Give prime Bill Russell the year 2021, modern medicine and training regiments

[GrayGoat]

And swap his chuck Taylor’s for modern nba shoes what kind of a player would he be? Would he still have the same mindset/mental toughness?

[coastalmarker99]

Most of Russell's mental toughness relates to his upbringing in the incredibly racist south.


Bob Cousy once said: If I had been born black, I probably would have been a bomb-thrower. I have a hunch I'd have been tougher on the world than Russell.




He is a proud man who has been offended by a racist society and he won't give an inch to it.



It's tough to say if Russell would have the same mindset as he had in real life .



As racism shaped his lifelong paradigm as a team player.

"At that time", he has said, "it was never acceptable that a black player was the best. That did not happen ...


My junior year in college, I had what I thought was one of the best college seasons ever.

We won 28 out of 29 games. We won the National Championship. I was the [Most Valuable Player] at the Final Four.

I was first-team All American. I averaged over 20 points and over 20 rebounds, and I was the only guy in college blocking shots.


So after the season was over, they had a Northern California banquet, and they picked another center as Player of the Year in Northern California.

Well, that let me know that if I were to accept these as the final judges of my career I would die a bitter old man."

So he made a conscious decision, he said, to put the team first and foremost, and not worry about individual achievements.

[coastalmarker99]

Russell was the defensive GOAT in an era in which there were no three-pointers being taken.

All shots were two-pointers meaning Russell’s primary direct defensive impact against shots around the rim could be as effective and impactful as any defence in a game relative to shots taken away from the rim, i.e., perimeter shots.


Today his defence might not be as effective as it was in the 1960s since shots taken away from his direct impact would most likely be three-pointers,


Now Russell could obviously directly impacts three-pointers taken by his own contests and pre-shot action/set disruption, but there will be shots taken that Russell didn’t affect at all and are out of his control and these shots will likely be worth 3 points.




Looking at Gobert’s impact stats (DRPM, DRAPM, DRAPTOR) this year placed him in rarified areas as a defensive player


And, in the end, it didn’t matter at all as he could do nothing about the three-point shots that destroyed the Jazz.

[Dagoods]

RUSSELL was KG before KG!

In today's era he would become what KG was for the Celtics (PICK AND POP and a RIM protector).

[8Ball]

And swap his chuck Taylor’s for modern nba shoes what kind of a player would he be? Would he still have the same mindset/mental toughness?

3rd team all-nba at best.

2nd team all-defensive.

[Reggie43]

Lets say he does 17pts 15rebs 5asts 4blks 2spg with off the charts basketball iq, intensity, competitiveness and leadership skills.

That would easily be an Mvp caliber player in my book.

[tootoo]

An undersized center if he sticks with that position. Still dogshit on offense. Probably Dennis Rodman 2.0 but much mentally tougher.

[StrongLurk]

Completely impossible to know. The NBA back then was basically a different sport.

All I know is Bill Russell was great for his very specific era.

[Axe]

A very tough dinosaur in the jurrasic era.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Draymond\Gobert hybrid.

That's a compliment though. Two of the best defenders of this era, one in reg season (gobert) and one in playoffs (draymond).

[bizil]

KG was a WAY BETTER scorer than Russ. And KG was a legit 7 footer. Who for all intents and purposes was the first positonless 7 footer two way wise in NBA history. And KG was a 50% FG guy. Who had one of the best scoring skillsets EVER at the PF position. The KEY THING Russ and KG would have in common though is their epic floor games (boards, dimes, defense as a package) and defensive versatility.

I think Russ would be one of the RARE GUYS capable of defending all five positions. In this era, he would be some combo of guys like Rodman and Bam. He would have their defensive versatility and athletic ability, Rodman's rebounding, and Bam's height and passing ability. I could see Russ averaging 15-17 PPG AND 5 dimes like Bam would. But also getting 15-17 boards like Rodman. So basically guys around 6'8 to 6'9 who have great floor games and top notchathletic ability. Who can PARLAY THAT into being All Stars.

Or in the case of Rodman an HOFer! In terms of overall IQ, defensive versatility, and passing ability, Draymond as well. But Draymond is only 6'6 and not as athletic. And for a shotblocker under 7'0, some Zo in their as well. I don't like comparing Russ to 7'0 footers in terms of playing style. So a gumbo of Rodman, Bam, Zo, and Draymond! Three of which are HOFers. And Bam is off to a very good start in his career!

[Mask the Embiid]

Why do you mfs act like bill russell played barefoot in the stone age where they wore togas like athletes from ancient rome......He retired about 10 years before bird and magic came into the nba.

Ben Simmons is a pg who cant shoot and is a complete dinosaur yet he has been an all-star 3 str8 years.....Bill would be Bam Adebayo....but bigger strongers and faster...He is the #1 defensive of all time by analytics nerds by their metrics....and far ahead of #2


he would dominate the same exact way...just like magic would dominate today and bird and jordan and every other mega ultra superstar of all time....Yeah magic may not be steph but he would be draymond/ben simmons but on steroids offensively....If he came into the league today he would revolutionize the roller position in the NBA.

[Phoenix]

We have no idea what kind of player he'd be. How many times does it need to be said that every player that has ever existed is influenced by who came before him. If you dropped Bill Russell in 2021 he's going to have a near endless supply of players he can take something from. I can almost guarantee he will be NOTHING like the player he was in 1960.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Tough to say.

Based on his iq and how he approached the game, I still think Bill finds a way to be high impact. Whether that's with rebounding, defense or even just positioning....angles that are advantageous for his team. People go on about how great athletes are today. And they aren't wrong, but Bill was no slouch. Olympic level high-jumper and elite on the track. With better shoes and modern training/nutrition, he would still be damn good.

All that assumes we're dropping a prime version of Russell into the game now. If he grew up in today's era, then Phoenix has a point. Bill wouldn't be the same player.

[Phoenix]

Just the fact that the role of the current big has completely changed from 20 years ago, let alone 60, tells me that Russell wouldn't be developed with the same sensibilities. One thing we can assume is that he was a great athlete, so giving him access to modern meds and training enhances that. I see no issues with him being able to roam away from the basket, switch and/or defend the pick and roll. Offensively? Like I said, Russell coming along in 2021 has the entire 75 year history of bigs to choose from. Maybe KG is an influence offensively. Maybe he learns Hakeem's dream shake. Maybe, considering he's similar sized, he develops handles and becomes something like Durant. We really have no clue what he would develop into, we can only say with near certainty it's not the Bill Russell we saw in 1960.

[Xiao Yao You]

Russell was the defensive GOAT in an era in which there were no three-pointers being taken.

All shots were two-pointers meaning Russell’s primary direct defensive impact against shots around the rim could be as effective and impactful as any defence in a game relative to shots taken away from the rim, i.e., perimeter shots.


Today his defence might not be as effective as it was in the 1960s since shots taken away from his direct impact would most likely be three-pointers,


Now Russell could obviously directly impacts three-pointers taken by his own contests and pre-shot action/set disruption, but there will be shots taken that Russell didn’t affect at all and are out of his control and these shots will likely be worth 3 points.




Looking at Gobert’s impact stats (DRPM, DRAPM, DRAPTOR) this year placed him in rarified areas as a defensive player


And, in the end, it didn’t matter at all as he could do nothing about the three-point shots that destroyed the Jazz.

Gobert didn't have a HOF coach or HOF players around him either. Their 2nd best player and one of the few guys that plays any D was hurt

[Wally450]

He'd be Ben Wallace X3.

[Bronbron23]

Some pretty ignorant comments on here. Russell would be a beast in this era. He'd be one of the most athletic players in the game and easily the smartest player. And those saying He'd be too small he defended one of the best, biggest and most athletic centers ever.

[8Ball]

Why do you mfs act like bill russell played barefoot in the stone age where they wore togas like athletes from ancient rome......He retired about 10 years before bird and magic came into the nba.

Ben Simmons is a pg who cant shoot and is a complete dinosaur yet he has been an all-star 3 str8 years.....Bill would be Bam Adebayo....but bigger strongers and faster...He is the #1 defensive of all time by analytics nerds by their metrics....and far ahead of #2


he would dominate the same exact way...just like magic would dominate today and bird and jordan and every other mega ultra superstar of all time....Yeah magic may not be steph but he would be draymond/ben simmons but on steroids offensively....If he came into the league today he would revolutionize the roller position in the NBA.

Bam can shoot fts and has a better offensive game than Russell.

Russell was dominant because he played in an era that had no 3 point shot.

[8Ball]

Some pretty ignorant comments on here. Russell would be a beast in this era. He'd be one of the most athletic players in the game and easily the smartest player. And those saying He'd be too small he defended one of the best, biggest and most athletic centers ever.

All that dominance vs White guys in the 60s and he shoots free throws worse than Shaq and offensively only puts out 14ppg.

[getting_old]

His status took a hit for awhile as the NBA made it impossible to see a man of his size being dominant, but the last decade he bounces back because we CAN see his build doing great things out there to win

[bizil]

When it comes to Russ, ULTIMATELY he didn't have the alpha dog scoring gene. When he was MORE PHYSICALLY DOMINANT than any player except Wilt in that era. MANY GUYS have very skilled scoring skillsets. BUT they aren't great scorers in general. So I agree that Russ scoring SKILLSET WISE could have evolved for sure. BUT I'm not as willing to say he would DEVELOP into an alpha dog level scorer. That's ultimately a mindset you have to have.

However I'm totally sure Russ at MINIMUM would be an All Star in today's game. He was too far ahead of his time athletically. And his floor game in terms of defending, passing, and rebounding the center position as a package is still at the top to this day. In comparison to a Wilt, Kareem, Walton, Drem etc. in terms of floor game, Russ has the best motor. And had the ability to be a positionless type of defender. It just wasn't as exploited in his day.

But who knows, maybe he plays more like a Giannis type of PF. And plays downhill with the rock in his hands as a point power forward type of player. I think Russ had that type of ability in his game back in the day. Just wasn't asked to do that. I'm not saying he would be as dominant scoring as Giannis. But that could be a tweak in Bill's arsenal if he was around today. He certainly is a freakish athletic in ANY ERA! And was a tremendous passer for a big man.

I think the thing that gets overlooked with Russ is that he's actually easily capable of being the ORIGINAL positionless type of defender with freakish athletic ability. Who also has great passing ability for a big and is a great rebounder. KG, Giannis, AD, Bam all have that in their own ways. Russ was the original in that regard. Just wasn't used in that way. So off that alone, I think it's a virtual lock he would be an All Star. The question is does he reach superstar status like KG, AD, or Giannis!

[Bronbron23]

All that dominance vs White guys in the 60s and he shoots free throws worse than Shaq and offensively only puts out 14ppg.

He held his own against wilt who's way better than any center from this era. Plus it was a different game especially on that celtics team. It was all about team basketball. He easily could of scored more than he did in a ball dominant system like most top players play today. I don't think you realize how athletic Russell Russell was. He ran and jumped like gazelle. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j2AlFrOj5Mc

[FKAri]

A cross between Ben Wallace and Kevin Garnett.