HP Hot Takeover: Bill Russell is the GOAT

Last month, we wrote about our favorite players from the 2015 NBA Draft in a series called “My Sophomore Crush.” This month, we’re cooking up the hottest basketball takes imaginable for an entire week. Michael Jordan being the ???? will come into question, as will Smush Parker’s legacy with the Lakers and the future of the #TrustTheProcess 76ers.

Oh, and just so we’re clear, these are purely satire. Take them seriously at your own risk.

There is usually no debate. Bring up the question of who is the greatest NBA player of all-time and the answer is inevitably and universally Michael Jordan. LeBron James is chasing him — his leaving Cleveland the first time probably does something to reset the count in his chase of Jordan. Kobe Bryant tried desperately to get to six rings to match the Jordan model since he already had the scoring chops. But truthfully, it does not matter who we bring up because everyone is trying to be Jordan.

If a player is a great scorer and all-around player? He better get six rings with one franchise, dominate the MVP discussion every season and even then. . . Jordan was Jordan.

And Michael Jordan is great. He is really great. One of the best players of all-time. Worthy of discussion as the greatest player in NBA history. The most important player in the growth and marketing of basketball — bringing it officially away from the days of survival and tape delay into primetime.

However, Jordan is not the greatest basketball player of all-time. There is another player who made a greater impact, with more championships and with one single franchise. He’s recognized as the greatest winner in NBA history. He’s also the man whose name now adorns the Finals MVP Trophy.

When it comes to who the greatest player of all-time is, there is only one answer: Bill Russell.

Jordan has the flashy scoring, the benefit of the Nike marketing machine and highlights in color. Russell only has a legacy of winning 11 titles in 13 playoffs seasons, including eight straight from 1959-66. It makes Jordan’s six titles in eight seasons seem like child’s play.

Russell averaged a relatively minuscule 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds per game in the regular season. He posted 16.2 points and 24.9 rebounds per game in the playoffs. If they kept track of blocks, Russell may have been one of the first players to average a triple-double. Russell was a force on the defensive end and changed games with his mere presence, becoming one of the first players to value blocking shots and play above the rim.

Basically, rim protection is a Russell invention.

Russell led the league in defensive win shares, according to Basketball-Reference, 11 times in his career. Paul Millsap led the league last year with 6.0 defensive win shares. Russell had 16.0 defensive win shares in 1964. There was no gameplan for him. Russell helped keep the ball moving in the Boston Celtics offense and dominated the paint. Even with Wilt Chamberlain around.

Want a player who played mind games with his opponent like Jordan did? Russell would let Chamberlain score for three quarters, putting up impressive stats while freezing out his teammates. He then shut him down in the fourth quarter. Chamberlain only overcame Russell for a championship in the 1967 season. That was it. Once. Russell dominated the era.

Boston’s team had a lot of talent — Hall of Famers Sam Jones, Bob Cousy and John Havlicek to name a few. The NBA was different and smaller then. The best teams were full of Hall of Fame players. Red Auerbach was able to swindle St. Louis for Russell to begin with — the famous story of Auerbach trading a week of the Ice Capades among other items for the second pick that drafted Russell. It was a very different league.

Russell, though, remained the constant for the Celtics. He was their captain. Like Tim Duncan in the modern era, he and Auerbach were always on the same page. The player who had the supreme trust of players and coach (and then in his final year as player-coach when Auerbach stepped down). He set the culture for the Celtics that has established that dynasty. The players could count on him to do whatever the team needed.

He made the social impact Jordan never did, too. Playing at a time when segregation was still reality — and in a city that had a history of discrimination at that — Russell became the face of the franchise. He was the first black coach in league history when he took over the team in 1967. He won two titles as the coach in 1968 and 1969.

Russell was not a scorer. He was never the go-to guy for the Celtics offensively. He worked a lot out of the high post as a facilitator and passer. He was a great passer in addition to his defensive ability. Russell was the ultimate teammate. No, he could not take players off the dribble and his post-up game was pretty limited. But he was a defensive savant and a brilliant point center, a player that had a role to play on offense and did nothing more than what his talent would allow. He could cede the spotlight to others.

Russell was truly a transformative and dominant player. He does not have the highlights that would resonate with modern audiences. Russell does not have the scoring chops, either. He may not even be able to dominate the same way in the modern NBA — shooting percentages were low in those days, thus the high rebounds per game. Either way, he certainly could have been a much more dominant version of Ben Wallace defensively. He would have been able to compete physically in the NBA today with all its modern conveniences.

Jordan has the title. He has the highlights and the stories and the freshness of memory to reflexively be called the greatest. He is also a guard. They always seem more marketable than big men. But Russell has the titles. If championships are what players are ultimately judged on and what they go after (hello, Brandon Jennings), Russell is by far the greatest player of all-time. Championships and winning were second nature to him. There were more seasons he won a championship than ones he did not. There will never be another player to claim that.

For that reason, Bill Russell is the greatest NBA player of all-time.