Nvr lost a G7(10 of them), nvr missed playoffs. 11 rings 2 NCAA titles 1 Gold 5 MVPs

[dantheman9758]

difference is he didn't play with 6 other hall of famers in a ten team league with a hall of fame coach vs 6 ft white boys

 

[Goatpoacher]

he didn't have even close to an offensive game as Zo thou

From what I've read (and there are a lot of books on old school players) Russell just embraced his role as a pure defensive anchor. He was capable of putting up points but he never really bothered.

He never really needed to either

And I've always appreciated how he never engaged in as much self-promotion as... again.... Wilt. Purely defensive minded big man... just what your team needs for next year

 

[Newzz]

I never wanted to do this but, , I'm tired of hearing about Bill Russell who played on the most stacked team of all-time. Tell me about his game and how it compares to The Modern Era (1977 - current)




What SKILLS did Bill Russell possess offensively? What was his offensive post game like?

Would he be able to defend The Man With 1,000 "POST" Moves....Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon, because there was no one existed back then like that in the 50s.

Would he be big enough to stop a PRIME Shaq who stood 7'1 and weighed in at 370lbs at his heaviest in 2000-2002....even bigger and stronger than Wilt?

Would he be able to switch on a pick and roll and guard a Prime LeBron/Prime Kobe/Prime MJ 1 on 1?

All I ever see is highlights of put back dunks, layups, and regular dunks as far as offensively.

Who's to say he would be ANY different from a Ben Wallace at best in this era.....his highlight film? Word of mouth from older folks who still claim Joe Louis was the best boxer ever?


I need more....


*edit*


Then I see a comparision to Alonzo Mourning.....are you kidding me?


Bill Russell is nothing but the NBA's version of Otto Graham

 

[Street Knowledge]

I can't quite give him a pass for being a terrible offensive player(aside from passing of course). Especially since one of my main basketball philosophies is Individual offense being more impactful them individual defense

 

[SwagKingKong]

One should note, that it only took 8 wins in the playoffs to win the championship for 9, I believe, of his rings. Thats pretty significant if were using rings as an argument.

 

[mastermind]

One should note, that it only took 8 wins in the playoffs to win the championship for 9, I believe, of his rings. Thats pretty significant if were using rings as an argument.

I guess, but other teams could have won then as well right?

I can't quite give him a pass for being a terrible offensive player(aside from passing of course). Especially since one of my main basketball philosophies is Individual offense being more impactful them individual defense

except he wasnt a terrible offensive player

 

[Goatpoacher]

One should note, that it only took 8 wins in the playoffs to win the championship for 9, I believe, of his rings. Thats pretty significant if were using rings as an argument.

Fewer games makes an upset more likely.

 

[Jutt]

I never wanted to do this but, , I'm tired of hearing about Bill Russell who played on the most stacked team of all-time. Tell me about his game and how it compares to The Modern Era (1977 - current)




What SKILLS did Bill Russell possess offensively? What was his offensive post game like?

Would he be able to defend The Man With 1,000 "POST" Moves....Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon, because there was no one existed back then like that in the 50s.

Would he be big enough to stop a PRIME Shaq who stood 7'1 and weighed in at 370lbs at his heaviest in 2000-2002....even bigger and stronger than Wilt?

Would he be able to switch on a pick and roll and guard a Prime LeBron/Prime Kobe/Prime MJ 1 on 1?

All I ever see is highlights of put back dunks, layups, and regular dunks as far as offensively.

Who's to say he would be ANY different from a Ben Wallace at best in this era.....his highlight film? Word of mouth from older folks who still claim Joe Louis was the best boxer ever?


I need more....


*edit*


Then I see a comparision to Alonzo Mourning.....are you kidding me?


Bill Russell is nothing but the NBA's version of Otto Graham

Its obvious you didnt read the OP, you might have learned something.




There is more to basketball than scoring points.

 

[Newzz]

Bill Russell is a GREAT man, as far as I know, and a role model. Like I said....I hate to do this, but what makes him REALLY the GOAT player? All anyone ever talks about is rings and winning with him, but he was a career 44% FG shooter in the regular season and in the playoffs, went down to 43% FG shooter for his career.


He had years, as a big man, where he shot in the playoffs 36.5% FG (1957), 36.1% (1958), 40.9% (1959), 35.6% (1964), 36% (1967), and 40.9% (1968)

^^^^But yet they won championships in all those years


As a rookie in 1957, the NBA only had 8 total teams and 4 teams in each conference

When he retired the NBA had "grown" to 14 total teams and 7 in each conference.

 

[jadillac]

He's a GOAT candidate too. But his resume doesn't supercede Russell's. And he wouldn't be 2nd in blocks all time had they counted Bill or Wilt's, or perhaps even all of Nate Thurmond's blocked shots. He has less than half as many titles as Bill Russell, and less than 3% of the records Wilt Chamberlain has. Bill Russell was no less potent than Lew Alcindor in the NCAA. IMO there will also always be a convincing argument for Wilt who is on the extreme end of the "individual dominance" spectrum, Russell who is on the extreme end of the "dominant winner" spectrum, and of course Kareem or any of the other GOAT candidates who basically sit in between Russell and Wilt in terms of how they built up their resumes (their combination of titles and statistical accolades). Whoever someone asserts is their "GOAT" usually just plays favorites as to what accomplishments they deem to be the most important. And FWIW Kareem was never even close to the rebounder or defender Bill Russell was. My flavor of the month right now, is Bill Russell. The undisputable greatest winner in basketball history.

EXACTLY.

That or either that player is all they ever saw at a particular time.

Which is why you have the generation older than me who mostly swear Magic is the greatest. My generation swears Jordan is the greatest, and the newer generation, though they still acknowledge Jordan, it's mainly b/c of his highlight reel or shoes.....but they look at Lebron/Kobe as the greatest.

Those are broad strokes, but that's pretty much how it breaks down.

 

[Propaganda]

greatest winner and greatest player are two different things.

 

[Lucky_Lefty]

@dantheman9758 Great post. I always wondered this but where does Oscar rank in your greats list? Because of my pops who is a crazed Laker fan Magic is his but he use to tell me "If there wasn't an Oscar, there'd be no Magic" so that's why I have him in my top 3 plus I've watched a lot of vids of his play and games

 

[Jutt]

Bill Russell is a GREAT man, as far as I know, and a role model. Like I said....I hate to do this, but what makes him REALLY the GOAT player? All anyone ever talks about is rings and winning with him, but he was a career 44% FG shooter in the regular season and in the playoffs, went down to 43% FG shooter for his career.


He had years, as a big man, where he shot in the playoffs 36.5% FG (1957), 36.1% (1958), 40.9% (1959), 35.6% (1964), 36% (1967), and 40.9% (1968)

^^^^But yet they won championships in all those years


As a rookie in 1957, the NBA only had 8 total teams and 4 teams in each conference

When he retired the NBA had "grown" to 14 total teams and 7 in each conference.

Again..why are you bringing up his OFFENSIVE stats? That wasnt his job. The OP put reason AND numbers behind his argument. Youre only focusing on his offensive output, which was in fact minimal. He was the anchor on those teams without needing to score, in fact, based off the stats from the OP the whole team didnt need to score.



If we're disregarding his wins and rings, i dont wanna see you boast up Kobes winning in threads again

 

[Eastside Get The Money]

Glorified Ben Wallace and don't even try to argue
Shooting in the 30% range in the 60s when other big men were obsolete

Still a legend though

 

[Newzz]

Again..why are you bringing up his OFFENSIVE stats? That wasnt his job. The OP put reason AND numbers behind his argument. Youre only focusing on his offensive output, which was in fact minimal. He was the anchor on those teams without needing to score, in fact, based off the stats from the OP the whole team didnt need to score.



If we're disregarding his wins and rings, i dont wanna see you boast up Kobes winning in threads again

You can NEVER be the GOAT PLAYER.....but only play 1 side of the court. This aint football.


Dont try and make this into a "Kobe" thread, because it has nothing to do with him. Besides, Kobe w/o wins and rings, has the numbers to back him on both sides of the court as a SG


Back to Bill Russell, I didnt ONLY talk about his offense, I also asked more questions than that:

What SKILLS did Bill Russell possess offensively? What was his offensive post game like?

Would he be able to defend The Man With 1,000 "POST" Moves....Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon, because there was no one existed back then like that in the 50s.

Would he be big enough to stop a PRIME Shaq who stood 7'1 and weighed in at 370lbs at his heaviest in 2000-2002....even bigger and stronger than Wilt?

Would he be able to switch on a pick and roll and guard a Prime LeBron/Prime Kobe/Prime MJ 1 on 1?

Answer those if you support the theory that Bill Russell is the greatest. Could he deal with Olajuwon in the post?


How is he the GOAT...because he won the most?


He's the NBA version of Otto Graham (played 10 NFL seasons, won 7 championships in 10 years).....is he the GOAT football player?