Bill Russell vs Wilt Chamberlain

[Marchesk]

Russell highs:

Regular Season (13 seasons)
points: 18.9
rebounds: 24.7
assists: 5.8
FG: 46.7%
FT: 61.2%
fouls: 2.0 (lowest)

PER: 22.8
WS/48: .238
TS%: 50.0

Playoffs (165 games)
points: 22.4
rebounds: 29.9
assists: 6.3
FG: 52.7%
FT: 72.6%
fouls: 2.4 (lowest)

PER: 22.8
WS/48: .286
TS%: 51.9

Wilt highs:

Regular Season (14 seasons)
points: 50.4
rebounds: 27.2
assists: 8.6
FG: 72.7%
FT: 61.3%
fouls: 1.5

PER: 31.8
WS/48: .286
TS%: 68.9

Playoffs (165 games)
points: 37.0
rebounds: 30.2
assists: 9.0
FG: 57.9%
FT: 63.6%
fouls: 1.9

PER: 31.3
WS/48: .329
TS%: 55.6


Note: Literally the only stat Russell had on Wilt was playoff FT%. Tell me again why Russell was better than Wilt?

[SouBeachTalents]

11 > 2

[dubeta]

11/13 vs 2/6

[Marchesk]

11 > 2

8 > 3, 2, 3*

Hondo > Bird, Bron & Dr. J ???

[Nuff Said]

More mvp's, more rings. Won as a damn player coach as well.

[Marchesk]

More mvp's, more rings. Won as a damn player coach as well.

Russell won MVP the year Wilt averaged 50/25. You tell me if that makes sense.

[SHAQisGOAT]

Peak? Wilt.

All-time list? Russell.

Knowing what I know now, who I'd want on my team to build around without any info about the rest of the squad? Russell.

[LAZERUSS]

And how about their 143 career H2H games you ask?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?pli=1#gid=0

Chamberlain with an OVERWHELMING margin in virtually EVERY facet of the game.

Oh, and none other than John Wooden...

Had Wilt and Russell swapped rosters and coaches, and it would have likely been Chamberlain holding all those rings.

[Duffy Pratt]

8 > 3, 2, 3*

Hondo > Bird, Bron & Dr. J ???

First off, maybe not, but it's a lot closer than people like to give him credit for. Hondo was a beast, and a nightmare to guard.

Second, the comparison doesn't work because Wilt and Russell played against each other a lot. Honda never played against the guys you mention. When people played against each other, it's fair to compare how much they won.

As Laz likes to point out, Wilt surpassed Russell in just about all the measurable a in their 143 head to head match ups. What he doesn't mention is that
Wilt's team's record in those games was 46-97. And you can say all you want about switching teams, but for me the dispositive fact is that Auerbach would never have agreed to the switch, and he was a much better judge of talent at the time than any of us.

[FKAri]

Wilt, easily. Peak and prime play should be heavily weighted when discussing who was better.

[La Frescobaldi]

First off, maybe not, but it's a lot closer than people like to give him credit for. Hondo was a beast, and a nightmare to guard.

Second, the comparison doesn't work because Wilt and Russell played against each other a lot. Honda never played against the guys you mention. When people played against each other, it's fair to compare how much they won.

As Laz likes to point out, Wilt surpassed Russell in just about all the measurable a in their 143 head to head match ups. What he doesn't mention is that
Wilt's team's record in those games was 46-97. And you can say all you want about switching teams, but for me the dispositive fact is that Auerbach would never have agreed to the switch, and he was a much better judge of talent at the time than any of us.

Havlicek played against Erving many times. Erving is on record that Havlicek was the best defender he ever went up against.
Auerbach tried to recruit Chamberlain to Boston.
Celtics were overwhelmingly, incomprehensibly stacked.

[CavaliersFTW]

Wilt is better and more dominant at Russell than just about everything except free throws (which Russell was also horrible at), and defensive flexibility. Wilt was an even better rim protector than Russell from what I understand, and even a more prolific shot blocker but Russell was quicker and more mobile. Russell is also a little more flexible in offensive mobility in the open court however that is far outweighed by Wilt's overwhelming ability to be fed the ball and score points or make a hand off that got his team points. Wilt is clearly more dominant than Russell by eye test, stats, whatever you want to look at. If you saw them both on the floor you'd be drawn to Wilt as the more potent player by landslide and this would be compared to almost any other player, only some would even be capable of closing the gap a little prime for prime.

HOWEVER. Many Russell proponents point out that his championships speak for themselves. They are not incorrect. There's no way to quantify his ability to win other than just that, an ability to some how keep winning. Baylor for example has mentioned that many centers did more things and had more ability than Russell but he himself said Russell just had this laser focus on winning and no matter what limitations compared to other centers it didn't matter he just somehow kept winning. Russell himself says the same thing, he says his own teammates had more skill than him such as John Havlicek and Sam Jones. Said it didn't matter, he felt he was going to get you a win period. Russell you can't quantify like Wilt. He just wins.

Wilt most dominant ever. Russell greatest winner ever. Whether one would be as effective trying to fill the shoes of the other, well Russell certainly couldn't dominate like Wilt. Could Wilt win like Russell? Maybe but even Wilt didn't think so based on a 90's interview. It's basically an eternal debate who you pick. It's hard to pick against Wilt. But it's also hard to pick against Russell.

[Duffy Pratt]

Havlicek played against Erving many times. Erving is on record that Havlicek was the best defender he ever went up against.
Auerbach tried to recruit Chamberlain to Boston.
Celtics were overwhelmingly, incomprehensibly stacked.

They overlapped in the NBA for two seasons, when Havlicek was like 36 years old, and at that age he was still the toughest defender Erving had faced. People seem to completely neglect Havlicek having been the number one option on three of the Celtics championship squads, two led by Russell and the other by Cowens.

I didn't say that Auerbach would have refused Chamberlain. But he would not have traded Russell for Chamberlain straight up.

[aj1987]

11/13 vs 2/6

6/6 vs 2/6
5/7 vs 2/6
3/5 vs 2/6

[Duffy Pratt]

Hard to know who blocked more shots. Wilt tended to block shots to prevent a score. Russell's blocks were often also outlet passes. He would not only block the shot, but do it to keep the ball in play and initiate the break. He's the only person I ever saw who would do that with any regularity. So, on that phase at least, I would say that Russell was a better shot blocker.

I would also give Russell the nod as a ball handler and as a passer, though they were both excellent passers.