Bill Russell's true height FINALLY revealed

[CavaliersFTW]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/bas...955/index.html

1955 Sports Illustrated:
6' 9 5/8": "Don't call me 6-foot-10, I'm enough of a goon as it is."

Thus explaining why he was listed 6-10 early in his career as a collegiate athlete and Olympic athlete, but only 6-9 as a professional.

Russell's measurements:

Height: 6-9.63
Sports Illustrated 1955

Wingspan: 7-4
The book: "The Rivalry"

Hand length: 10.5"
The book: "The Rivalry"

Hand width: 9.5"
(using photoshop grid deduction based on 10.5" hand length... will post image later)

Career playing weight range: 215-240lbs
Prime playing weight range: 222-228lbs
(Various newspapers and self-admission)









Compare with 2012 draft:
http://www.nba.com/news/2012-combine...nts/index.html

[SpecialQue]

Final-fvcking-ly. I was sick of waiting for this.

[Punpun]

Final-fvcking-ly. I was sick of waiting for this.

I've been waiting for OVER 50 YEARS. Oh wait. No, I wasn't. Who give a shit ?

[CavaliersFTW]

I've been waiting for OVER 50 YEARS. Oh wait. No, I wasn't. Who give a shit ?

[ILLsmak]

What's his standing reach, then?

Looking at Russell dude was an amazing athlete.


-Smak

[CavaliersFTW]

What's his standing reach, then?

Looking at Russell dude was an amazing athlete.


-Smak

I've only ever seen an unverified claim circulating the internet is that it was 9-4" (and that would be in wafer thin Chuck Taylors). If that were true that would mean it was ~2" less than Wilt's and (if all shoes were created equally) ~2" more than Dwight's but I need to find out where this claim originally comes from before I can cite anything because you never know, it could be a false lead.

[JohnnySic]

Easy 6'11" in today's NBA.

[SuperPippen]

I've been waiting for OVER 50 YEARS. Oh wait. No, I wasn't. Who give a shit ?

I do.

Nice of you to clear this up, CavaliersFTW. I appreciate and respect your knowledge on the older NBA legends.

[CavaliersFTW]

Easy 6'11" in today's NBA.

Especially considering Dwight got a pass for 6-11 even though he was 6-9 barefoot and 6-10.25 in shoes. If Russell wore the same 1.25" shoes he'd be looking down at Dwight by nearly 3/4 of an inch.

[Peteballa]

[CavaliersFTW]

Case in point as to why threads like this are relevant (to those that discuss 60s basketball):

Basketball Reference:
Bill Russell listed 6-9, 215
Kevin Love listed 6-10, 260

With the above information it would imply that Russell would get abused by today's "modern/bigger" athletes like Kevin Love - and none of his past accomplishments make any sense. It really does make his era seem "weak".

But research like I've done exposes why Russell and his peers so often become misunderstood and underrated Here's Kevin Love's and Bill Russell's actual anthropomorphic measurements side by side:

Height
Russ: 6-9.63 (+1.88")
Love: 6-7.75

Wingspan
Russ: 7-4 (+4.75")
Love: 6-11.25

Weight
Russ: 228 (- 7lbs)
Love: 235 < he slimmed down to this weight for this past season

So, who really has the physical advantages over who if they hypothetically went head to head? Doing research like I do uncovers information that helps explain some of the superstars that dominated the oft-misunderstood 60s and it is all completely relevant (and necessary) if fair comparisons are going to be drawn.

[Scoooter]

Love's 6'10" listing is hilarious. To not even be 6'8"...

[ProfessorMurder]

Great .gif, he got up there on that dunk.

[zay_24]

I've been waiting for OVER 50 YEARS. Oh wait. No, I wasn't. Who give a shit ?

[Peteballa]

Kevin Love - 6'7????????????????