The 1957 NBA Finals

William Russell, the potential "GOAT" of the NBA debatable between Wilt, Kareem and Erving. Its a very subjective debate if you go by wins its Russell, go by dominates its Wilt go by performance it's the Doctor. Go by ugly shoes,peer pressure and over exposed you pick the jordan guy.

Russell was the biggest, the first and most successful professional athlete of all time. The guy went 21-0 in finals. 11 time NBA champion. He was a player-coach and even at his old age was an ambassador for the Jesuit NBA. He lived through it all from day one of the NBA/BAA.

1957 was the first of his 11 chips in the NBA.

As a youth I use to study the NBA, I would go to the library, get books, magazines on these basketball gods and just read about them. Russell stood out because he played in a racial era, and he dominated plenty. If all stats were counted back then he would be way up there.

Then came NBA Live 2003. That's when I really appreciated William Russell. Russell owned in that game. Russell, Chamberlin, Erving, Magic and Bird were my fab 5 for a lifetime.

In 2009 the NBA introduced the Bill Russell MVP award given to Kobe aka G. Miles at first,

Russell, a basketball god that I thought would live forever, is now gone.

Russell in 1956/57 basically boosted the NBA to help build it to what it is today even though today's NBA is hash. No doubt, Russell is a basketball god and an NBA legend.

Plus he wore my favourite number 6.