By Duncan Stephenson
Bill Russell is the greatest center of all-time. He was an innovator of the game, the ultimate team player, and forged defense into what it is today.
Bill Russell was born on February 12, 1934 in West Monroe, Louisiana. All of Bill’s childhood was spat upon by segregation. It got so bad that his family decided to leave for California. It was not perfect but better for Russell. He barely made the JV team as a sophomore, but worked tirelessly to become a better player. His work soon paid off, because he made varsity as a junior, then emerged to the starting lineup for his senior season. He was not a star but had the intangibles to retrieve a scholarship from the University of San Francisco.
Bill jumped at the opportunity to play college ball and made the varsity team by his sophomore season. The next two years were great to Bill and his team as they won two consecutive NCAA titles. At USF Russell was so dominant that the NCAA had to change their rules! They had to widen the paint to 12 feet, and prohibit goaltending.
After Bill graduated from college, he declared himself eligible for the NBA draft. He was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks but was immediately traded to the Boston Celtics. The Celtics were a very good team, and needed Bill’s help soon to get even better. But Bill left to win a gold medal in the 1956 Olympics. Once Bill got back he was amazing, leading the league in shot blocking and rebounding his first year!
When the playoffs came around the Celtics cruised to the NBA finals to play the St. Louis Hawks. Both teams battled it out until game seven where it went to double overtime. The Celtics finally won the game 125-123 and the NBA title. Over the next 12 seasons Bill Russell did what he normally did… play amazing basketball, usually scoring in double figures and pulling down about 20 rebounds. He led his team to eight straight championships from 1959 to 1966. One moment that really stands out in that span was his amazing NBA finals game seven in 1962 against the Los Angeles Lakers. In that game Russell pulled down 40 rebounds and scored 30 points… and, of course, his team won which is all that really mattered to Bill.
Many people consider Wilt Chamberlin and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ahead of Bill Russell when it comes to the greatest centers of all-time. But with all due respect for Wilt and Kareem, I consider Russell greater for two essential reasons:
1. Russell has more titles then Wilt and Abdul-Jabbar combined,
2. Russell is arguably the greatest defensive player this game has ever seen… “Russell single handedly revolutionized this game because he made defense so important”- Red Auerbach
Even though that coming from his coach, many other basketball players, coaches, and alumni would have the same opinion of the greatest center that ever played this game.