Bill Russell is the GOAT (Part 2: Leveling the Era Differences)

Okay, before we get into this comparison between Bill Russell and Michael Jordan, I need to explain a few things. First of all, this isn't a definite comparison. Opinions are simply opinions. There is no greater basketball being telling us "Jordan is better" or "Russell is better". There are no definite metrics on ranking the 2 players. I will merely be offering my own opinion and insight.

Era Differences

Russell played in an era where centers were much taller. In that time, the league was very small, only about 8-9 teams (I think). The talent in the league, while smaller, was very condensed. People always cite the 1960's Celtics as having multiple HOF players. Well, if you take a good look at the league at the time, many teams had multiple HOF players on their teams. The talent was so condensed that teams were all very talented. It wasn't like the 90's where there would be some teams that were simply awful. Jordan played in an era where the league was exploding in popularity, mainly thanks to Magic and Bird. During Jordan's era, teams were much more physical. The "Bad Boy" Pistons consistently beat on other teams. But as I mentioned earlier, the talent was much more diluted.

Rivals

During Russell's era, he had a consistent rival: Wilt Chamberlain. Wilt is considered one of the greatest, and during his time, absolutely dominated his opponents...except Bill Russell. Russell admitted that Wilt could overwhelm him offensively, yet Russell still did a great job defending him. In head-to-head match-ups, Russell almost always won. It wasn't until Wilt went to a loaded Lakers squad did he finally dethrone the Celtics. Wilt and Russell met over 140 times in their career. Even when you compare that to Magic and Larry (met 37 times), the number is much greater. That means Russell always had to play against the best of the best.

On the other hand, Michael never had a true rival  in the league. Michael never had to play against a player that was as dominant as him. Magic was already on the downside of his career. There also weren't many SGs who were dominant. Sure, there was Clyde Drexler, who was a great player. But you never had a dominant force emerge. Some people may say "well that's because Michael was so dominant that no other player could mess with him". I disagree. Regardless of how good you are, there CAN always be another player that can make you better. A player who can challenge you. Russell had to face on the greatest in Wilt. He had to face him over 140 times. Magic had to duel with Larry all the time, and in fact, they met in the Finals several times. Who challenged Michael?

Part 3 is coming up next...