Seeing this, and then reassessing all of his championships, maybe he is the GOAT!
Great player!!
Great player!!
RIP Bill Russell
- Thread starter CloneGuy8
- Start date
Ya mean like that 6-5 Oscar Robertson dude? LOL.
Russell was the best of his era. He would translate just fine in today's game. To laugh that he could not be the GOAT is laughable. LOL again.
Considering I haven’t seen one reputable top all time list rank him as the GOAT, proves that what I said is in fact not laughable.
Maybe I’m old but in 80s and 90s I’d always see him named as greatest of all time while Jordan was still active and accumulating stats/wins/mvps…I mean it was basically assumed he was the greatest ever and MJ was passing him. Extremely common, if not unanimous view in those decades. Nobody thought he was behind Wilt, Kareem, or Magic.
Since then, LeBron is the only player who could have even entered this discussion.
It’s not at all laughable to say Russell is 2 or 3.
Two things from this article struck me.
"Longtime Globe sportswriter Bud Collins contacted Auerbach for a story about the event — while Auerbach was on a giraffe safari in Urbana, Ill. — and asked about Russell’s reluctance."
and,
"Russell’s number is one of 21 retired by the Celtics and hanging from the ceiling at TD Garden."
I didn't know there were many giraffes in Urbana, IL! And, 21 retired numbers by the Celtics. Holy Cow! That's a lot!
"Longtime Globe sportswriter Bud Collins contacted Auerbach for a story about the event — while Auerbach was on a giraffe safari in Urbana, Ill. — and asked about Russell’s reluctance."
and,
"Russell’s number is one of 21 retired by the Celtics and hanging from the ceiling at TD Garden."
I didn't know there were many giraffes in Urbana, IL! And, 21 retired numbers by the Celtics. Holy Cow! That's a lot!
Why was Boston Garden nearly empty when Bill Russell's number was retired in 1972?
There was a very brief and private ceremony that Russell had resisted until the end.
www.boston.com
It just struck me as sort of casual, on your part. He just passed, then to be laughing that he couldn't be the goat. That's all. Context.
Bill Russell and some competent players around him could have kept MJ from a couple of his titles, IMO.
I just think he was the best of his time, by far, really. Who's to say he would be 2nd or 3rd to anybody since?
It's fun to think about though.
Kareem, I think is in that discussion. Outside of those 4, maybe a couple of others as consolation. But boy, those 4, 5 make it with Kobe, were really good.
I agree completely with your post. I’ve seen Russell anywhere from #2 to around #10 on the all time list. None of those lists have him as the goat.
It's hard for me to judge Kareem because I did watch him play a lot just never in his prime. With Russell (and Wilt) I didn't watch him play at all so it's just listening/reading to what others say.
I'm in the camp that it's a one man argument, but I still think Russel can have a claim to 2 or 3. The school of thought that most values winning can't have him lower than two unless they just dismiss the entire era and pretend basketball starts in the 80s.
This is a good summary!
It's hard to argue who is maybe #1 or 2; I'd go Jordan then LaBron. Really it's a toss up though, about who was #2 - 6 all-time best. Russell was right up there.
And he paved the way for these other great players today, from the '80's on. I can't help but think how it might have been for Russell and many of those black players back then. Just thinking of the movie "Glory Road", and Texas Western College's (now UTEP) road to the championship in 1966! Bill Russell was in that era and winning championships before and immediately after that.
I can't blame Bill at all, for his feelings toward the city of Boston, often times, and the bigotry and racism that was all too common back then. Shameful. Thank God we've come this far with social justice and civil rights. We still have much more to go in this country!
I had lunch with him in the late '70's. He was nice to be around. He never gave autographs and always answered someone's question. At the table, the waiter asked "what are you doing here?" Russell said, "everybody gotta be someplace." I'll never forget that. It was an answer, though curt, but it was delivered in a gentle way.
Russell is an all time great but I think at times is overrated. As is his play against Wilt. In their primes Russell often had the far superior teams. But his impact off the court was great as well. One player that is often not talked about but is an all time great that I think is just as responsible for a lot of those championships is Havlicek. Just an amazing all round player.
