The Big O Says Bill Russell Would DOMINATE Modern Centers If He Had To

The Big O Says Bill Russell would dominate modern centers if he had to. The Big O discussed Bill Russell with Malicka Andrews on ESPN and Oscar Robertson didn't hold back. She asked The Big O how Bill Russell would fare in the modern game and his answer was unmistakable, "He'd dominate them if he had to".
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Chapters
00:00 - 1962 MVP Race
03:48 - Bill Russel Had Everything
04:29 - Defending The Modern Center
05:32 - With The Greats, Even Today
06:35 - Bill Russell Crushes '63 All-Star Game
07:41 - My Take: Bill Would Feast
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[@anthony0358]

Excellent video. I shared it on my twitter

[@ViewTheRightThing]

Always appreciate that! It's wild the amount of hot takes that I've had to wade through since Russell passed.

[@bobgreen1236]

Bill in his prime vs. Shaq in his prime would have been something EPIC to see! To be fair, there aren't any true centers in today's NBA, and either Bill or Shaq (or Kareem or Wilt) in their prime would run roughshod through the paint, pretty much scoring at will.....

[@ViewTheRightThing]

Wouldn't it though, I'd break the multiverse to see that game. Thanks for the comment.

[@beforeflight5566]

I doubt he'd "dominate" Shaq but I honestly dont believe Shaq would do better against Bill either. Bill has the speed advantage and was literally jumping over people casually.

[@ViewTheRightThing]

Oscar Robertson calls in and says that Bill Russell would DOMINATE the NBA's center when he had to. I've loving that these legends are calling in to make sure the folks don't EVER forget. But what do you think would Bill be a 👑 or 🍗 in the league today? Let'em know in the comments. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5aVmnWAabxgi7s

[@kingofnewyork7765]

Bill Russell is the only player to block Wilts fadeaway, he’d shot down all these centers today

[@affableman]

Well, yeah...

[@ViewTheRightThing]

You'd be suprised at the amount of Nephew takes this has spawned. Thanks for the watching and the comment.

[@g33dog333]

He wouldn't DOMINATE Shaq, but he would do his thing.. Wilt averaged 50 vs Bill, but the Celtics would win. A WILT vs Shaq matchup would be more interesting..

[@ViewTheRightThing]

Actually I think this is a dope question. That would be an amazing battle to watch man. Thanks for the comment.

[@kingofnewyork7765]

Bill Russell would run Shaq until he dropped in transition

[@visionaryinsightsports]

He didnt average 8 blocks per game...Ive watched some old games...Sam Jones was just as important on those teams

[@ViewTheRightThing]

No, he really did, in situations where there is available data, it's 8 per game. fadeawayworld.net/nba-media/bill-russell-averaged-around-8-1-blocks-per-game-while-wilt-chamberlain-averaged-around-8-8-according-to-calculations-based-on-100-plus-games-data-is-available-for He was that good. Thanks for watching and I appreciate the comment.

[@Hero-3]

No, no he wouldn’t. Cmon man.

[@ViewTheRightThing]

I'm come to the place where, for me, it'd all come down to circumstance, like are we talking 1v1, 3v3, or 5v5. But after as much Shaq tape as I have recently, I can't call people who are Team Shaq nuts. He was a truly overwhelming mix of skill and physicality. Thanks for the comment and keeping your boy on point.

[@kingofnewyork7765]

Hero 3 yes he would dummy he’d be the best defensive player in the league hands down if he was in his prime his athleticism and IQ is too much

[@kingofnewyork7765]

Joel embiid has to play 70 games a season before he can be mention with all time greats.

[@Cipher_X_x]

Bill Russell would get demolished by Shaq, he wouldn’t even be in todays league. That era had what 10 teams and almost none of them are comparable to todays athletes…Wilt could have guarded Shaq, both of them crazy athletic specimens

[@ViewTheRightThing]

As I've read through some of the takes in the comments of this vid and the other Bill one, I do think dominate was an overstatement in retrospect and I'll make sure to mention it a future post. "preciate the comment and keeping me on point.

[@crharper25]

Bro as much as we love Bill Russell...there is no way in hell he'd dominate Shaq. Bill was fast & had great defense & weighed possibly 215lbs. Shaq was a solid 315 strong as an ox & would wear Bill out in the post.

[@ViewTheRightThing]

I feel you but if it's just about physicality, I think we're forgetting just how big Wilt was. Russell is uniquely qualified to battle behemoths and he'd beat Shaq for the same reason that he beat Wilt, he'd outsmart him. Also, as dominate as Shaq was, he wasn't unbeatable in his Era, but Russell virtually was. Even though we disagree, I appreciate you watching and the comment.

[@stanleyrogouski]

Rodman dominated Shaq and he was much smaller than Bill Russell.

[@ViewTheRightThing]

@@stanleyrogouski Exactly, not to take anything away from Shaq but you'd think he was the one who won 8 in a row if you let people tell it these days.

[@johnnythekid4601]

Russell would make Shaq drag his 350 pound ass up and down the court every game that played against each other. Remember the time Phil jackson challenged Shaq to play all 48 mins?? He lasted 4 GAMES!!

[@stanleyrogouski]

@@ViewTheRightThing If size were the only thing that mattered, even in the NBA where 6'3" is considered small, Boban Marjanović would win the MVP every year. Which is also another way of saying Shaq had more than just size. I do think the 1960s Celtics would have struggled against any team led by Shaq and Kobe.

[@visionaryinsightsports]

Olajuwon would bodybag Bill Russell...Dude could rebound and defend, he was like Michael Cage or Ben Wallace...Olajuwon, Ewing & the Admiral would have abused Bill Russell

[@stanleyrogouski]

Olajuwon got beat by Parish, Walton and McHale, none of whom was as good as Russell. And yeah there were three of them but Olajuwon had Ralph Sampson as a teammate (the only other player besides Kareem who actually mastered the sky hook).

[@visionaryinsightsports]

@@stanleyrogouski That was Olajuwon 2nd year...Boston also had Larry Bird & Dennis Johnson....Rockets won 2 games and that Celtics team is arguably the greatest team in NBA history...Dominant....Olajuwon in his prime destroys Russell in his prime....Destroys him...Russell had no offense..He was a big that never even shot 50% fg....His rebound stats were inflated with tap rebounds..David Robinson was a bigger version of Russell with mid range game...The NBA was much better in the 90s than the 60s

[@stanleyrogouski]

@@visionaryinsightsports It is hard argue against Olajuwon. He beat Kareem at the beginning of his career and Shaq at the end of it. I was a Knicks fan in the 1990s and watched him dream shake Ewing into oblivion. At some point it seemed like the Knicks weren't even trying to guard him. I still remember yelling at the Knicks on TV. WHY AREN'T YOU GUYS EVEN TRYING TO GUARD HIM. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!

[@ViewTheRightThing]

Man, I'm loving this thread. The only thing that I'll add is that this has become a slightly different question, right? Hakeem vs Russell is a horse of a different color from Russell vs most everybody else. It's like Stanley said, it's hard to argue against Hakeem because out of all the post Wilt/Russell era centers, he's literally the unicorn who is better than his stats/resume and one of the few that I'd put near the big "hallowed" three. I'd pay money to see Hakeem vs Russell, it's be like a shadow vs a reflection, right? Might be worth a video or a least posing it to the rest of the community in one of the future pods.

[@stanleyrogouski]

@@ViewTheRightThing I think Hakeem gets overlooked sometimes because he deprived people of the Celtics/Lakers rematch in 1986 and won his two rings when Jordan was out of the league.