But Russell was by far the best player who barely needed to touch the ball and scored just enough to strike a proper balance without being fed. Even Wilt Chamberlain wants Russell, who got the ball back for his team on both rebounds and controlled shot blocks.I would have had Bill covered his man but had a man want it if you lost your stuff you was still protecting him.
Russell subtly changes everyone’s game — his whole team gets better and everyone on your team gets worse. And we will win. Don’t you think so? Enjoy hell.
Russell, died Sunday at the age of 88, retired from the NBA in 1969, shortly before I joined the Washington Post’s sports division. So I never covered him. And we only met once. (I just said “thank you”.)
But as each decade passes, as fewer sportswriters have memories of Russell as a player, and as Russell is tormented by the faint praise of being a legend in an era when most television was black and white, I am I found myself in a declining group. “Russell is the Greatest Ever” Guardians of the Fire. It’s an opinion that has made me the most pathetic, “poor old man” looks. But I will stick around.
Russell is not the GOAT as he won the ring 11 times in 13 seasons, more than anyone in professional sports. Russell had a mostly ‘undefeated’ career — every year, every world title.
He was the best defender in NBA history, so he’s not the GOAT. In fact, he could be the greatest defensive force in any of his four major sports. Starting every few days, he is more effective at preventing runs than an NFL pass rusher, NHL goalie or pitcher.
Russell is not the GOAT for his talent alone. rebounding (he has 22.5 per game), shot blocking (best ever), scoring enough (15.1 points), passing smart, outlets he starts fast on passes, and like any other big man. I have.
Russell was responsible for all of this as well as having been a player/manager for the last two title teams. But Russell possessed more ferocious and unyielding seriousness than any athlete I’ve ever seen in any sport, coupled with an elite intelligence about both his sport and the psychological weaknesses of his opponents. His walk to Center Court evoked a wise and ominous warrior.
Russell sprinted around the court, sweat dripping from his beard and pomping his long limbs. His presence, his competitive threat, his fearless and reckless abandon in the air, and his desire to glare at his opponent’s mind and break vital gear made him both exhilarating and terrifying. .
I remind my colleagues that Russell was 6ft 10, but had a wingspan of 7ft 4. In a famous anecdote, Russell met his perfect foil, Chamberlain, for a photo shoot when Wilt entered his NBA. The cameraman wanted to line up side by side. The subtext is that the chiseled, 7-1, 275-pound Wilt was Goliath for Russell’s skinny David.
Then Russell called for a shot with his hands up to the top of his head. Russell had the advantage of his fingertips because of his long arms. Bill was tall in the basketball sense, and as a champion high jumper in college, Russell probably had the vertical edge.
Anyone who thinks Russell hasn’t “played big enough” this century is probably wrong.
Let’s confess before this GOAT’s business goes too far Celebrating the Life of a Famous AmericanI am biased. Russell was and still is my favorite athlete.
Russell entered the NBA in 1956, the same year I became a sports-addicted kid. The Celtics dominated the NBA’s weekly national television broadcasts, so Washingtonians began to see him frequently.what he became one of the most prominent athletes to take a strong political position in the 1960s — and throughout his life — only added to my admiration at the time, and his memory remains powerfully relevant today.
I didn’t go to college in New England because the Celtics were on TV. But given what he saw from 1965 to ’69, it may have been a good reason.
In all four of those postseasons, Russell faced Wilt. In his first three years, Wilt played with his three other future Hall of Famers—Halgrir, Chet “The Jett” Walker, Billy Cunningham, and hulking All-Stars Luke Jackson and Wali “Wonder” Jones. Together we joined Philadelphia. In his two years, six-time All-Star Larry Costello came off the bench.
In his fourth season, Wilt was traded to the Lakers to join Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, a trio believed to contain the best guards at the time, making it one of three supernova teams unmatched in the 21st century. was born. Move forward and be at the center of history.
The Celtics won the title in three of those four years.
In Russell’s final game — Game 7 of the ring, understandably — Chamberlain had just eight shots, and Russell’s long-term possession of him made him uncompetitive and the Lakers in the closing stages. put on the bench. 108-106 games.
Was Wilt rattling that Russell would hit the biggest spot to hit an “unblockable” fallaway jump shot or deny a dreaded power dunk? 45%) confused him too?
In the 1969 final, Russell retained Chamberlain. Next season, to 11.7 points per game. Celtics bit players Larry Siegfried and Don Nelson scored more than Wilt, but played only a short amount of time.
Early on, Russell had Bob Cousy, Bill Sherman, Tom Heinson, Frank Ramsey, Sam Jones and KC Jones — future Hall of Famers — as potential vice presidents. But when I saw him in college, in the playoffs he was willing to play 48 minutes a game. , cited less-visible talented men like Thatch Sanders. champion.
The last two titles saw Russell also become a coach and Red Auerbach promoted to team president.
Many who knew Russell personally cite all the injustices he endured and overcame in his life, forming a complex character full of insight, conscience and depth.
I only know what I have seen. Forever, I choose Bill.
