“Who Does He Think He Is? Moses Malone?”: Celtics Legend Was Brought to Tears by Bill Russell Following Incredible ’81 Finals Performance

Cedric Maxwell played for the Boston Celtics during their heyday. He helped the team to two NBA Championships and was the NBA Finals MVP in 1981.

In that incredible series, he averaged 58% shooting, scoring 16.1 points per game, with 7.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Although they weren’t postseason highs for him, his Game 5 performance against the Houston Rockets was one for his personal collection.

Maxwell scored 28 points and 15 rebounds to help the Celtics record a 109-80 rout at the Boston Garden. He put the team on his shoulders as Larry Bird struggled offensively and received praise for doing so from the late-great Bill Russell.

Russell needs no introduction to Celtics fans. He’s arguably the biggest legend to have played for the franchise, so his opinion meant a lot—so much so that one positive remark by the then-CBS analyst and former star almost brought Maxwell to tears.

Talking about the game, he said, “I remember coming out of the game, it almost brought tears to my eyes, I remember Bill Russell was doing that game for CBS and he looked at my stat line, and I was coming out of the game, and he said, he was referring to me, he said ‘Who do you think he is, Moses [Malone]?’”

Russell was a hero to Maxwell and ultimately became a friend. To hear someone he was inspired by growing up compare him to another basketball icon like Moses Malone certainly touched the heartstrings.

Malone was a 3x MVP but only won the NBA title once in his career, in 1983 with the Philadelphia 76ers. He would also be that year’s Finals MVP. A 12-time All-Star, he earned the nickname of “Chairman of the Boards,” as he reigned supreme for rebounds. At one point, he set rebound records for five consecutive years between 1981 and ’85.

Maxwell has considered Russell the GOAT

Maxwell has been on record to say that he believes Russell is a GOAT contender.

He had no desire to place Michael Jordan at the top of that debate in 2020, saying, “You would have thought Michael Jordan won every game in every series he played in. LeBron James never got beat in the first round—Michael Jordan did. Jordan has lost, and fans are surprised by that… The Celtics used to beat him, Philly used to beat him. I don’t think he really made that jump until Year 7, 8 or 9.”

Maxwell suggested other guys who should be in the running. Bill Russell’s name was one of those. “I look at other guys; Bill Russell, who won 11 championships, eight in a row, one as a player-coach. Is he the greatest of all-time?”

Maxwell has a valid point, but five years on, it still remains between Jordan and LeBron, and that doesn’t appear to be ending any time soon.