Too many people forget about Bill Russell in the NBA GOAT debate. Not saying he's #1, but he's often overlooked
Too many people forget about Bill Russell in the NBA GOAT debate. Not saying he's #1, but he's often overlooked
Originally Posted by mvp 78
IMHO you have to put the big men in their own category.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
He's gotta be top 5, and I'm a Celtics- hater.
2 NCAA Championships in his last 2 years
Olympic Gold (1956)
11 out of 13 championships in the NBA
That's 14 championships or gold medals in 15 years playing against the highest competition in the world.
His playoff numbers were better than his regular season numbers, too.
The guy was a winner. I would not argue with anyone saying he was the very best.
Wilt, Jordan, LeBron and Russell, to me, are indisputable top 5 ever.
The fifth guy is harder to name: Kareem? Magic? Oscar Robertson? Bird? (I disagree on Kobe.)
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Why?
I realize there are vast differences in the skillsets of Wilt, Russell and Kareem as compared to Jordan & LeBron, and maybe Bird and the Big O deserve their own grouping, too, but the GOAT should include everybody.
It's harder to distinguish the best pitcher from the best everyday player than this.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Everybody has their own take on it, of course.
I don't see how you compare Jordan to Russell straight up. But that's just me.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
How would you compare Tom Brady to Jim Brown to Lawrence Taylor?
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
I never said it was easy or clear-cut, and I have no problem saying this guy is the best big man, this guy is the best little guy and this guy is the best tweener, but eventually, it seems natural to give your opinion on who you think is the best of the best.
To me, rebounds are under-rated. I get how the league was different then, and in some ways, Wilt and Russell were men among boys, but it's precisely that image that proves how much they dominated the competition of their time, and to me, that's what I go by. (Not saying anyone else's criteria is wrong.)
1. Wilt
2. Russell
3. Jordan
4. LeBron
5. The Big O
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Simple:
1. Jim Brown
2. Lawrence
3. Tom
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Especially after watching some of this series on the Bulls, I have to put Jordan at the top. As Larry Bird said after MJ torched a great Celtics defense, "That wasn't Michael Jordan out there, that was God disguised as Michael Jordan."
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
In New England they don’t forget.
That's why I reminded everybody
Not by me for every Jordan Fan!!
“Jordan is the GREATEST PLAYER EVER!!”
“Why? LeBron and Kobe have really good arguments.”
“SIX RINGS!! SIX RINGS!!”
“Bill Russell has 11 rings.”
“Not the same! Russell was on a great team!”
“Jordan’s team wasn’t so bad. They made it to the Eastern Conference finals while he was playing baseball!”
“But six rings!! Six rings!!”
“And Russell got his 11 rings in only 13 seasons.”
Russell was also a coach at the same time as some of those titles
a) The Bulls didn't make it to the Conference finals while Jordan was on his baseball hiatus.
b) The rings argument for Russell is weakened a bit by how small the NBA was back then. In some of those years there were only 8 teams.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
1. Oops. I meant semi-finals. They did win 55 games and I want to say might have gotten past the Knicks if Pippen didn’t sit out the end of game seven.
2. I do not agree that fewer teams makes it easier. It’s not like rolling a dice where each side/team has equal probability. In fact, fewer teams actually ups the overall talent in the league, making repeating more difficult. Personally, i don’t like “rings = greatness” arguments because rings are a team accomplishment. But six rings really is the first argument everyone out here makes about Jorda’s greatness. Not his career-leading PPG, which is not a clincher but is a better argument...
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