#billrussell #bostonceltics
In this video NBA Legends explain why Bill Russell was the greates
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stand up man the smartest player that ever played the [Music] [Applause] game hey guys this is Dominique Wilkins he this is sh sheer this is Gary pton hey this is basol fans what’s up this is Vince Carter here hey what’s up this is Matt bars if you’re an old school NBA fan like I am make sure you check out the basketball time machine with my man sea [Music] Davis hey guys how’s it going welcome back to the basketball time machine my name is Shawn David thanks for tuning in let’s talk some old school NBA basketball in today’s episode I want to take a look at ambient Legends talking about the great and Sensational Bill Russell 11 rings but before we get to that video I want to tell you guys something I haven’t covered Bill Russell that often on my show I think this is like the second or the third video and the reason is I’ve never really saw him play and it just f felt a little bit weird really talking about somebody where I just can’t give a true judgment it just feels like yeah you’re watching YouTube clips and that is basically it and I wanted to drop this episode a while ago but 2 days before the video was scheduled Bill Russell passed away and I just thought okay the timing is not right show the guy a little bit of respect and so I waited so I redid the whole video again so this episode we will take a look at bill russling I will give you my personal opinion how I feel feel about the player and the man so let’s [Music] go now the first clips that we’re going to take a look at are some of the greatest players of his generation like Dave Bing for example so guys who actually saw Bill Russell play firsthand let’s take a look Bill Russell is the greatest winner in American Sports claiming an unmatched 11 NBA championships in 13 Seasons he revolutionize the game with his Mastery of Defense as the anchor of the Boston Celtics Dynasty you know you could ask home of players who are the greatest player in the in the history of the game and in my personal opinion it’s Bill Russell I think he’s the uh the greatest even today you look at all the wonderful players that are there if I started my team today with guys in their Prime I’d still start with Bill Russell we were in the playoffs against the Celtics and we went up 2-1 uh and and you know we thought we had a chance to upset you know the champions in one game I got 44 points and Russ came to me after the game and told me um don’t you ever come into my area again I’m GNA block every shot that you put up I mean he and I listened to him so I took jump shots instead of trying to drive to the basket he was unapologetically himself the stand up man the smartest player that ever played the game The Big Bang we’re never going to see a winner like that again it’s no conversation you know what’s on his hands more rings than fingers I don’t even think he knew what type of player he was going to be he could win the game without scoring the ball opening avenues for the younger generation remember thinking to myself well we not only got ourselves a rebounder but it looks to me like he was such a great athlete for his size and such quickness I said I think we’re getting a little bit more than than we bargain for and Bill Russell kzi waiting for his man bounce past to Russell B is good in F he could rebound they could run they could play defense he made everybody around him better it was the ultimate piece of the puzzle just months after Russell joined the team the Celtics were Champions there’s one thing that I’ll never forget about Bill Russell what a competitor he was it’s game five 1967 6667 we beat them for the championship we’re up approximately 20 points with a matter of seconds five or six seconds left in the game and Luke Jackson was going down for a layup and I still can see Bill Russell chasing him down to try and block the [Applause] shot and I went yeah this is why this man is so unbelievable as a player the scoreboard had to be wrong because I don’t lose there’s one picture of him that I’ve always said he had this kind of Regal look about himself when he put his hands on his TI he standing at midcourt some by shooting a free throw and I still have a picture of this him standing and kind of leaning on one leg and I said oh my gosh the king is looking over here feat them okay let’s start with your relationship with Bill Russell you co-called him I did why well I I wanted to learn I think the most important thing that we can do when you want to learn is actually pick up the phone and ask and so I picked up the phone phone and I reached out to Bill Russell and uh that began a great relationship of mentorship and uh he had a lot of great stories to share with me not just you know things on the court but off the court especially in that time when he was playing those two things could not be separated cuz one went with the other a plan for Bill Russell um and being drafted by him was a biggest honor honestly he’s The Advocate basketball player so he always would have an opportunity to teach you about life more than basketball and I had as a rookie he said uh his my job was to sit next to him on every plane every bus ride and every pregame meal so I have a million Bill Russell stories uh because of that the one story that kind of stands out for me is um we were talking about foreign players coming into the league I was watching him you know looking at a script figuring out what was going on I’m like what’s that he’s like oh some foreign players I’m looking at I said coach you’re telling me there’s not a great basketball player in Alabama that you got to go all the way to Europe to get this guy and um he stopped me and he said Kenny as an African-American you can never uh not want inclusion and I was like whoa he took a a small basketball moment as a a jest and and taught me a life moment about inclusion and about life no one would ever guess you know I’ve asked people that questions be ask and none of them ever guess who I would take and if you you know you take a guess who you think I would take of all time in the history all the players in the history of the game uh Wilt no uh Russell you’re right Bill Russell Bill Russell and won 11 I think a 13 years Championship every year and the year he didn’t win a championship he was hurt I mean the guy was just incredible and think about it see people look at the score look at statistics see yeah and Russ statistics wasn’t that bad cuz no didn’t took you know didn’t take shots he was shoting high percentage because most of his shots were dunks in you know inside the key St Louis got the ball at the foul line made one pass up towards the sideline the other foul line extended Jack Coleman who received the pass took one dribble was going on for a layup to win the game the championship and everything else Russ ran the 90 ft he must have done it in four or five Giant stes and Russell blocked the shot he went by me I was trying to get to this guy Co he went by me like the Road Runner I mean he just swop literally like Superman but I’m with Shaq you you go with winners because Bill Russell won so much but when you start saying which would you start a team with it’s hard to go against the Big Dipper well who’s your Center is it Wilt or is it bill I got to go big Bill give me give me give me Bill here go Bill one two three four you know guys and this is really important to me to really make this clear now not too long ago I made a video about my top 10 players and I did not have Bill Russell in my top five and there’s the simple reason why I think individually especially when you compare him to the skill set of a hakeim elijuan orack or kareim I think that those players were better than Bill Russell but still and this is why I still think that he’s one of the greatest I think his basketball atq is inite League of his own he’s like the Ultimate Team player a player that really would do whatever it takes to win a game and even though he was not the most skilled player in terms of dribbling shooting and all those kind of things to everyone who has played basketball themselves you know that there are some players who when they play basketball it just doesn’t look great but still they find a way because they’re so smart they find a way how to be efficient and and yeah how to be the best player on the court and even though I’ve never seen play in person and I only seen him from highlights in like two or three games that I actually saw I potentially think that he was one of those guys who even though it did not look good that his basketball IQ would compensate for the lack of skills and no he’s not in my top five but I still think he was a damn great player and him as a person I mean I’ve seen a documentary not too long ago a couple of times and from all the articles that I read interviews this man seemed to be a special human being and if there’s one thing that is more important than being a good basketball player is to be a great human being so Bill Russell even though we never met and I never told you guys I actually almost had an interview with him also a while ago but then uh his health deteriorated so it never happens and it’s unfortunate but hey what really does count is that Bill Russell paved the way for so many basketball players and fans and the whole game so Bill up there thanks to you man and yeah to everyone probably not the most spectacular video that I that I dropped but to me it was just important to give the man respect for all the work that he’s done see you next time
47 Comments
I don't mean to be disrespectful, I love your stuff, but Russell is not top 5, he's the goat. But you're too young to know.
Let's begin here. Wilt still dominates the record books. Why isn't he the goat? Oh, not enough rings. Wilt would eat these guys today for breakfast and there's only one reason he doesn't have about 9 rings, Bill Russell. 7 times in their 10 years in the league together, Bill ended Wilt's season Celtics always won, they never got the best draft picks, but yet the top 10 guys with rings is littered with a bunch of guys who played with Russell.
2 more points.
First, 1969. Over the hill Celtics team finished 4th. They meet the Lakers with Wilt, West, and Baylor. Who wins?
Second, there's a YouTube video out here somewhere where a reporter is trying to get Phil Jackson to pick between Kobe and MJ. Phil has seen them all. He shoots a completely different direction and picks neither. Who does Phil love? Russell.
I lied, more stuff. Find the video of Russell jumping over a guy's head. He could have gone to the 1956 Olympics as a high jumper, he was that good. But he couldn't do both back then, so he won the gold playing basketball.
11 rings in 13. A 12th final, he got injured during the series. Wilt won 1. 14 winners in 15 years counting USF (that was nothing before or after).
If you never saw him play with that type of record against Wilt, West, Big O, et al, then it's probably better to keep your mouth shut than leave him out.
Bill could lead a team like no other man. ☘️🏀
SEAN: RUSSEL WROTE BOOKS. "GO UP FOR GLORY", "THE RUSSELL RULES", "Red And Me."
Russel once high-jumped 7' using a HURDLING technique. He had been a track star, too.
Please stop calling WFR the greatest due to what his team accomplished!….it’s not fair to either!
In the 13 years Russell played at Boston, there were 7 other players on the team who later were inducted into the hall of fame. With Russell, that makes 8. And we blame Wilt, West, and Baylor for not beating them. The Celts have 36 players so far in the hall of fame, and 4 coaches, more than any other team. Just goes to show that one man does not a team make.
Wilt outblocked him, outscored him, and out assisted him.
Dear robo:
Read mark 12:17 in the bible!
Being 80 gave me the opportunity to see the greatest players, starting with George Mikan right up to the present.
Russell was a born leader, both in words and on the court. He was the ultimate team leader and player.
My top five includes Wilt, Jordan, Bird, Russell and Magic Johnson. If they were all in their prime, they would be very difficult to beat. I have seen them all play many times. That’s my Dream Team.
Bill Russell was the GOAT. I was a Celtic fan in 1953 . They had Easy Ed McAuley, the Cooz , Sharman , Arnie Rizen , They had the greatest coach and GM ever in Red Auerbach. But they needed a big man, so Red traded McCauley and the number 3 draft pick for Russell, the rest is history. Russell could run the floor relentlessly, the stamina of the man was incredible. He averaged for 13 years 22 rebounds per game. Before block shots were kept track of he averaged 10 a game. The man was incredible. That's why he won 11 championships . Talk to Wilt , West, Baylor, Walker , Bellamy, Thurmond , Petit , Oscar ,Lucas , Hayes , Kareem they, if there still alive will tell you about William Fenton Russell.
The guy with 11 rings is not your top 5. Too funny! Thank God he's in Rick Barry's, Wilt's, Kobe's, Bird's top 2.
No one can ever say any of the other great centers – Wilt, Shaq, Hakeem, Jokic, Kareem, or whoever you want to put in there – were better than Bill Russell. You can’t say any other player at any position was better than him. He dominated an entire decade. No one before or since can claim that. The most physically imposing center could only win one title during their time in the league together. If Wilt wasn’t beating him, don’t bring up anybody else because they would not have either. Forget the 8 – 12 team league stuff because one of those teams had Wilt – who he had to play between 10 -20 times a season – another had Elgin Baylor and Jerry West and the best teams were literally stacked with multiple HoFers that he faced more than the current 2 -3 times during the regular season. I doubt any current or recent superstar could have made it through such a daunting gauntlet on a regular basis and come out with multiple championships for an entire decade. Give this man his flowers and kill that ludicrous debate.
You obviously never saw Bill Russell play. You say he had a "lack of skills"? Your're totally wrong.
It's a generation thing. I'm old enough that I actually got to watch Bill Russell play. Unlike Wilt, Bill's sole focus on the court was winning. Period. He made everyone on his team better. He truly believed that a professional athlete didn't get paid to play. He got paid to win. He sacrificed personal stats so his team would win. The timing was perfect. 2 NCAA championships, Olympic Gold when pros couldn't compete, 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons. He could have led the league in scoring if he had wanted to, but he knew that wouldn't make the team better. His rebounding and outlet passing were phenomenal. An innovative leader that has never been surpassed.
Shaq called him the greatest big man to ever play the game. I agree.
Yeah, he's in my top five. Every time.
Russell isn't in his top 5 because this guy knows nothing about greatness
How about Ave 22 rebounds per game ? And projected 8 blocks! He revolutionized the game with the fast break from rebound and out let pass. It seems you are missing some understanding. Hakeem and others were not literal game changers like Russell. These stats contributed to team wins not forgetting the back to back ncaa championships and the gold medal prior to the 11 nba rings.
Btw he did it all with severe Jim Crow racism on and off the court, especially in his home city Boston…. Let not forget 2 seasons as player-coach. That’s about all I can think of at the moment that you missed…. How can you counter Jerry West’s opinion of BR?
Russell was also surrounded by three, four, even five HoF players. Also, there were only 10 to 12 teams in his day. I think he would be hard pressed to repeat that in today's game, with 30 teams competing.
I have been a Bill Russell fan when I first saw a black and white film of the Boston Celtics vs Cincinnati Royals while in Primary/Elementary school in 1969 while my family was living in London, England.
It seemed that he was blocking everything, and the broadcaster couldn’t pronounce John Havelcik’s name, and kept referring to him as that great number 17.
The Celtics routed the Royals, and to me at that time Bill Russell was basketball.
May he rest in peace. He was the greatest Celtic and a GREATER human being.
🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀
💚💚💚💚💚💚
☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️☘️
Shawn look at him like a bigger Rodman
The GOAT of goats.
WHEN TALKING GOAT … RINGS DONT MATTER…WHAT MATTERS?? WHO DOMINATED ON OFFENSE N DEFENSE… MJ N WILT… RUSS ONLY DOMINATED ON DEFENSE…PERIOD…
Bill Russell was the man
You do not win 11 rings by sitting at the end of a bench.
Sorry but you are dead wrong… Russell was the best and with all due respect, not having him in your top two is wrong. I’ll give you that one mistake….
It seems like you were being torn when determining the best basketball player of all time. Is a championships, basketball skill, or athleticism. Well, pistol, Pete Maravich has got more basketball skills than anyone in history and how many championships does he have? Zero, right Will Chamberlain should easily be declared not only the best athlete in basketball but perhaps the best athlete in the world, ever. How many championships does he have? two? No built Russell was also a great athlete. Underrated so. But he has 11 championships. That’s the most of any athletes in any sport. That should make your decision easier.
11- rings 13 seasons
daft is the best word to describe your opinion
Scoreboard: NBA Championships: Russell 11, Jordan 6. NCAA championships: Russell 2, Jordan 1. Russell basically doubled up on Jordan!
Shaq better then Bill Russell? Foolish
Not only was Bill Russell the GOAT he was a nice guy and loved by millions.
There is no discussion….Whatever team Bill was on would have won the championship. He is the best all time….Number of titles proves it. Otherwise you are just rooting for your favorite player.
Those old school players were some of the most competitive ever however they are over looked and under appreciated by the current players/fans. What is missing is the passion for the games(money, glamour,personal goals,super teams, look at me, I can play all positions,media!!!!!,etc………………. If it was up to be Micheal Jordan, Bill Russell, Kareem, Larry Bird, Pete Maravich, Havlicek, Nate Archibald, Wilt, and you can feel in the blanks________,________,________,_________, with some names that are left out, these players left everything on the court win,lose or draw. Between Michael and Pistol Pete i don’t know which one (if I only had one dollar) I would spend it on. So let this GOAT thing go appreciate the greatness while we can before Hollywood completely takes over the NBA.
if you want to win, Russell is without a doubt the man everybody wants on their team and he proved it. Find the videos of all the greats and find out who they pick as the GOAT…you must be smokin' something…
Russell and Chamberlain are 21st century athletes in the middle of the 20th century. Actually better because instead of focusing just on basketball they played other sports including track and field. If the NBA had counted steals and blocks during their playing days they'd be 1 and 2. Both Russell and Chamberlain averaged 43 minutes per game in their final seasons in the league. In a faster paced era and style of play. And each averaged 19 rebounds a game in their final seasons. Bill Russell averaged 45 minutes per playoff game. For 165 playoff games.
Wilt said Bill is the GOAT with more rings than fingers. He laughed when he was asked if MJ was the GOAT. I will take the word from someone that could bench more than Shaq.
It amazes me what has happened in sports. In the late fifties and early sixties I had to listen to the NBA on the radio (even the playoffs) when the games came on TV, I thought "this is a dull game" until I turned the volume down and tuned in to Johnny Most on the radio. I've since adjusted to the real game but I always laugh when I think of those days. They used to have a cigarette at half time and a job in the off season. How things have changed.
A fitting tribute to one of the all-time greats. It is elusive to call one player the best – different players, different teams, different positions, different times… If defense wins championships, you could take the 11 rings and argue that Russell was the best.
Bill Russell would tell you Wilt was the greatest player. I would say Russell is #2. I watched them play hundreds of times when I was growing up. You say he's #5. There are not 5 players of any era that compare to these guys. Sorry the old film looks old but these two would dominate in any time period. That's just the way it is!
Wilt was better player. But if I were drafting a team… Russell would be my first pick.
One second after 4:02
Here is the perfect "give and go" play initiated, and finished by Bill Russell.
A few seconds after 4:55
Jerry West: "Oh my gosh. The king [Bill Russell] is looking over his fiefdom."
Athleticism and shooting are not the same as greatness. The greatest players elevate the whole team. Russell, Bird, West and Magic, for instance, walked on the court and their teams became championship caliber. If Celtics did not have the edge with Russell’s defense West's Lakers would have not have perennially come in second. Bird's Celtics and Magics Lakers trading championships in the 1980s. So the greatest MVP is not being the greatest shooter (although West and Bird were), but the player who catalyzes their team into greatness. In Russell's case his career was a double double in PTS-TRB Like Shaq, Kareem, Wilt and most other great centers. What was unique about Russell was his double in rebounds ( 22.4)was higher than his double in points and over TWICE the rebounds avgs of Kareem (11.2) and Shaq (10.9) . In fact, the only other player in NBA history to avg >20 TRB is Wilt at 22.9. I was blessed to have watched Russell play against my Knicks and dang if he did not ruin our seasons year after year. Had no idea then how great he was in basketball and as a man.
The notion of greatest ever is a trap. Get over it, and appreciate all the great players. Ranking them is a childish, endless, useless aim.
I think one thing everybody forgets when they watch Russell or Chamberlain is the way the officials called the game. They called traveling, carrying the ball and they call three seconds in the key and they call more charging. That had a big effect on what they could do compared to today's players, which none of these things are called anymore. Play the old rules and call him the way they did and I put the Celtics against any team they have today. They would win.
Bill Russell is the G.O.A.T period. Think about what this man had to not only endure on the court, but what he had to endure off the court in that era of time in America. Also, he was a very HUMBLE man. He didn't make the money these guys make now, he didn't get shoe contracts like players today, and he didn't get the endorsements these players get today. Lastly, he didn't have a big mouth about all of his ACCOMPLISHMENTS like many of today's athletes do. He didn't have to run his mouth, because of his on-court success's, those were his voice. The old adage, Actions speak louder than words definitely apply when you mention the GREAT BILL RUSSELL. I would put Wilt right behind Bill when you have the G.O.A.T., conversations.
OK… I DID get to watch Russell play, and Wilt, and Elgin, and the Dr, and the Pistol…all the way up to Hakeem/Clyde/Jordan/Shaq/Robinson, et al. Of all the great players, Russell transcended his native talent the most, and that talent was prodigious. He made himslef better, he made his teams better, and he made BASKETBALL better. His was a selfless drive and determination; only being the best would do. Ergo, the best TEAM player who ever played, in ANY sport. Mind you, if I was picking my own all-time team, I'd take Hakeem or Wilt…because ALL the other players would also be the best! Bill made all his teammates better, something my all-time guys didn't need! Even Bill could not make Jordan/Magic/Bird/Malone better, but he'd absolutely have TRIED!!
1:00 Yes that is the problem and it's called "Presentism."
You said it best when you said he was a great human being. That greatness was personified on the court. Selfless. Unlike Wilt, who I feel was out of this world in domination but loved stats more than winning, Bill saw only one goal, and that was winning. In life and on the court.
Russell has always been my pick for GOAT. Glad #33 agrees.