Bill Russell, in my eyes, is a top 3 player of all time. Russell was a
superior defender and an excellent rebounder. Despite his size, a 6’9
center, Russell could defend anybody. If Russell was covering you, there
was a good chance your shot was going to be blocked. Back when Bill
played, they didn’t count blocks, but if they did, his blocks per game
would be off the charts. Russell was also a ferocious rebounder. Over
the course of his career, the Celtics’ legend averaged 22.5 rebounds per
game! That is the second highest in NBA history behind only Wilt
Chamberlain. Russell is one of the only 2 players to ever grab over
20,000 rebounds. In his entire career, Russell snatched 21,620 rebounds.
The 12 time all star once grabbed 51 rebounds in one game. He also got
49 boards in two different games.
Russell did a lot more than just block shots and rebound. He was a
born winner. In Russell’s 13 years as an NBA player, he led the Boston
Celtics to 11 championship titles, and 8 of those 11 titles were
consecutive. And, Russell was such a great leader; he won two NBA titles
as a player/coach. Along with 11 rings, Russell won 5 MVP awards, and
Rookie of the year award. Bill won the MVPN award during years when wilt
would put up 30/20. One year, Wilt averaged 50/25 but it was Russell
who was the Most Valuable Player. The Celtics had all the right pieces
for a championship team, but they built the team around Bill Russell,
who was the one who really carried the team.
People criticize Russell of not being a good scorer. Sure he wasn’t
the league leader in points, but he did score 15.1 points per game for
his career. Although that is not a superior number, it is not bad
either. Russell also had many teammates that could score the ball.
Throughout his career, Bill Russell had great scorers on his team like
Sam Jones, John Havlicek, Tom Heinson, and Bailey Howell. So with other
great scorers on his team, it was not Russell’s role to carry the team
with scoring, but it was his role to be the leader. If the Celtics
needed Russell to fill the scoring role, he could have been a 20+ point
per game player. Another reason Russell wasn’t a bad scorer is that he
was efficient. Early on in his career, Russell was one of the top 5 most
efficient scorers. In 1958-1959, Russell was second in the NBA for
field goal percentage, shooting .457. The Legendary center was also an
extraordinary passer for a big man. For his career, he averaged 4.3
assists per game. In fact, in the 1966-67 season, Russell averaged 5.8
assists per game. This shows he was a willing passer. Russell averaged
more assists than other NBA legends such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar,
Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Karl Malone. In all NBA
history, there has not been a better leader than Russell to step onto a
basketball court.
The cornerstone of a great Celtics franchise, Bill Russell, always
stepped his game up when it came to the playoffs. He improved almost
every area of his game, from scoring, to rebounding, to passing, even
free throw percentage. In his playoff career, Russell averaged 24.9
rebounds per game, which is the highest in NBA playoffs history to this
day. One year, in the 1960-1961 playoffs, Bill grabbed 29.9 boards per
game. Also, in the 1959 NBA Finals, Russell set an NBA record with 29.5
rebounds per game. That record still stands today. Russell also stepped
up his scoring in the playoffs. For his playoffs career, he averaged
16.2 points per game which is a 1.1 point per game increase. Not that
much of an increase, but in the 1961-1962 playoffs, Bill put up 22.4
points per game. In the regular season that year, he averaged 18.9
points per game. The next season, Russell again averaged more than 20
points per game in the playoffs. In the 62-63 playoffs, the Hall of
Famer averaged 20.3 points per game which is a big increase from the
regular season 16.9 points per game. Overall, Russell is one of the
great players in NBA history, and he will forever be remembered as the
greatest winner in the National Basketball Association.
“There are two types of superstars. One makes himself look good at
the expense of the other guys on the floor. But there’s another type who
makes the players around him look better than they are, and that’s the
type Russell was.”
– Don Nelson
The Oklahoma City Thunder and the league’s reigning league leading
shot blocker Serge Ibaka have agreed to a 4-year deal with $40 million
guaranteed. Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder had a break-out
season, posting career high numbers in almost every category. Ibaka and
the young Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the 2012 NBA Finals, but
were cut short against the Miami Heat.
