The most important thing in basketball is to win the Championship, MJ will tell you it, and every player ever will tell you it. Bill Russell is the greatest winner and team player. That to me says everything.
Donny The Dealer So how does that negate his greatness? Less teams equals more talented teams. Jordan made it to the playoffs in his early years with a LOSING record and there were more teams. When the bulls started winning in the 90s there were about 6 to 8 expansion if I recall and that actually made the league watered down. Just telling like it is
I'm from Boston during the 60's 1964-1969 I went to almost all of the Celtics home games. My dad had season tickets I have the team autograph from all of those teams we would wait in the tunnel under the old garden when the players would walk out to go home. Mr Russel would not only stop and sign autographs for the kids but he would hang and chat with them.if a kid had a basketball he would dribble it around with the kids he was and is awesome. I don't know why they call Brady the goats of goats Because this man has a ring for each finger He is the GOAT OF GOATS #6 BILL RUSSEL!
@@benjaminpease5297 There is no comparison. Bird had far more than 3 mvp years to his credit. At least be honest. Yes Russell was great for his era but Bird was on a different level. Many NBA greats acknowledge that. Also, the talent level when Russel played was no where near the level when Bird played. Both great players in their eras but Bird was a better all round basketball player and talent then Russell and the stats prove this. Your comment about rings has more to do with team and competition level than individual talent. How many marginal players have championship rings yet how many greats do not? The Celtics were the greatest team of their era bar none and that is why they won so many championships. I would say guys like Hondo are just as responsible if not more so! Russell was a great rebounder but did not really contribute a whole lot on the scoreboard. Bird took it to a different level.
@@benjaminpease5297 Do you know how many other factors there are other than rings. Ever heard of rigged? Bad call? Sports been rigged since before Rome had a colosseum.....
Bill Russell would never sign autographs for kids. he would stand there and tell them why autographs were stupid. He was famous for that. Every year he would come into a restaurant in South Beach I worked at and the front door always made him wait because he did this to a kid. And I’m a giant Celtics fan. But he didn’t sign autographs.
Rochester passed on Bill Russell as part of a deal to land the Ice Capades. Even so, they probably might have passed on him anyway - they already had a skilled rebounder and defensive minded centers were not in demand in those days. Only scorers.
The thing Russell doesn't quite make explicit here, but the factor to which his remarks point, is that a team is made up of individuals. It has to be that way. You don't want five identical players out there, any more than a working machine can consist of a bunch of identical parts. The Celtics were great in large measure because each man brought a particular set of skills and attitude to the game. People used to call Havlicek a role player. They were all role players. You don't go to the theater and see every member of the cast come out as Hamlet. More than any other team, the Celtics pioneered an individual approach to team play. Each guy was there to do his thing, but in a coordinated set-up. And as brilliant as so many of them were, everything was a contribution to the team effort.
@1:05 ~ Listening, when done with intensity, is "....a lot of hard work." If you watch the eyes of somebody listening to you, you'll be able to notice by their eye movements, whether they are listening with their full attention, or whether they're thinking of something else, often some kind of clever retort to impress or win an argument. It takes effort to give a person full attention. Full attention, that is, listening and observing with intensity, leads to deeper understanding. And yet, apart from music courses, listening is not even mentioned in school.
Bill Russell and Red Auerbach figured out the meta of basketball before anybody else did in the mid 50s, and it took a decade for the rest of the league to catch up.
@@casualfandestroyer2503 I was actually referring to the fast breaks the Celtics were known for that time (usually initiated by a Russell block, which he was one of the few NBA players blocking shots back then)
Walter Brown - owner of Celtics telling Chuck Cooper - first African American nba player : " Mr. Cooper , the Boston Celtics will never embarass you ! " pretty much sums up the organization!
Russell...Sam..KC..HAVLICHE CK...COUSY...Heinson.."excuse my spelling."..they're inbeded in my memory like Green bays Taylor..Horning..Star...Gregg Willy....I'm 75 yrs old & those were the champions of my era...the standard we used in the 50s & 60s...
Russell was a great defensive player, no question. But with all due respect, Chamberlain was also. I think Russell and Chamberlain were the two greatest defensive players who ever lived. I’d be unable to rank one over the other when it came to defense.
(1) What do you think (Ask for help/input/seek collaboration) (2) Refine your message to the individual (Speak in a language the individual can understand - know your adversary & customer) rules across all boundaries 🤔
@@casualfandestroyer2503 wilt was on great teams, he'll he was on the lakers with Jerry West! But, I don't think he always have good chemistry with the coaches.
Russell just talked about it being a team game. Teams win, not individual players. Wilt didn't lose, his team lost. The Celtics won. When Wilt had a better team they beat the Celtics and won a championship. Also, Russell respected Wilt as a player including his brain.
Here he is, my very first hero...I decorated my white ol'- timey Converse sneakers with his number 6, his last name and shamrocks...oh yes a legit honest to goodness hero...
NO it isn't. Regardless of what jealous ass punks say. "There were only 8 to 14 teams when Bill played." "It was a different era." "No ESPN". 😊 yada, yada, yada . I know the replies are coming.
I grew up in Boston with the Celtics. Russell was and is to this day the #1 pro athlete in Boston, but he was never fully embraced locally. WHY? Take a guess.
6ft 2hunnid Probably because they dont have that competitive mindset and dont understand it. Many people dont want others to achieve things and become great because of jeolousy aswell.
Bill Russell played at a time where the NBA was still hesitant to draft black players especially in the first half of his career which started in the mid fifties. Yes Auerbach and Russell were great. But they were helped mightily by the fact that the NBA was full of racist idiots at the time. This attitude taken on by the rest of the league allowed Auerbach to stack his teams with great black talent which in a later era would have been more evenly distributed around the league.. That's why l regard what Jordan and the Bulls did as great because they won in an era where everyone was allowed to play.
By the 60s, the NBA was getting to be a majority black league. But Red's greatness also lay in his willingness to employ black players, essentially tearing down racism.
@@broadstreet21 Look at the NBA from 1956 until 1962 roughly the first half of Russell's career. You weren't going to find many if any black players. Yes, for the rest of Russell's career the league was building towards more inclusion but during those years the Celtics were already well established. If you get a chance listen to Georgetown coach John Thompson's hall of fame speech. He talks about how Auerbach after he was well positioned he would stil go into the toughest black neighborhoods because he wanted to see who could really play. Thompson talked about how fearless Auerbach and how he was never going to allow race in any way affect a decision he made about any man. Red Auerbach was an incredible human being.
@@gregoryphillips3969 I did look it up. By 1962, who were the top players? Chaimberlain, Baylor, Robertson, to name a few. Besides, back in 1956, the white players Russell faced off against, they were no slouches, they were plenty competitive.
@@broadstreet21 l think l will.go back to 1956 and look at the full rosters of NBA teams. Outstanding players were trickling into the league but up and down the rosters black players were not fairly represented until the early sixties when things gradually ticked upward because black talent couldn't be denied anymore. This isn't even an argument. People at the time openly spoke about the unwritten rule, if you have an N word on your team you play one at home and 2 on the road. No one who is aware argues about the composition of the league when Russell came in.
@@gregoryphillips3969 I researched it and I was aware. Notwithstanding, 1956 was his first season. The racial composition of the NBA began to change fairly rapidly, by the early 1960s, it was gradually becoming majority black - the majority of Russell's opponents by the second half of his career were black. And he still won.
The most important thing in basketball is to win the Championship, MJ will tell you it, and every player ever will tell you it. Bill Russell is the greatest winner and team player. That to me says everything.
OneHundredPoints but there were only 10 other teams in the NBA and the Celtics were dominant
Donny The Dealer So how does that negate his greatness? Less teams equals more talented teams. Jordan made it to the playoffs in his early years with a LOSING record and there were more teams. When the bulls started winning in the 90s there were about 6 to 8 expansion if I recall and that actually made the league watered down. Just telling like it is
Putting Jordan in the same sentence as Bill russell is criminal..
I didn't know how great Red Auerbach was as a coach, until I listened to him talk.
I'm from Boston during the 60's 1964-1969 I went to almost all of the Celtics home games. My dad had season tickets I have the team autograph from all of those teams we would wait in the tunnel under the old garden when the players would walk out to go home. Mr Russel would not only stop and sign autographs for the kids but he would hang and chat with them.if a kid had a basketball he would dribble it around with the kids he was and is awesome. I don't know why they call Brady the goats of goats Because this man has a ring for each finger
He is the GOAT OF GOATS #6 BILL RUSSEL!
Great Story John !!
Love Russell but Larry Bird is the GOAT!
@@benjaminpease5297 There is no comparison. Bird had far more than 3 mvp years to his credit. At least be honest. Yes Russell was great for his era but Bird was on a different level. Many NBA greats acknowledge that. Also, the talent level when Russel played was no where near the level when Bird played. Both great players in their eras but Bird was a better all round basketball player and talent then Russell and the stats prove this. Your comment about rings has more to do with team and competition level than individual talent. How many marginal players have championship rings yet how many greats do not? The Celtics were the greatest team of their era bar none and that is why they won so many championships. I would say guys like Hondo are just as responsible if not more so! Russell was a great rebounder but did not really contribute a whole lot on the scoreboard. Bird took it to a different level.
@@benjaminpease5297 Do you know how many other factors there are other than rings. Ever heard of rigged?
Bad call? Sports been rigged since before Rome had a colosseum.....
Bill Russell would never sign autographs for kids. he would stand there and tell them why autographs were stupid. He was famous for that. Every year he would come into a restaurant in South Beach I worked at and the front door always made him wait because he did this to a kid. And I’m a giant Celtics fan. But he didn’t sign autographs.
Such a great man period! Endured so much for so many of us. R.I.P. Mr. Bill Russell! We miss you Sir!
The Boston Celtics, Red Auerbach, Bill Russell...... Match made in heaven..... am fore ever in Love 😍
William Felton Russell, what a legend,When you look at this man,you know there is something special.
Well he is 6-9
A great American Hero. Awesome role model for us all. God bless you Mr. Russell
If you want an ultimate leader who knows how to win, Bill Russell should be the #1 pick
Rochester passed on Bill Russell as part of a deal to land the Ice Capades. Even so, they probably might have passed on him anyway - they already had a skilled rebounder and defensive minded centers were not in demand in those days. Only scorers.
The thing Russell doesn't quite make explicit here, but the factor to which his remarks point, is that a team is made up of individuals. It has to be that way. You don't want five identical players out there, any more than a working machine can consist of a bunch of identical parts. The Celtics were great in large measure because each man brought a particular set of skills and attitude to the game. People used to call Havlicek a role player. They were all role players. You don't go to the theater and see every member of the cast come out as Hamlet. More than any other team, the Celtics pioneered an individual approach to team play. Each guy was there to do his thing, but in a coordinated set-up. And as brilliant as so many of them were, everything was a contribution to the team effort.
I hate the Celtics as an opponent (Lakers fan). I love and admire how they built the dynasty under Auerbach and Russell. Results don't lie.
The character of the man cannot be measured.
No it can't. Because he is largely viewed as a sports figure, his intelligence and overall cognizance is easily overlooked.
@1:05 ~ Listening, when done with intensity, is "....a lot of hard work." If you watch the eyes of somebody listening to you,
you'll be able to notice by their eye movements, whether they are listening with their full attention, or whether they're thinking
of something else, often some kind of clever retort to impress or win an argument. It takes effort to give a person full attention.
Full attention, that is, listening and observing with intensity, leads to deeper understanding. And yet, apart from music courses,
listening is not even mentioned in school.
Best laugh the human race has known .
Absolutely spot on, Literally heart warming laugh.
What a truly profound gentleman.
Bill Russell and Red Auerbach figured out the meta of basketball before anybody else did in the mid 50s, and it took a decade for the rest of the league to catch up.
Ryssnkari wrong. 76ers had a all black starting 5 at the same time Celtics had 1 in 1965
@@casualfandestroyer2503 I was actually referring to the fast breaks the Celtics were known for that time (usually initiated by a Russell block, which he was one of the few NBA players blocking shots back then)
@@casualfandestroyer2503LMAO
The way I play my team wins. - Bill Russell.
Bill Russell had the greatest laugh of all-time!!
Bird was so much in the mold of Russell
How so? Just curious why you're thinks that, not saying you're wrong.
team-first guys, driven, mean competitors...Russell had vastly superior physical gifts, Bird was much more skilled offensively
I would love to somehow see them play together
@@OldSchool3pts they'd win a few titles.
Yes, it was Auerbach that coached them that way.
Walter Brown - owner of Celtics telling Chuck Cooper - first African American nba player : " Mr. Cooper , the Boston Celtics will never embarass you ! " pretty much sums up the organization!
R.I.P LEGEND 🍀🏀🙏🕊️
"(Auerbach) he made Vince Lombardi look like a choir boy". Funny, funny stuff. And I'm sure true.
What an amazing man. ❤️❤️
Russell...Sam..KC..HAVLICHE
CK...COUSY...Heinson.."excuse my spelling."..they're inbeded in my memory like Green bays Taylor..Horning..Star...Gregg Willy....I'm 75 yrs old & those were the champions of my era...the standard we used in the 50s & 60s...
Russell was the only player who neutralized Wilt Chamberlin ....Bill was the greatest defensive player who ever lived .
Russell was a great defensive player, no question. But with all due respect, Chamberlain was also. I think Russell and Chamberlain were the two greatest defensive players who ever lived. I’d be unable to rank one over the other when it came to defense.
No one ever neutralized wilt. Russ had better teams and coached. Wilt was utterly dominant in those games but 5 Beats 1 in a series
simply amazing
(1) What do you think (Ask for help/input/seek collaboration) (2) Refine your message to the individual (Speak in a language the individual can understand - know your adversary & customer) rules across all boundaries 🤔
They cosmos really brought Auerbach & Russell together. Together they were practically unstoppable. 🍀🏀
Almost an unfair pairing.
Bill vs Wilt career wise are similar to Tim vs Kevin, one had a H.O.F. coach and players the other had generational talent
This comment is facts
Ghost’s shadow nah more like Tom/shaq. Wilt had GREAT teams too
@@casualfandestroyer2503 wilt was on great teams, he'll he was on the lakers with Jerry West! But, I don't think he always have good chemistry with the coaches.
Russell made is teammates better. Wilt was all about individual stats.
Wilt had a super-body, but Russell and Red had super-brains. Guess which won.
Lavar Ball
True but don't underestimate Russell's athleticism.
@@PoliticusRex632 Absolutely, still inferior to Wilt, alone.
Wilt was pretty inteligent too coming from Russell.
Russell just talked about it being a team game. Teams win, not individual players. Wilt didn't lose, his team lost. The Celtics won. When Wilt had a better team they beat the Celtics and won a championship. Also, Russell respected Wilt as a player including his brain.
Here he is, my very first hero...I decorated my white ol'- timey Converse sneakers with his number 6, his last name and shamrocks...oh yes a legit honest to goodness hero...
Rest In Peace mr B Russell
Rest in peace to the 🐐🙏💙
If it wasn't for Bill Russell, Red Auerbach wouldn't be an asterisk in NBA history.
Maybe yes, but i doubt it.
Auerbach is the boss everyone wishes they had.
Probably not everyone. But they would if they knew him.
Russell is a legend and a total winner, but MA is red, Boston is deep blue
Red was a genius......
Fantastic
Winning 11 out of 13 championships was not a fluke.
NO it isn't. Regardless of what jealous ass punks say. "There were only 8 to 14 teams when Bill played." "It was a different era." "No ESPN". 😊 yada, yada,
yada .
I know the replies are coming.
morgan freeman
TheGamegangsta2 Morgan Freeman wishes
educate her bill
Auerbach also wouldn’t allow the team to eat at diners or stay in hotels that were segregated.
Yup.
Russell: Looks like this is a whites only hotel. Enjoy your stay guys, I'm going down the...
Auerbach: Everyone back on the bus, we're leaving.
I grew up in Boston with the Celtics. Russell was and is to this day the #1 pro athlete in Boston, but he was never fully embraced locally. WHY? Take a guess.
Bill Russell thinks you're brilliant? The nicest thing anyone can say about you.
MESELF POPS
2,6 go together 11chamship in 13 yrs.
;)
He's a narcissist but i love him
6ft 2hunnid All the greats of the greats are narcissists. That’s what motivates them.
@@Thomistic-Catholic why do ppl get mad when i say you have to be cocky to be great. Thats something i learned through my body building journey
6ft 2hunnid Probably because they dont have that competitive mindset and dont understand it. Many people dont want others to achieve things and become great because of jeolousy aswell.
@@Thomistic-Catholic thanks for your wisdom
Bill Russell played at a time where the NBA was still hesitant to draft black players especially in the first half of his career which started in the mid fifties. Yes Auerbach and Russell were great. But they were helped mightily by the fact that the NBA was full of racist idiots at the time. This attitude taken on by the rest of the league allowed Auerbach to stack his teams with great black talent which in a later era would have been more evenly distributed around the league..
That's why l regard what Jordan and the Bulls did as great because they won in an era where everyone was allowed to play.
By the 60s, the NBA was getting to be a majority black league. But Red's greatness also lay in his willingness to employ black players, essentially tearing down racism.
@@broadstreet21 Look at the NBA from 1956 until 1962 roughly the first half of Russell's career. You weren't going to find many if any black players. Yes, for the rest of Russell's career the league was building towards more inclusion but during those years the Celtics were already well established. If you get a chance listen to Georgetown coach John Thompson's hall of fame speech. He talks about how Auerbach after he was well positioned he would stil go into the toughest black neighborhoods because he wanted to see who could really play.
Thompson talked about how fearless Auerbach and how he was never going to allow race in any way affect a decision he made about any man. Red Auerbach was an incredible human being.
@@gregoryphillips3969 I did look it up. By 1962, who were the top players? Chaimberlain, Baylor, Robertson, to name a few. Besides, back in 1956, the white players Russell faced off against, they were no slouches, they were plenty competitive.
@@broadstreet21 l think l will.go back to 1956 and look at the full rosters of NBA teams. Outstanding players were trickling into the league but up and down the rosters black players were not fairly represented until the early sixties when things gradually ticked upward because black talent couldn't be denied anymore. This isn't even an argument. People at the time openly spoke about the unwritten rule, if you have an N word on your team you play one at home and 2 on the road.
No one who is aware argues about the composition of the league when Russell came in.
@@gregoryphillips3969 I researched it and I was aware. Notwithstanding, 1956 was his first season. The racial composition of the NBA began to change fairly rapidly, by the early 1960s, it was gradually becoming majority black - the majority of Russell's opponents by the second half of his career were black. And he still won.