As for those rebounding numbers, it’s really useless to compare per-game averages across eras. The game was played at a MUCH faster pace in Russell’s era and the team’s shooting percentages were so much lower than in Jordan’s era. When you also factor in that Russell used to play nearly every minute of every game, you begin to realize that his per-game rebounding totals were somewhat inflated due to the environment in which he accumulated them. I’m not saying he wasn’t a great rebounder but consider the following example from John Hollinger:

Player A gets 10 rebounds in a game with 20 missed shots, while Player B nabs 20 in a game with 100 missed shots. Player B has twice as many rebounds, but is he really better? Player A grabbed a Herculean 50 percent of all the missed shots in his game, while Player B took in only 20 percent. We shouldn’t hold it against Player A that there were so few missed shots for him to rebound.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&id=2007347

Unfortunately, the nba didn’t keep track of blocks in Russell’s era so we don’t really know how dominant he was in that aspect of the game, although I’m guessing he was one of the best of all-time in that respect.

After all is said and done, the point I’m arguing is that Russell won more championships in a less competitive era than Jordan. It’s impossible to prove this, but it’s what I believe.

Everyone else:

Bill Russell…

Five-time MVP. 12-time All-Star. Averaged 22.5 rebounds per game, which is absurd. 11 Championships in 13 seasons, which is also absurd. Changed every game he played in defensively. He really revolutionized the way the game was thought of defensively… was the ultimate disrupter. One of the greatest team guys ever.

He also was a player/coach for a while, and was in fact the NBA’s first black head coach.

Before Jordan came along, most people thought of Russell as the best ever… I think the fact that Jordan was more recent has a lot to do with his nearly-universal status among NBA viewers today as the best ever.

I’m not saying Russell’s better… I’m just saying that I think some debate is appropriate. Yeah, Russell played with HOF’ers… that’s part of the argument. So is 11 championships vs. 6. It also depends on how you compare greatness… is it dominance in their respective eras, or just absolute skills? Depends on how you look at it. But I don’t see Jordan as a clear open-and-shut winner.

That arguement might work for the guy saying Russel is the greatest. He played with no less then 8 HOF’s. Maybe more. I’m not sure.

Unless you are arguing that Magic is better then Jordan, I don’t even wanna hear it. Jordan is the GOAT without a shadow of a doubt.

C’mon now MJD, lay off the pipe. Your credibility is at stake here.

Blasephemy.