind and blocked his shot. Years later Tommy Heinsohn said it was "the greatest play I never saw in basketball. That sumbitch went by me like I was standing still, and I was near midcourt. He was the fastest man on the team."

The score was tied at 103 after regulation. Sixth man Frank Ramsay led the scoring in the second overtime and Boston owned a 125-123 lead with a second left. Hawks' player-coach Alex Hannum wanted to inbound by heaving the ball the length of the court and off the backboard; he hoped Bob Pettit would grab it and score. The pass found the backboard. "I caught the ball in midair and shot it before I came down," Pettit said. "The ball rolled around the rim and came out. I should have made it; Alex's pass was perfect."

Russell contributed 19 points and 32 rebounds. But on this night coach Red Auerbach's one-time appraisal came to mind: "Russell introduced a new sound to the game -- the sound of his footsteps."

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3. St. Louis at Boston, April 9, 1960 NBA finals

Three years later, Boston and St. Louis met for the third of four times. This Game 7 was anticlimactic, with Boston romping 122-103. Cousy was brilliant, giving Boston its fast-break elixir, a 41-23 second-quarter romp that wiped out a two-point deficit. Russell, twice dazed during the game from elbows to the head, had 22 points and 35 rebounds.

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4. Los Angeles at Boston, April 28 1966
This was Red Auerbach's last game as head coach. The Celtics' players had a ritual. If it was Bill Sharman's last game (1961) or Cousy's finale (1963), they wanted to send that player off as a winner. It's amusing really, because when the chips were down they didn't seem to need extra incentives.

Boston led 76-60 entering the fourth quarter, but the Lakers stormed back with a 33-19 final stanza. It fell short. After a Sam Jones jumper with 25 seconds left, Red lit his last victory cigar. Boston won 95-93.

Russell added 25 points and 32 rebounds to secure Red's eighth straight title.

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5. Syracuse at Boston, April 1, 1959 - East Finals

The 1959 East final threw a scare into the Celtics. They trailed by 16 in the first half, and Syracuse still led 68-60 at the half. Syracuse was led by Dolph Schayes, who had a 21-point scoring average, but also had capable scorers in Larry Costello (16), Red Kerr (18) and George Yardley (20), who had led the league in scoring the year before. But Boston matched the Syracuse foursome with a quintet. Cousy (20) and Heinsohn (25) led the comeback. Frank Ramsey scored 28 before fouling out and Jones chipped in 19.

Russell played every minute until fouling out with less than two minutes left. He scored 18 points and had 32 rebounds, enough to help his mates to a 130-125 victory.

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6. Boston at Los Angeles, May 5, 1969
The 1969 Celtics were an exhausted bunch. They won just 48 games, finishing nine games behind Baltimore in the East. But come playoff time they ran through Philadelphia and the upstart Knicks before meeting the Lakers with their three 20-plus scorers (Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor).

What this Celtics unit lacked in talent compared to the earlier teams they made up for in team play. "None of our teams played together as a unit any better than this one," John Havlicek said. The Lakers tied the game at 60-60 in the third quarter, but Boston ran out to a 91-74 lead. With less than 10 minutes left, the Celtics still led 100-83. West, playing with a hamstring pull, rallied the Lakers to within a point at 103-102. Wilt left with 5:10 remaining when he injured his right knee, and Boston withstood the Lakers' rally, led by West with 42 points, to win 108-106.

Russell had six points and 21 rebounds against Wilt's 18 points and 27 rebounds. But Russell's last act was a proud one. He averaged 46 minutes per game over the Celtics' 18 playoff games in 1969. Only John Havlicek, who was six years younger, averaged more with 47.

A controversy grew over Wilt's sitting out the final five minutes. Wilt asked back in a minute after his injury, but the Lakers rallied due to a running game and coach Butch Van Bread Kolff told Wilt, "We're playing better without you." After the game, Russell told reporters, "In a game like that, they would have to carry me out to get me off the floor." Russell's teammate Don Nelson recalled, "He was talking about Wilt, and I wondered why he'd say something like that about the big guy."

(Russell later said that if Wilt was hurt so bad that he couldn't play in a seventh game, he should have gone straight to the hospital. The two did not speak for over 20 years after Russell's comments).
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7. Philadelphia at Boston (East finals), April 15, 1965
It was a night when two teams botched up inbound passes with five seconds left. Boston led 110-107 when Chamberlain made a layup. Now Russell inbounded the ball high over Wilt's outstretched hands. But his pass hit the guide wire supporting the backboard and the 76ers were awarded the ball. Hal Greer would attempt a difficult pass to Chet Walker some 30 feet away. But Havlicek intercepted it, giving rise to Johnny Most's famous holler, "Havlicek stole the ball!"

Sam Jones led the way with 37 points for Boston.

Wilt led the Sixers with 30 points and 32 rebounds, compared to Russell's 15 points and 29 rebounds (and 9 assists).

Games like this one might make us amend the statement that "Russ always got the better of Wilt" to "Russ' team got the better of Wilt's teams."

In the 49 playoff games in which they both played, Chamberlain scored 1,260 points (25.7 per game) and grabbed 1,393 rebounds (28.4). Russell had 703 points (14.9) and 1,243 rebounds (25.4). In 142 regular-season games against each other, Wilt averaged 28.7 points and 28.7 rebounds; Russell averaged 14.5 points and 23.7 rebounds. The Celtics won 88 of those regular-season games, while Wilt's teams (the Philadelphia and San Francisco Warriors, the 76ers, and the Lakers) won 74.
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8. Philadelphia at Boston (East finals), April 5, 1962
In this game Russell (who scored 19) gets great credit for holding Wilt to 22 points, 28 below his 50-point average.

Boston trailed by a point entering the fourth period, but Frank Ramsey scored four quick points to put Boston ahead for good, and Sam Jones won it on a jumper with two ticks remaining to give Boston a 109-107 win.

About Russell's defense, Chamberlain said, "Russell is more effective against me than any other defender in the NBA because he catches me off guard with his moves. Sometimes, he's playing in front of me. Other times he's in back of me. He keeps me guessing. He plays me tight this time, loose the next time. I've got to look around to find out where he is. It means I'm concentrating on him as much as my shot. And, of course, nobody has quite the timing he does in blocking shots."

Don't have Russell's rebound numbers for this game.
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9. Boston at Philadelphia (East finals), April 19, 1968
"At this point, this is the most satisfying victory of my career," Russell said after the game, no doubt recalling how Philadelphia had ended Boston's run of eight straight titles in 1967. "But we haven't won anything yet. We've got to beat Los Angeles to be champions again." (Just 13 days later that mission was accomplished).

With Philadelphia fans carrying around bedsheet banners calling the Celtics "old men," Wilt snatched 34 rebounds but scored just 14 points (on 4-of-9 shooting) and attempted only two field goals in the second half. Dr. Jack Ramsay, then Philadelphia GM, could hardly believe Wilt's performance. "He once averaged 50 for a season and now he took only two shots. Two shots?"

While Wilt was in a Hamlet-like state over whether to pass or not to pass, his mates were just plain awful. Hal Greer (8-of-25) Matt Guokas (2-of-10), Wally Jones (8-of-22) Chet Walker (8-of-22) and Luke Jackson (7-of-17) couldn't have hit water from a boat. Their combined 33-of-96 (34 percent) and 20-of-36 from the foul line all but assured that the 76ers would cough up the series after building a commanding 3-1 lead.

Russell grabbed 26 rebounds and scored 12 points.

With Boston leading 97-95 with 34 seconds left, Russell hit a free throw, rejected Chet Walker's driving shot and rebounded a Greer miss on the follow. In a rare display of emotion, he then pumped his fist in triumph at the buzzer. Boston prevailed 100-96.
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10. Cincinnati at Boston (East finals), April 10, 1963
This 142-131 victory over Cincinnati was Boston at its best. Cousy's piloting caused Boston's 68-64 halftime lead to grow to an 86-72 margin. That 18-8 run revealed each Celtic at his best: Cousy directing, Russell boarding, Jones draining jumpers, Heinsohn hitting shots from the side and Tom "Satch" Sanders playing helping defense. When the Royals came back to within 96-89 with two minutes left in the third period, Cousy, who was called "The Master" by the New England faithful, ran a hellacious fast break until the lead was 123-98 early in the fourth period.

Oscar Robertson scored 43 points, including 21 of 22 from the free-throw line, but couldn't stop Jones with a net on the opposite end. Jones scored a personal best 47 points. Cousy's 20 points and 16 assists thwarted Robertson's best chance to lead his team past Boston.

Russell scored 20 and, according to the New York Times, got the "key rebounds." (Don't have rebound numbers for this game either).

The victory postponed Cousy's retirement for two weeks. On April 24, his mates gave him a send-off with a fifth straight title, as they beat Los Angeles in six games.

Surprise, surprise.

(END OF ARTICLE)
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The idea that fewer teams made for a weaker league is crazy... Russell had to go against Wilt 14x per season during their 10 year rivalry. And if he wasn't going against Wilt, he was going against Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond... or Hall of Famer Willis Reed....or Hall of Famer Jerry Lucas... or Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy... or Hall of Famer Wes Unseld....or Hall of Famer Elvin Hayes... well, you get the idea...

Russell might have played with 3 or 4 top 50 guys, but he also played AGAINST a lot of top 50 guys, as the players I just named indicates.

Russell was the ULTIMATE "makes his teammates better" guy. Jordan never made anyone better... Pippen had his best year in 1994, when Jordan was retired, and BJ Armstrong and Horace Grant made their ONLY All Star appearances in 1994 (without Jordan there to "make them better)... Armstrong played 11 years in the NBA and Grant played 17 seasons.


There have been twenty four 40 rebound games in NBA history:

Wilt 14
Russell 8
Thurmond 1
Lucas 1


If anyone wants to say that Russell' rebounding numbers were a result of a lot of missed shots, that's simply not true... if it were, then EVERYONE would have crazy rebound numbers back then:

Most rebounds in the 1960s

Wilt / 19,112
Russell / 17,501
Baylor / 9,786
Bellamy / 9,716
Lucas / 8,831

Everyone else's numbers are 'norman'... Wilt and Russell were simply the best rebounds who ever lived.

Russell's 24.7 rebounds per game in 1964 were 4th all time in a single season. Chamberliain holds the other 6 top spots.

Russell would have LOVED to play against Memphis 20 times a year... He could have used some nights off. But 14 times a year, he had to go against Wilt.

Shaq has gotten a lot of nights off during his career playing teams like Memphis.



The fact that Russell played in 11 "ultimate" games (the 10 seventh games plus one fifth of a best of five) shows that the Celtics were indeed "challenged" throughout his career. Today there are four rounds of playoffs, but how many players have played in that many seventh games? Jordan only played in 3 seventh games, despite all those extra playoff rounds.

Russell was simply the greatest winner in the history of team sports (ANY sport). And anyone who reads the above article would be forced to conclude that he was far from invisible in those 7th games.


What made those Celtic teams win the way they did, year after year, was simply the fact that they were an unusually highly-motivated group of players. They never rested on their laurels, and they always wanted to be the best. Playoff money made a lot of difference in those days, as the vast majority of the players had off season jobs in other professions, out of necessity.