Bill Russell thinks Bob Pettit is a top 7 player, is he crazy?

[jongib369]

http://youtu.be/kdd2biHVlyA?t=6m44s


Most of you don't have Pettit in your top 15, let alone 7.... Who hear knows as much about Basketball/Bob Pettit as Bill to argue against him?


Count me out




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMehNZqGo7w


Pettit shoots over Wilt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4FzfjDUT1Q

[michaelray]

As the only two superstar that have beaten Bill in a Series,he gets a nod.

When the greatest winner in sports history say so,you have to listen.

[Legends66NBA7]

Well, just going off on the accolades and stats... It's a very good resume. 11 All-NBA teams, 10 straight First teams, 3rd all-time in rebounding in the regular season and playoffs (behind only Wilt and Russell), 2x Scoring Champ, 2x MVP, great overall stats in the regular season and playoffs (his fg% relative to era is pretty high).

Also, does have a ring (the only time the Hawks franchise ever won a title) in 1958, although it did come against a Celtic team that did have Russell miss the rest of the series. One could even argue that he was the best player of the 50's era.

But, some will point that his era wasn't very strong compared to others and that his position wasn't the deepest at the time, which I disagree with. Bob Pettit surely does deserve a spot in the Top 15-20 of all-time, but I see it hard to rank him in the Top 10... It's an opinion, so I'll let Russell be on it.

[ThaRegul8r]

Most of you don't have Pettit in your top 15, let alone 7.... Who hear knows as much about Basketball/Bob Pettit as Bill to argue against him?

I'm not sure what the point would be in taking time out of my life to argue against someone, or exactly what I would have to gain from it. I think it's silly.

But this should be used as an opportunity to talk about a past great who isn't really talked about than to make a thread asking "x thinks Bob Pettit is a top 7 player, is he crazy?", when one should know full well that "most people" will reply in the affirmative (to the latter half of the question, not the former), dismiss it, and ridicule the person who said it. While you said you wouldn't argue against it, nevertheless the question is phrased so that "most people" on internet basketball message boards will reply, "Yes, he's crazy," and not in those words.

[HeatFanSince88]

Bill Russells entire top 7 is prolly all guys that played in his era. i bet he has cousy in there too. why would I give a *** what he thinks? Most explayers are terrible judges of talent. Michael Jordans done a great job managing franchises hasn't he?

[Poetry]

http://youtu.be/kdd2biHVlyA?t=6m44s

Wilt wanted to put Barkley on his list

[ThaRegul8r]

I'm not sure what the point would be in taking time out of my life to argue against someone, or exactly what I would have to gain from it. I think it's silly.

But this should be used as an opportunity to talk about a past great who isn't really talked about than to make a thread asking "x thinks Bob Pettit is a top 7 player, is he crazy?", when one should know full well that "most people" will reply in the affirmative (to the latter half of the question, not the former), dismiss it, and ridicule the person who said it. While you said you wouldn't argue against it, nevertheless the question is phrased so that "most people" on internet basketball message boards will reply, "Yes, he's crazy," and not in those words.

Case in point:

Bill Russells entire top 7 is prolly all guys that played in his era. i bet he has cousy in there too. why would I give a *** what he thinks?

Five minutes after I posted it. People are largely rather predictable.

I know I shouldn't bother, as facts don't matter, but purely for the sake of factual accuracy, no, his "ties" that he's always referred to aren't "all guys that played in his era." Jordan, Magic and Bird have always been among his "ties" who "no one could play better than," and no, Cousy has never been listed among them.

[Collie]

Has there any other ATG who has been as forgotten as Bob Pettit? He has accolades right up there with other top 15 guys, but you rarely see anyone talk about him. He played and competed with guys like Wilt and Russell, and did well against them too. Probably the most underrated all time great.

[BoutPractice]

Since Bill Russell played in the 60s, it's not at all surprising he would rank Pettit so highly.

Based on his resume and individual dominance, Bob Pettit was a top 5/top 6 player of all time from the 50s to the 70s. At one point he may have been the second best of all time.
Since the 70s only really brought us Kareem and Dr. J as dominant superstars to be remembered for decades, he was probably top 10 until at least the 80s.
But since then we've had Magic, Bird, Jordan, Hakeem, Shaq, Duncan, Kobe, LeBron... Simply too much competition.

He's still top 15 to 20, but it is very much possible to surpass his resume (compared to Russell or Wilt for instance, who achieved things that probably will never be achieved again), so he'll likely continue to drop.

[LAZERUSS]

I too tend to forget about Pettit in these all-time great discussions. His resume should put him in the 10-20 range.

And slightly off topic, I just don't know where to rank Mikan, who dominated before the shot-clock era, and basically played in an NBA before real integration.

At least Pettit was able to continue his brilliant play into the much more established 60's.

[SilkkTheShocker]

Bob Petit in today's era: manager at Denny's

[kNicKz]

Bill Russells entire top 7 is prolly all guys that played in his era. i bet he has cousy in there too. why would I give a *** what he thinks? Most explayers are terrible judges of talent. Michael Jordans done a great job managing franchises hasn't he?

april 2013

[Psileas]

Russell doesn't "think" Pettit is a top-7 player. He mentioned him as an 8th-9th greatest, along with Olajuwon, and this happened back in 1997, so, before Duncan, Kobe, LeBron, Garnett, Dirk and, practically, before Shaq, too. Still not a popular choice, but a more realistic take than what the title suggests.

Bill Russells entire top 7 is prolly all guys that played in his era. i bet he has cousy in there too. why would I give a *** what he thinks?

Yeah, you definitely spent this 1' required to view the segment...

[La Frescobaldi]

Bill Russells entire top 7 is prolly all guys that played in his era. i bet he has cousy in there too. why would I give a *** what he thinks? Most explayers are terrible judges of talent. Michael Jordans done a great job managing franchises hasn't he?

Obviously you didn't even watch the YouTube film.
Quite the inquiring mind, HeatfansinceApril2013.

[Round Mound]

Wilt wanted to put Barkley on his list

Dominance and Efficiency!