Bill Russell's 11 NBA championships ranked by importance
An NBA fan who is not into the so-called recency bias would argue that Bill Russell should at least be in the greatest of all-time conversations.
After all, he won 11 NBA titles, all with the Boston Celtics, while helping shape the league into everything it had been during the 1950s and the 1960s.
However, each Bill Russell championship has its own significance, and we ranked them here.
11. Bill Russell's last NBA title (1969, Boston def. L.A. Lakers 4-3)
This doesn't necessarily mean that Bill Russell's 1969 pennant is the worst. It's just that his role player-wise diminished significantly here.
In a rare moment, Russell also took on the role of head coach while still playing for Boston, so it somehow affected his scoring, averaging a career finals-low 9.1 points a night.
But he remained a beast on the boards, averaging 21.1 rebounds a game, which at that time was too impressive for a 35-year-old.
Despite a Herculean effort from Jerry West, the Celtics beat the LA Lakers 4-3, giving Russell his last NBA title before retiring as a player.
Ironically, however, West was named Finals MVP, the only time so far the said award was given to someone from the losing finalist.
10. Slumping Russell still swept the Lakers (1959, Boston def. Minneapolis 4-0)
Bill Russell's previous career scoring low in the NBA Finals was a 9.3-point average in 1959, and it also came at the expense of the Lakers, who were then situated in Minneapolis.
Despite only making 31.6% of his field goals and 44.8% of his free throws, Russell made up for it with his rebounds, grabbing 30 in each of his last three games.
Boston wiped out Minneapolis in the finals through a four-game sweep.
9. Wilt Chamberlain is better than me? No problem! (1964, Boston def. San Francisco 4-1)
The 1969 Finals featured the last time Bill Russell tossed up against Wilt Chamberlain on the grand stage, but their most epic duel was in 1964 when Chamberlain was part of the team now known as the Golden State Warriors.
A few years cut off since they moved to San Francisco from Philadelphia, the Warriors remained a steady force in the NBA's early days with Chamberlain around.
He was spectacular in the 1964 Finals, averaging 29.2 points and 27.6 rebounds per game while holding Russell to just 11.2 points on 38.6% shooting and 25.2 rebounds.
However, Russell ended up with the chip as Boston beat San Francisco 4-1.
8. Russell's rookie ring (1957, Boston def. St. Louis 4-3)
Bill Russell was drafted second overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1956 NBA Draft, but in a blockbuster trade, he was traded to the Celtics for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan.
The swap turned out to be a win-win as both Boston and St. Louis made the NBA Finals the following year and it went seven games.
In the decider, however, Russell, who entered the game averaging only 12.3 points and 21.3 rebounds a night after six outings, went for 19 points and 32 rebounds as the Celtics beat the Hawks in overtime to win the championship, the first of Russell's chips as a player.
7. That 40-rebound game (1960, Boston def. St. Louis 4-3)
Since the Macauley-Russell trade, Boston and St. Louis somehow forged a rivalry during the late 50s and the early 60s.
One of the more memorable finals battles between the two teams was in 1960.
Russell's averages during the series that went the full seven games (16.7 points, 24.9 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game) may not be as splendid by modern NBA standards, but on two occasions, he was monstrous.
In Game 2, Russell hauled a grand total of 40 rebounds, an NBA Finals record that still stands today — not even Chamberlain, Shaquille O'Neal, Dennis Rodman and any great rebounder that you know tallied that much in a single finals game.
In the rubber match, though, Russell showed up anew, tallying 22 points and 35 rebounds to help Boston close out St. Louis.
6. Bill Russell passing the torch to John Havlicek (1968, Boston def. L.A. Lakers 4-2)
During this time, a lot had changed for the Celtics.
Red Auerbach, their long-time head coach, became the general manager, and a 34-year-old Russell became the playing coach.
However, another thing imminent happened in the 1967-68 season, especially the finals.
With age catching up with him, Russell believed it was time to pass the baton in terms of player leadership to John Havlicek.
Havlicek delivered for the Celtics, averaging 27.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game against the Lakers en route to the championship in six games.
Russell, though, was also decent enough, putting up 17.3 points, 21.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.
5. When Bill Russell dropped a 30-30 in the closer (1961, Boston def. St. Louis 4-1)
Russell only averaged 17.6 points but with 28.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists a game during the 1961 finals.
But it was his dominating performance in the title-clinching Game 5 that was marvelous enough.
Russell finished with 30 points and 38 rebounds to help Boston eliminate St. Louis from title contention and win it all.
It turned out to be the last time the Hawks made the finals. Since they moved to Atlanta, they could only go as far as the conference finals.
4. When Bill Russell couldn't just miss (1965, Boston def. L.A. Lakers 4-1)
Bill Russell was not known to be a prolific scorer by old-school NBA standards.
In another example, Russell only made 17.8 points a game during the 1965 finals between the Celtics and the Lakers.
However, how he got those points was mind-blowing.
In arguably the best shot selection display in NBA Finals history, Russell made a career-high 70.2% from the field during the series that lasted five games.
What's more mind-blowing: Russell, a bad free-throw shooter, went 10-for-12 from the charity stripe in the title-winning Game 5, where he finished with 22 points and 30 rebounds.
3. A triple-double in the closer... almost (1963, Boston def. L.A. Lakers 4-2)
The year 1963 was one of the better scoring exploits of Bill Russell during the NBA Finals.
Entering the title-clinching Game 6, he averaged 21.6 points per game after five outings.
While the Lakers held Russell to just 12 points in Game 6, cutting his average down to 20.0, he made up for it as a facilitator, dishing out nine assists and coming just close to a triple-double as he had 24 rebounds.
While he barely missed out on the triple-dub, that performance solidified Russell's legacy as one of the best passing big men in NBA history.
2. The 30-40 (1962, Boston def. L.A. Lakers 4-3)
As aforementioned, Bill Russell is not really known for his offense, but in the 1962 Finals, it seemed like it was the opposite.
He averaged 22.9 points per game during the series that went the full seven games. He led the Celtics in scoring.
On top of that, he scored 54.3% of his field goals and a career-high 74.2% of his free throws.
It was his epic performance in Game 7, though, that highlighted his finals stint more.
He finished with 30 points, going 14-of-17 from the line, and 40 rebounds, the most in a finals game since Bill Russell back in 1960.
1. Best offense, best (individual) defense (1966, Boston def. L.A. Lakers 4-3)
There is no doubt Bill Russell's performance in the 1966 NBA Finals will stand out among the rest.
It was his best scoring effort in the finals, averaging 23.6 points a game on 53.8% field goal and 74% free-throw shooting.
But that one game, the rubber match itself, defined the series for Russell.
Russell finished with 25 points and 32 rebounds in Game 7, but more importantly, his rim-protection prowess limited Elgin Baylor to just 18 points and 14 rebounds.
During that time, Baylor's performance is considered so-so, all the more if you add the fact that he only shot 6-for-22 from the field.