Despite putting Bill Russell in “his own stratosphere” while listing a GOAT case, Chris Bosh explains why he discredits the era, and even a few championships, the Celtics legend played in.
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At his prime, Bill Russell was a tough force to reckon with. Standing at 6-foot-10, weighing an enormous 215 pounds, Bill was a tough force to reckon with on both sides of the paint. Winning an incredible 11 championships in the span of his 13-year career, the Celtics legend is the most successful NBA player ever.
Apart from being an 11-time Champion, Russ was a 12-time All-Star, 5-time MVP and even an 11-time All-NBA player, the big man also saw a lot of success as a coach. Being named a player-coach back in 1966, Russell was the first African American coach of a modern major professional sports team in the USA. After the conclusion of his professional career as an athlete, Bill even coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 1973-1977, where he led them to their first postseason appearance.
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Back in 1975 “Bill the Hill” was inducted into the Hall-Of-Fame as a player. And later this month, almost 33 years after the conclusion of his coaching career, Russell will be inducted into the prestigious Naismith Memorial Hall Of Fame as a coach.
Chris Bosh discredits the era Bill Russell played in and even a few of the legend’s championships
Chris Bosh is one of the 16 honorees to be inducted into the Hall-Of-Famer as the Class of 2021, alongside Bill Russell. And recently, the Miami Heat legend made an appearance on JJ Redick’s “The Old Man and the Three” podcast, where he discredited a few of Bill’s NBA titles while talking about the players back in his era.
“I do just want to point out that for some of those championships, there were like eight teams in the entire NBA,” Redick said. “Some of those championships he only had to win two rounds in the playoffs.”
“And, you know, you’re playing against firefighters,” Bosh responded. “You know, dudes had jobs in the summertime. Dude’s going to be a lifeguard, go work on construction after the NBA season. They had part-time jobs, they went [during] summertime and got a job, bro.”
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Even though Bosh was criticising the NBA era back in the 1950s and 1960s, he spoke highly of Bill Russell as an individual.
“I just pull Bill in his own stratosphere,” Bosh said to Redick. “This dude won a championship as a coach and then he’s leading the sports civil rights movement. Put him over here … greatest [philanthropist], I don’t know, but put him in his own stratosphere.”
Whether his era was “weak” or not, Bill is one of the most accomplished and well-respected players in the basketball fraternity. He not only dominated the basketball court but also dedicated numerous hours to battling several social injustices in The States back in the mid-20th century.
