OneHundredPoints but there were only 10 other teams in the NBA and the Celtics were dominant

Donny The Dealer So how does that negate his greatness? Less teams equals more talented teams. Jordan made it to the playoffs in his early years with a LOSING record and there were more teams. When the bulls started winning in the 90s there were about 6 to 8 expansion if I recall and that actually made the league watered down. Just telling like it is

Putting Jordan in the same sentence as Bill russell is criminal..

Well he is 6-9

Great Story John !!

Love Russell but Larry Bird is the GOAT!

@@benjaminpease5297 There is no comparison. Bird had far more than 3 mvp years to his credit. At least be honest. Yes Russell was great for his era but Bird was on a different level. Many NBA greats acknowledge that. Also, the talent level when Russel played was no where near the level when Bird played. Both great players in their eras but Bird was a better all round basketball player and talent then Russell and the stats prove this. Your comment about rings has more to do with team and competition level than individual talent. How many marginal players have championship rings yet how many greats do not? The Celtics were the greatest team of their era bar none and that is why they won so many championships. I would say guys like Hondo are just as responsible if not more so! Russell was a great rebounder but did not really contribute a whole lot on the scoreboard. Bird took it to a different level.

@@benjaminpease5297 Do you know how many other factors there are other than rings. Ever heard of rigged? Bad call? Sports been rigged since before Rome had a colosseum.....

Bill Russell would never sign autographs for kids. he would stand there and tell them why autographs were stupid. He was famous for that. Every year he would come into a restaurant in South Beach I worked at and the front door always made him wait because he did this to a kid. And I’m a giant Celtics fan. But he didn’t sign autographs.

Rochester passed on Bill Russell as part of a deal to land the Ice Capades. Even so, they probably might have passed on him anyway - they already had a skilled rebounder and defensive minded centers were not in demand in those days. Only scorers.

No it can't. Because he is largely viewed as a sports figure, his intelligence and overall cognizance is easily overlooked.

Absolutely spot on, Literally heart warming laugh.

Russell was a great defensive player, no question. But with all due respect, Chamberlain was also. I think Russell and Chamberlain were the two greatest defensive players who ever lived. I’d be unable to rank one over the other when it came to defense.

How so? Just curious why you're thinks that, not saying you're wrong.

team-first guys, driven, mean competitors...Russell had vastly superior physical gifts, Bird was much more skilled offensively

I would love to somehow see them play together

@@OldSchool3pts they'd win a few titles.

Yes, it was Auerbach that coached them that way.

Ryssnkari wrong. 76ers had a all black starting 5 at the same time Celtics had 1 in 1965

@@casualfandestroyer2503 I was actually referring to the fast breaks the Celtics were known for that time (usually initiated by a Russell block, which he was one of the few NBA players blocking shots back then)

@@casualfandestroyer2503LMAO

Almost an unfair pairing.

Lavar Ball

True but don't underestimate Russell's athleticism.

@@PoliticusRex632 Absolutely, still inferior to Wilt, alone.

Wilt was pretty inteligent too coming from Russell.

Russell just talked about it being a team game. Teams win, not individual players. Wilt didn't lose, his team lost. The Celtics won. When Wilt had a better team they beat the Celtics and won a championship. Also, Russell respected Wilt as a player including his brain.

This comment is facts

Ghost’s shadow nah more like Tom/shaq. Wilt had GREAT teams too

@@casualfandestroyer2503 wilt was on great teams, he'll he was on the lakers with Jerry West! But, I don't think he always have good chemistry with the coaches.

Probably not everyone. But they would if they knew him.

TheGamegangsta2 Morgan Freeman wishes

Yup. Russell: Looks like this is a whites only hotel. Enjoy your stay guys, I'm going down the... Auerbach: Everyone back on the bus, we're leaving.

NO it isn't. Regardless of what jealous ass punks say. "There were only 8 to 14 teams when Bill played." "It was a different era." "No ESPN". 😊 yada, yada, yada . I know the replies are coming.

6ft 2hunnid All the greats of the greats are narcissists. That’s what motivates them.

@@Mach15-20 why do ppl get mad when i say you have to be cocky to be great. Thats something i learned through my body building journey

6ft 2hunnid Probably because they dont have that competitive mindset and dont understand it. Many people dont want others to achieve things and become great because of jeolousy aswell.

@@Mach15-20 thanks for your wisdom

By the 60s, the NBA was getting to be a majority black league. But Red's greatness also lay in his willingness to employ black players, essentially tearing down racism.

@@broadstreet21 Look at the NBA from 1956 until 1962 roughly the first half of Russell's career. You weren't going to find many if any black players. Yes, for the rest of Russell's career the league was building towards more inclusion but during those years the Celtics were already well established. If you get a chance listen to Georgetown coach John Thompson's hall of fame speech. He talks about how Auerbach after he was well positioned he would stil go into the toughest black neighborhoods because he wanted to see who could really play. Thompson talked about how fearless Auerbach and how he was never going to allow race in any way affect a decision he made about any man. Red Auerbach was an incredible human being.

@@gregoryphillips3969 I did look it up. By 1962, who were the top players? Chaimberlain, Baylor, Robertson, to name a few. Besides, back in 1956, the white players Russell faced off against, they were no slouches, they were plenty competitive.

@@broadstreet21 l think l will.go back to 1956 and look at the full rosters of NBA teams. Outstanding players were trickling into the league but up and down the rosters black players were not fairly represented until the early sixties when things gradually ticked upward because black talent couldn't be denied anymore. This isn't even an argument. People at the time openly spoke about the unwritten rule, if you have an N word on your team you play one at home and 2 on the road. No one who is aware argues about the composition of the league when Russell came in.

@@gregoryphillips3969 I researched it and I was aware. Notwithstanding, 1956 was his first season. The racial composition of the NBA began to change fairly rapidly, by the early 1960s, it was gradually becoming majority black - the majority of Russell's opponents by the second half of his career were black. And he still won.