#9 Bill Russell’s 11 NBA Championships

The Sporting News recently came out with their Top 10 “Great Records” written by Steve Greenberg. In an 11 part series, I will breakdown each record, why the record is impressive (or not), and if the record could ever be broken.

#9 Bill Russell’s 11 NBA Championships

This is a simple record to breakdown. Simple because it will never be broken, in any sport. Certainly not football, unless a kicker jumps around to different teams over the course of his career and gets REALLY lucky. Most NFL careers don’t last two years and parity in the NFL will never allow this to happen.

In recent years the closest thing to a baseball dynasty has been the New York Yankees. Seems like they win it all every year? Well they don’t. Derek Jeter and company have won 5 championships since he won Rookie of the Year in 1995. A great accomplishment for the Yankees by all means, but not great enough to pass Mr. Russell. They had the opportunities, I will say that.

This leaves the sport in question. Could anyone beat Russell’s 11 NBA Championships with the Boston Celtics? Again, no, this record will not be broken. It takes a lot of luck and a lot of skill to win a NBA Championship. The Celtics were dominating before the NBA became the NBA. Not to take anything away from their success but the game did change when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson entered the NBA. Michael Jordan just took it to the next skill level and then the talent left the building. His “Air-ness” only won 6 Championships. Yes he did lose 2 ½ years to baseball when he left the game the first time when he was in his prime. But that’s not our fault. Would his Bulls have beaten the Houston Rockets during those two years? I think so but that still leaves Jordan at a possible 8 Championships. Would his desire to have his Bulls teams being mentioned with Russell’s great Celtic’s teams kept him going without retiring? Maybe, but we will never know. He was obviously bored with the game and had achieved everything he wanted.

With “Big Shot” Robert Horry retired after winning 7 Championships with three different teams (2 Houston Rockets, 3 Los Angeles Lakers, and 2 San Antonio Spurs) in 16 seasons, the current players that are worth mentioning include Kobe Bryant with 5 and Tim Duncan with 4 wins. Not even close.

Just to clarify, the team concept has been lost due to free agency, the “Me Generation”, and ESPN highlights. Teams do not stick together anymore as players seek their fortune instead of their wins. Allen Iverson rants about “practice” and Latrell Sprewell says $6 million a year can’t feed his family thus it’s not worth playing another year in the NBA. Throwback teams like the Spurs make basketball fun to watch but they are slowly fading into the past. The NBA has been lost with one on one players and no defense. Rest easy Mr. Russell your record of 11 NBA Championships in 13 seasons will never be tested much less broken.