Bill Russell's Celtics

From 1956 to 1969, Bill Russell played center for the Boston Celtics. Russell is perhaps the greatest defender in the history of basketball and is one of the most successful players of all time, who is often ranked amongst the game's best. Despite his 6'10 stature, Russell was very quick and was one of the best man to man defenders in the game, and his massive stature made him one of the best rebounders the game has ever seen (he is still second in rebounds, behind only his career rival Wilt Chamberlain).

Russell was one of the very first black people to play in the NBA and was the first to achieve stardom across the United States. From 1966 to 1969, Russell was a player-coach for the Celtics, making him the first black coach in NBA History.

Russell throughout his career racked up the most accolades of any player to this day. In the 13 year he played, he was a 12 time All Star, and 5 time MVP, 3 time All NBA 1st Team, 8 time All NBA 2nd Team, 4 time Rebounding Champion, and 11 time NBA Champion.

Yes, you read that right. In the 13 years Bill Russell played in the NBA, he won 11 Championships. That means there was only 2 years he didn't win the Championship. 11 out of 13 is 85%. I don't think I can stress enough how absolutely insane of a number that is. 11 times. 11 Nba Championships. In 13 years. I mean, how is that even possible?

Here's how:

First of all, credit where credit is due, Russell is an all time great. But it is worth noting he was played against what would be considered midgets in the modern NBA, and about 90% of his opponents were white.

Throughout those 13 years, Russell played with 16 unique future Hall Of Famers for an aggregate 83 seasons. That's Six hall of Famers per season. And if you didn't know, only 5 guys start on a basketball team. These Hall of Famers include Sam Jones, KC Jones, Tommy Heinsohn, Bob Cousy and John Havlicek.

Oh, and he was coached by perhaps the best coach ever, Hall of Famer Red Auerbach.

There's something to be said for Russell being so good that by proxy the guys around him were even better, but I think it's safe to say that Russell's success was largely due to the poor competition and the absolutely stacked teams he played on, as opposed to Russell being a superhuman.