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  1. #1
    College superstar
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    Default kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    NBA Championships
    Kareem: 6
    Russell: 11

    Longevity
    Kareem: 20
    Russell: 13

    Honors and Awards (Season MVP)
    Kareem: 6
    Russell: 5

    All-NBA First Team
    Kareem: 10
    Russell: 3

    All-NBA Teams (Total Selections)
    Kareem: 15
    Russell: 11

    Scoring Leader
    Kareem: 2
    Russell: 0

    Rebounds Leader
    Kareem: 1
    Russell: 4

    *note didnt include Finals MVP since it wasnt around for the majority of russell's career. as well, russell did have other scoring options and his team was influenced by their defense (their strength).

    me personally? i gotta go with kareem because he did it all and, to a certain extent, played against better centers.

  2. #2
    NBA Legend and Hall of Famer Smoke117's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    Kareem. I have him at 1 over Jordan all time...so obviously between these two he'll be my pick.

  3. #3
    Embiid > Jokic SouBeachTalents's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    Jordan, but the two in the OP fill out the top 3

  4. #4
    Free Kosovo winwin's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    Kareem. I have him at 1 over Jordan all time...so obviously between these two he'll be my pick.

  5. #5
    NBA Legend CavaliersFTW's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    The top 4 IMO (all for different reasons) have such a solid case who cares but if I was held at gun point and had to list in order of whom I'd choose it'd probably look like this (briefly summarized):

    Wilt - MDIE on both ends, when he won he won on 2 of the greatest teams ever. Nobody is even close to his individual dominance.
    Russell - MDWE, he was also a truly dominant rebounding and maybe MDE defender
    Jabbar - minus the rebounding (well, replace it with longevity), he's sort of a blend of the accolades Wilt and Russell accomplished (though to a lesser degree in both). He's also sort of a blend of their traits (almost as quick and agile as Russell, while almost dwarfing opponents and scoring like Wilt).
    MJ - MD backcourt player and "all-around skill" player ever. Could do everything, to the point that he almost had the impact of the greatest bigs ever. Just about amassed as many accolades as Jabbar.

  6. #6
    College superstar JellyBean's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    To me, Kareem is the greatest player of all time. He was the focal point on his teams through the years. Other teams threw 2-3 defenders on him or created other defensive packages geared to stop him and Kareem still shined. Bill Russell is the greatest winner of all-time. But Kareem is the GOAT, to me.

  7. #7
    Very good NBA starter
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    Mj And then Kareem

  8. #8
    ISH's Negro Historian L.Kizzle's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    Sucks they missed out on playing each other by one season.

  9. #9
    NBA Legend LAZERUSS's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    I personally have KAJ at either #4 or #5 and either ahead, or behind Russell. Having said that, though, how do those that defend KAJ, explain the fact that a PRIME Kareem, in his first ten years, won ONE ring, went to TWO Finals, lost in the first round TWICE, and missed the playoffs altogether another two years?

    Did an aging Kareem suddenly become a much better player? A Kareem who couldn't rebound, or play defense for his life, in the last ten years of his career?

    Or maybe it was because of MAGIC that KAJ suddenly started winning rings?

    A prime Chamberlain did everything better than a prime Kareem, including WINNING. And even a post-surgery Wilt, playing four years in the league with Kareem was a better "winner." In their four years in the league together, Chamberlain went to THREE Finals, while Kareem only went to ONE. Furthermore, Chamberlain carried HIS teams further in '70, '72, and '73. The only season in which Kareem had more team success, was in '71, and fortunately for him, Chamberlain's two best teammates, West and Baylor, missed the playoffs. Even in that series, the consensus was, Chamberlain outplayed KAJ in three of the five games.

    The real question should be...how many rings would Wilt have won had he had MAGIC for TEN seasons?

  10. #10
    Banned
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    Go to bed, LAZ.

  11. #11
    NBA rookie of the year senelcoolidge's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    I have Kareem at 3. Wilt and MJ ahead of him.

  12. #12
    College star SHAQisGOAT's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    1. MJ
    2. Kareem
    3. Russell

  13. #13
    Relax rhowen4's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    kareem quite easily imo

  14. #14
    It is what it is TheMan's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    MJ
    KAJ
    Wilt
    Magic
    Bird

  15. #15
    Justice4 the ABA Dr.J4ever's Avatar
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    Default Re: kareem vs russell -- who is the greatest player of all time?

    This is a tough one.

    Russell had a different role and purpose for his teams. For Russell to be at his best, you had to surround him with good offensive players since he wasn't and can't be the focal point of any offense, but if complemented with the right kind of players, he would produce championships for you.

    No need to worry about chemistry issues with Russell. No ego issues. You can easily build around him even in today's game if you surround him with shooters and players who can drive and dish. Athletic players who can go out on the break would be like the icing in Russell's cake. Russell's blocked shots would make sure of that.

    If you were a GM, and you were building an NBA team, starting out with a player like Bill Russell, and building around him by drafting offensive players is certainly a compelling case to build a title team. If you want to win, you want Russell.

    And yet, KAJ was totally dominant. KAJ was the greatest offensive player of all time. Yes, better than Wilt or Jordan. Everyone knows that the Lakers lived and died in the half court on KaJ's skyhook. They would run all day on the break with Magic, and when things got tough, Magic would dump it inside to the greatest offensive weapon ever.

    If I were a GM in today's game, I would take Russell. To me, its easier to build a title team with Russell than with Kareem. No ego issues means I can find offensive players that would complement Russell, and I believe he would do great in today's style since he wouldn't really demand the ball on the low block.

    Not that KAJ would be hampered on the low block by today's style of play, but he may be less efficient, and he would still demand to be the focal point of any offense. Could this be why he needed unselfish guards like Oscar and Magic to win titles? Hmmm, hard to say, but there may be something to this.

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