Bill Russell

[Wamu]

I don’t think anyone should disagree with that.

His overall impact on the league can’t be overstated.

--At the same time, there have been many players to come along since who were better on the court.

No doubt about it. His scoring numbers aren't great obviously. But offense wasn't his specialty.

 

[returnofjakedog]

Russell was 6'10", not 6'7"

I exaggerated a bit but reports are that he was actually closer to 6'8" (or 6'9". Sources vary). Barkley was about 6'4" and a half, not the 6'6"/6'7" he was listed at during in his career. Over reporting height was a common occurance back in the day. Gus Johnson was the almost the exact same as Barkley, Wes Unseld was listed as 6'7" but was actually 6'5" and a half, Hakeem was listed at 7'0" but was actually 6'10", etc, etc, etc. I could list dozens more.

But the fact that Russell did what he did at a slightly less than listed height makes it even more impressive.

 

[logic]

No doubt about it. His scoring numbers aren't great obviously. But offense wasn't his specialty.

He likely could have had much more offensive impact, but it just wasn't required on the teams he played on.

 

[Wamu]

He likely could have had much more offensive impact, but it just wasn't required on the teams he played on.

It's a damn good thing the Celtics didn't have to depend on Russell for scoring. A career shooting percentage of 44 is terrible for a low post player.

Although I've often said too bad blocked shots weren't an official stats back in his day. From the info I've looked up in the past he averaged a bunch of them.

 

[trojanfan12]

It's a damn good thing the Celtics didn't have to depend on Russell for scoring. A career shooting percentage of 44 is terrible for a low post player.

Although I've often said too bad blocked shots weren't an official stats back in his day. From the info I've looked up in the past he averaged a bunch of them.

Even worse when you think about how many of those shots would have been in the paint.

 

[Wamu]

Even worse when you think about how many of those shots would have been in the paint.

Pretty sure he was known to take fade away baseline jump shots. Those are tough.

 

[trojanfan12]

Pretty sure he was known to take fade away baseline jump shots. Those are tough.

Something tells me that if he was missing those at a rate that would hurt his shooting percentage that much, Auerbach would have made him stop shooting them.

 

[tlance]

Something tells me that if he was missing those at a rate that would hurt his shooting percentage that much, Auerbach would have made him stop shooting them.

44% was actually pretty good back then. Most players were way lower.

They didn’t have analytics and I doubt coaches spent as much time as they should have on shot selection.

Seems like they often took the first available shot they could.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

The best case for Russell is team success, and that does not make any sense to me.

1 player is never solely responsible for a team winning. And in Russell’s case, he played alongside a handful of Hall of Famer’s.

You better hold Kevin Durant to these same standards from here on out. Only difference is that Russell played with one team his entire career and did not jump to a 73-win superteam.

 

[tlance]

You better hold Kevin Durant to these same standards from here on out. Only difference is that Russell played with one team his entire career and did not jump to a 73-win superteam.

That is the point.

Championships are pretty far down the list for me as a criteria for best individual player.

KD is arguably the best player in the league today in a much more competitive era. That counts for a lot. He is 1 of the best pure scorers in NBA history and a pretty solid defender too.

And yes, I would rank KD ahead of Russel for sure.

 

[Stakesarehigh]

Kd is substantially ahead of Russell and I am no KD fan

 

[Gman]

I see what's happening in this thread. It's as clear as day.

Y'all are sh!tting on Russell's legacy because he's black.

Yeah, I said it.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

I see what's happening in this thread. It's as clear as day.

Y'all are sh!tting on Russell's legacy because he's black.

Yeah, I said it.

 

[trojanfan12]

I see what's happening in this thread. It's as clear as day.

Y'all are sh!tting on Russell's legacy because he's black.

Yeah, I said it.

Actually, it's because he's green.

 

[Gman]

Actually, it's because he's green.

So you admit it's a color issue....

You, sir, are worse than Hitler.