New Bill Russell NCAA Footage - 1956 San Francisco Dons

I think if you're going to try and decide whether or not he can play in today's league, wouldn't you also have to add in the fact that he'd have today's training? Say the physically-same Bill Russell grew up in present-day New York and was cultivated like many young basketball stars are at an early age; he'd definitely blow today's centers out of the water. Bringing a 1960s Bill Russell would be unfair, right?

 

With that same rational of him playing today imagine if he had the training and knowledge that the pros get today. Sports science has come a long way in the last 50 years

 

That is a beyond stupid argument. You compare players on how good they are based on their competition during their era. He didn't have the luxury of state of the art science to amplify his skills. Players today have computer systems in their practice facilities that help them with their shooting stroke. The field of strength training is also incomparable.

 

I'm sure one day, thirty years down the road, some idiot will be saying that John Stockton wasn't that good and would be "average" for NBA point guards in the 2030s'.

 

russell would barely be a small forward in today's NBA

 

Seeing Bill Russell next to Rudy Gay was eye opening. He is shorter than Gay. I'll give a bit to age but damn.

 

He was never that good offensively even during his era. Go look at his PPG and FG%.

 

So I say I saw them side by side and your answer is to give me some crap you looked up on the Internet. Okie dokie.

 

You sure you weren't looking at Morgan Freeman?

 

Wilt or Russell would be the best center in the game today and its not even close.

 

6'9 210 lbs. With training of today, he'd be stronger, but would he still have the athleticism with the added strength and weight?

 

Bill Russell was:
6-9 and 5/8ths without shoes on (6-9.63")
7-4 wingspan
10.5" length hands (1 inch longer than Wilt's or MJ's, 1.5" longer than Lebrons)
215lbs as a rookie yes, but 220lbs by his second season and he played 225-230lbs for 10 of his 13 seasons and was 240lbs his final season. Unlike Wilt, Bill did not lift weights at all during his career so that was his natural body size as he preferred to play off his agility rather than strength.

Don't try to compare his "6-9" list height with today's players. Because here's an example of a guy listed "6-10"

Kevin Love:
6-7.75" w/o shoes
6-11.25" wingspan

and here's an example of a guy listed "6-11"

Dwight Howard:
6-9 w/o shoes
7-4.5" wingspan



Much like Dwight Howard, Bill Russell would be referred to and / or listed as no less than "7 footer" today. Seeing as how he was over a half inch taller than Dwight, he'd be listed either 6-11 or 7 foot.

 

I should also note, that Durant (who was 6-9 and had a 7-4.75" wingspan) also weighed only 215lbs as a rookie.

Anthony Davis, who is 6-9.25" with a 7-5 inch wingspan weighed only 222lbs upon his rookie weigh in

David Robinson who was 7-0 without shoes, weighed only 226lbs his rookie season

Tyson Chandler who was 6-11.5 without shoes with a 7-3 wingspan weighed only 224lbs his rookie season

Kevin Garnett who was 6-11 without shoes weighed 218lbs his rookie season

So let's not act like Bill Russell was undersized and not proportioned like any other modern NBA big man.

 

Players play in shoes. I don't understand why people (the one dude who trolls this board is about 60s players is one) operate on the apocryphal notion that players from back then were subject to some cold war era official barefoot measurement program and all listed heights reflect this.

Edit- guess who shows up on cue. Just plain making **** up.

Bill Russell- the Ben Wallace of his day.

 

Gotta question some of the video speed at the beginning of that clip. It looks a liiiiiiiitle bit sped up fast motion to make Russell look faster. His reflexes were a little sharp & quick. Why not a little fast motion 1st half, slow mo 2nd half to embellish? (Which to me is UNNECESSARY IF it was done.)

I think jumping completely over ANYONE at ANY size during a game is a good athletic feat. It rarely happens.


Even today - If Omer Asik took a rebound, dribble drove coast to coast with good speed, took off 1 stride past the free throw line, then JUMPED OVER the other team's small forward, and still made the shot, the fans would be going NUTS.

IF ANY frontcourt player in the NBA today did that, it'd be a highlight. Motiejunas has nice straight line speed for his size, can beat guards down the court. And I don't know if he'd have it in him to do that. (I'm taking frontcourt players, like swingmen like Corey Brewer glide dunking over Derek Fisher)

 

Advantages of Bill Russell in the modern game:

+ Basketball IQ, Basketball IQ, and Basketball IQ, it makes a whole lot of difference between a borderline all-star talent versus an all-time great talent. People seem to forget about that in these arguments. I often think some people are too foolish to realize that a center, like Javale McGee; Andrew Bynum; or most athletically gifted centers in league are lacking it much of the time. The ability to understand offensive players and offensive sets, attacking offenses at their weakest spots, exploiting defensive sets, or simply running the offense (or defense) in a smooth and efficient manner. Russell was not some clumsy oaf who fell into basketball.

+ Court vision, unselfish, and great passing ability, like Wilt Chamberlain, Russell could pass like a guard.

+ Ran the floor as well as any other big man in NBA history, you just don't see centers running the floor, like that anymore.

+ Dropping a few names, here Chuck Hayes, Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman, Buck Williams, and a few others were all shorter and less athletic than Russell, but masterfully exhibited great post defensive skills. I'd even argue Russell was much more talented defensively and offensively than every single player I just named.

+ Winning mentality, leadership skills, student of the game, hardworker, and not a malcontent - those things acutally do make for a better player. Compare these qualities to Dwight Howard.

+ A well-versed athlete.

+ Fantastic wingspan (long arms), great leaper (even by today's standards), and large hands.

+/- the pace may not be as hectic, as it was in those days. More shot attempts with shorter possessions.


Weaknesses

+ He'd struggle against the stronger, taller, and more powerful centers, like Shaq, Wilt, or even Yao. 6,9 - 6,10, roughly 220-240 pounds against 7,1-7,6 265-310+ pounds, most of those type of matchups tend to favor the bigger guy (especially the ones with skills).

+ Free Throw shooting...kind of typical for many really good centers.

+ Jump shooting ability

 

It isn't sped up - here's the original

http://youtu.be/JWelUNrJUMM

Remember this is NCAA footage - Russell is 20 or 21 years old and only weighs 215lbs at this time - he has guard like quickness because he's literally a Track and Field runner at the time.

 

This is why rings count. Sure, they are not the end of the discussion but truly, you don't get 11 rings being the main man in your team without having serious talent.