Bill Russell greatest shot blocker of all time?

[JSD]

Are there any old time Celtic fans here that could maybe estimate how manny blocks Bill Russell probably averaged for his career per game? I'm becoming more and more convinced that Bill Russell is the GOAT.

[hwangjini_1]

well, for blocks as well as rebounds and points, bill probably comes in second to wilt.

here is an interesting article that pegs the minimum season average for russell at 6 blocks per game. and that is considered the minimum.

good read....

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/430859-bill-russell-the-greatest-shot-blocker-of-all-time

[RebusRankin]

Nate Thurmond once pointed out that he averaged 2.5 per game in the seasons he played where they recorded blocks. He estimated he blocked 5 per game in his prime. He figured Russell was at around 10.

[oldmanspeaks]

Wilt may have blocked as many shots as Russell. The difference is that Wilt knocked most of them into the 10 row and Russell basically caught it and let it drop down. My guess is that Russell blocked about 5 a game. However he was the first to totally intimidate shooters. The only reason he didn't block 10 a game is that no one would even think of challenging him (Wilt being the exception)
They would continually put up horrible shots or simply pass off rather than challenge Russell. Russell was the first player to go straight up for the block because he had such an incredible vertical jump. He also was incredibly strong. Once (there were no spring loaded rims in the old days) Wilt went up for the jam and Russell met him at the rim and they actually snapped the weld and bent the rim. Thing of what it would take to break the weld of a rim and to bend it down in a single motion. I have seen all the shot blockers and none are close to Russell. Wilt might be close to the number of blocks but because he just swatted it out of bounds, he never intimidated shooters like Russell did.

[Fafnir]

I figure Wilt probably would have the most in league history, he played more minutes (around 7k more).

By reputation Russell certainly is.

[oldmanspeaks]

A follow on because I want to again stress the intimidation factor that Russell brought. With Russell shooters felt like he would block every single shot that came into his area. Russell has said he didn't try to block every shot but he wanted the shooter to think he would block every shot. He largely succeeded. You always got the impression that if he was challenged he would block 20 a game, do it with out fouling and keep 90% in bounds. The greatness of Russell was that the other team always had to change their game plan and the other Celtic player could overplay and funnel their opponent to Russell who always seemed to be waiting.
The other thing is that Russell didn't take silly fouls. If Wilt and the angle for a dunk, Russell gave it to him and didn't also send him to the line. Remember Russell played almost every minute until the game was in hand. He had to block shots without fouling.

[Spilling Green Dye]

I'm not sure of all time, but the greatest I'e seen in the past 20 to 30 years is Dikembe Mutombo. He had nearly 8 straight seasons of 3+ blocks / game with a few seasons over 4 per game.  Hakeem and Alonzo Mourning were great too in their prime.

[erisred]

A follow on because I want to again stress the intimidation factor that Russell brought. With Russell shooters felt like he would block every single shot that came into his area. Russell has said he didn't try to block every shot but he wanted the shooter to think he would block every shot. He largely succeeded. You always got the impression that if he was challenged he would block 20 a game, do it with out fouling and keep 90% in bounds. The greatness of Russell was that the other team always had to change their game plan and the other Celtic player could overplay and funnel their opponent to Russell who always seemed to be waiting.
The other thing is that Russell didn't take silly fouls. If Wilt and the angle for a dunk, Russell gave it to him and didn't also send him to the line. Remember Russell played almost every minute until the game was in hand. He had to block shots without fouling.

He said one time that they give you 6 fouls for a reason. Bill didn't make silly or accidental fouls, he spent them when they would do the most good. Same with blocks, he got in people's heads, and intimidated the heck out of them.

How many blocks per game? As many as he needed!

[Boris Badenov]

I'm not sure of all time, but the greatest I'e seen in the past 20 to 30 years is Dikembe Mutombo. He had nearly 8 straight seasons of 3+ blocks / game with a few seasons over 4 per game.  Hakeem and Alonzo Mourning were great too in their prime.

I never saw Russell, but of the guys you mention I think Zo was the best at the thing that supposedly made Russell so great: blocks that kept the ball inbounds and maintained possession for his team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GEjMEa_y00

[mmmmm]

I'd like to add to what others have said:

 A particular 'thing' about Russell and blocks was that an unusually high percentage of his blocks seemed to go right to one of his teammates.   He didn't just whack at the ball.  He almost always seemed to block with a plan for the next moment after the block.  He had that same 'court awareness' that great point-guards have and seemed to just know where to send the ball flying to keep it in play.

I don't have numbers on this, but this was something many have commented on and that seemed very real when you watched him play.

GOAT?   

Obviously that's a matter of opinion.  But he's at the top of my list.

[GreenFaith1819]

All time? I'd say Russell.

But there are others who've excelled at D, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5qO2UIkUGc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrGJxcYxUDg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35NyBVy1iPw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbc2IQ7sGP4

Dikembe and Alonzo certainly count.

Russell sits at the head of the table, though.

[SparzWizard]

Greatest shot blocker of all time?

How about GOAT in general? 11 rings is greater than 6 after all. Sorry for being a Celtics homer 

[2short]

Nate Thurmond once pointed out that he averaged 2.5 per game in the seasons he played where they recorded blocks. He estimated he blocked 5 per game in his prime. He figured Russell was at around 10.

[Moranis]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082021/1/index.htm

Chamberlain has been superb, sometimes even awesome, on defense. In a recent game on national television he blocked 23 shots against Phoenix.

The Philadelphia play by play man, Harvey Pollak, estimated that Wilt blocked over 10 shots a game in his prime. 

Refs from the period estimate that both Wilt and Bill blocked 6-8 shots a game throughout their entire career.