Bill Russell Named NBA Star as the Best All-Round Player He Ever Saw

Bill Russell is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Not only was he a monster on the court, but he was more successful than almost anyone else who ever stepped onto the court. During his career, the Boston Celtics ran roughshod over the entire association and over the course of his 13-year career, the former centre won 11 NBA championships.

That means there were only two seasons during his run in the league where he didn’t lift the title. That’s an absurd level of success that has never been replicated and while the Celtics had a fantastic team at the time, Russell was considered the most influential to their triumphs. He was one of the greatest rebounders of all time and an elite defender that gave his opponents nightmares.

To many, Russell is one of the greatest players ever and is certainly the best Boston Celtics player of all time, but to the former centre, there was someone even better than he was. He revealed he thought one of his former teammates was the best all-round player that he’d ever seen.

Bill Russell’s Best All-Round Player Ever

He might be most people’s pick for the best Celtics player ever and certainly during his era with the franchise, but Russell actually disagreed and thought there was someone better. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, he once revealed as much. According to Basketball Network, the former centre was humble and never considered himself to be the best player on his team. Instead, he thought his former teammate, John Havlicek was.

As quoted by Basketball Network, he described Havlicek as “best all-around player he ever saw.” That’s incredibly high praise for the former shooting guard. He was drafted by the Celtics with the seventh overall pick in the 1962 NBA draft and he spent his entire 16-year career with the franchise.

He spent seven years playing with Russell, with the duo winning six NBA championships during that period and he left a lasting impression on the former centre. It’s not hard to see why Russell labeled him as an incredibly all-around player. While he was a shooting guard, and a very impressive scorer, who averaged 20.8 points-per-game during his career, he was also an effective rebounder and a solid playmaker. He contributed across a variety of areas and was crucial to the Celtics’ success during his time with them.