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RE: Russell

> From: "Wright, Cecil" <Cecil.Wright@JUSTICE.GC.CA>
>
> Bill Russell singlehandedly revolutionized the game.  He didn't so much
> block shots emphatically like we see these guys today.  He deflected the
> shot so that he could grab the ball and make the outlet pass leading to 
> the
> vaunted Celtic fastbreak.  And I don't know if any big man was better at
> filling the lane as a trailer.

Simply put, Bill Russell = best basketball player ever.  Period.  I get 
really irritated at people who talk of Jordan as the greatest ever: though 
it's debatable, and it is possible, they act like it's some sort of 
foregone conclusion.  No. 6 revolutionized the game, won more 
championships, is the NBA's all-time blocked shots leader (oh, they may 
not *think* so, but even Hakeem knows the score, I'm sure), and was the 
smartest player alive.  That, and he went up against Wilt more often than 
the Jordanaires ever saw Karl Malone, or Cleveland, or the Knicks, or 
whatever flotsam the league was throwing at the Bulls so they could 
manufacture a record winning season.  Plus, I just respect the man: his 
integrity, his courage, his intelligence, his desire.  He could do it all.

Bird