Boston Celtics flashback: Bill Russell is truly amazing
By Sam Minton
With people lauding over LeBron James’ athleticism, Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell reminded everyone just how special he was.
Getting to see players like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jayson Tatum play live is truly special, but sometimes we can be victims of the present and forget about some of the amazing players whose playing days are long gone. One of these guys seems to be Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell.
When it comes to winning, Russell is in a league of his own. He won 12 NBA championships, 5 MVP’s and made 12 All-Star appearances.
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Russell averaged 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists for his career. Again not just for one season, for his entire career. Those numbers are truly hard to comprehend.
Also, it’s important to remember that they didn’t keep track of blocks when Russell was playing. There is no doubt that Russell would have likely averaged a triple-double for his career if that was the case.
Besides the fact that Russell was an amazing player, he was also extremely athletic. We were reminded of this on Tuesday.
Kendrick Perkins declared that LeBron was the most athletic player in NBA history. Russell took this as an opportunity to give a history lesson to younger NBA players and fans alike.
In 56 I could have made the Olympics in high jump but turned it down to play basketball instead we could only play one sport then. Track and Field News ranked me #7 high jumper in the world, I was ranked #2 in the US @ the time. @celtics @NBA pic.twitter.com/6FqZjiMlhG
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) June 17, 2020
It’s hard to imagine a player doing that today. Fans should be angry that we never got to see Russell in the Olympics. He would’ve been Bo Jackson before Bo Jackson.
Imagine if Russell was a 12 time NBA champion and a gold medalist? Everyone would be stunned at how such an athlete could exist. There would be now way that you could even compare LeBron to Russell.
Next. Gordon Hayward has something to prove down in Disney. dark
So when thinking about the greatest players to ever play in the NBA, don’t forget about Russell. We will never see a player like him again.