The Best Basketball
Player Ever
No need for you ladies
to read this post, it is about sports, you would not understand it anyway.
A Mr. Suldog
of Watertown Mass. recently started a Facebook discussion over who were the
best athletes in various sports. This is
an impossible argument to arrive at a consensus, but it always provokes
interesting comments.
The
basketball player that many including myself claimed to be the greatest ever
was Bill Russell.
Bill Russell
was not the best scorer of his time, and he seldom led the league in assists,
blocked shots or steals. He did seem to
always lead the league in wins.
All Bill
Russell ever did was win.
At the
University of San Francisco, Russell led his team to two National
Championships, and fifty-five straight wins.
In the NBA, Russell led his Celtics to eleven championships in thirteen
years, eight were in a row. His last
three years in the NBA, Russell was player coach, and he won two championships in that capacity.
I remember
Bill Russell as a commentator on NBA TV broadcasts.
Bill Russell
spoke a different language, and explained things in a way foreign from any
basketball commentator today, or before him.
He saw everything as psychological.
His explanations of events were always cerebral. If not for his unparalleled success as a
player I would have thought he was a buffoon, clearly he was just head and
shoulders above everyone in the world of basketball both physically and
mentally.
To me, an
inept player and non-student of the game, his broadcasts sounded like this:
“Well Marv, the reason he did that
fake left move was to plant the idea into Johnson’s mind that he could go that
way, then when he go right, Johnson don’t look left and that is when Brown go
left and he owns Johnson. See it is
simply the way a small big man can play big, while I always liked to play big
small, but it changes with the temperature of the game and the voracity of the
opposition. Either way, if you spin on
the low post, you own your man and he don’t stand a chance. It’s not how you dribble or shoot that wins a
game, but you gotta get in the other guy’s head. Once you get into his head the game is
over. See?”
Hey, the
dude never, ever lost!
Read it anyway didn’t you ladies. See I learned my psychology from Bill
Russell!
It's pretty hard to argue with that, particularly since I'm in agreement.
ReplyDeleteNo I didn't read this because it's about sports. I don't care about sports. I just wanted to say good morning.
ReplyDeleteGood morning and have a fabulous day. ☺
Your version of his broadcast made perfect sense to me--should I be worried?
ReplyDeleteI always loved Bill Russell. And I believe he did like to play big small.
ReplyDeleteI'll take your word.
ReplyDeleteNow if you want to talk baseball------
I never kept up with basketball, so I can offer no comment. I never even heard of many of the powerhouse basketball schools. WTF is a Duquesne anyway? ;)
ReplyDeleteI guess you can toss me in with the ladies---please! I don't follow sports but I read your post anyway. I'd probably read your posts if you posted from the phone book.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading a story about Russell when he was still at USF
ReplyDeleteSome reporters wanted to do some kind of gimmick story, so the got him together with Swede Halbrook, the Oregon State center who was something over 7' tall
The idea was they were going to have Halbrook hold a basketball up to his full extension and then shoot a picture of Russell reaching for it
It didn't quite pan out
When Russell fully unlimbered himself, his hand was resting on top of the ball
Definitely agree. Clueless pundits the world over seem to think that there are others in the running but in this case the body of work is incomparable. Wilt? Great scorer, terrific rebounder, below average teammate. Jordan? Great scorer, probably wins the ego war hands down, but below average teammate. Kareem, Magic, Lebron, Kobe, and Larry all had good qualities but not one of them teamed like Bill. And that is the point, right? Teaming for championships.
ReplyDelete"Once you get into his head the game is over. See?”
ReplyDeleteYeah. No need for women to read all that. We already know it. It's why we always win.
Bill is the best? Okay, I'll take your word for it.
ReplyDeleteJust visiting to say Hi to you and the Mrs.
ReplyDeleteWhat Val said... kind of. :)
ReplyDeleteActually, I'll use all this info on my sports obsessed husband. It won't be long before the opportunity comes up to talk about it.
Thanks.