# Best Celtic Ever?



## Rizzah (Mar 27, 2005)

Just curious.


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## Bsktbllplayr25 (Feb 10, 2005)

def. have to give it to larry bird..


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## agoo (Jun 1, 2003)

Bill Russell.


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

Antoine Walker......

no really, Larry Bird


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## aquaitious (Jun 11, 2002)

Lanteri said:


> Antoine Walker......
> 
> no really, Larry Bird


Cheap shot. lol.

But yea, Larry Bird. Talent, leadership, savior.


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## BackwoodsBum (Jul 2, 2003)

In reality you could make a legitimate argument for just about any of those guys. Comparing these players is hard because you have to compare them against the quality of the competition and there were times when the C's were so far ahead of the competition that there was no competition. 

Cousy was incredible with the ball and did things that nobody had dreamed of doing before he came along. 

Cowans and Havlichek were both hustle players who simply refused to let their teams lose and often carried the team on their backs. 

Taking everything into account for me it came down to Bird or Russell. Russell was the consumate pro and one of the best rebounders and shot blockers in the game, but I gave my vote to Bird simply because he could do it all, passing, scoring, rebounding, ball handling, and just plain making his teamates better. 

I'll be seriously shocked if the "other" category gets any votes because while there have been a number of great players (just look into the rafters!), I can't think of anyone that even deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as these guys.


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## Tersk (Apr 9, 2004)

Larry Bird, imo


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## lempbizkit (Dec 25, 2003)

Russell.


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## #1AntoineWalkerFan (Mar 10, 2005)

bill russell...when u have 11 championships its kind of hard to bet against the guy...ive heard many elderly (for lack of a better word) bball players and people who are involved in basketball say that he was the best player ever....now in my generation everyone already concedes that jordan was the best player ever...now i can say jordan is the best player i have ever seen but who am i to say that he was better than russell when i never saw russell play...well in all my blabbing my main point is he has more championship rings than he has fingers...nuff said...


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## banner17 (Jun 28, 2003)

gotta go with Bill

this really shouldn't even be a question

granted I loved Larry Bird as he was who was on the TV when I was kid growing up outside of Boston and the 3 titles I saw during his era were very exciting, but Bill Russell is the man.

I love how Russell is still completely enamored to the organization, which Larry, clearly is not. granted the C's brass cut Larry some raw deals and I can understand how he is Hoosier at heart and doing what he's currently doing, so I really don't hold that against him. I just wish he still was working in some capacity on Causway Street.


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## LX (Oct 14, 2004)

aquaitious said:


> Cheap shot. lol.
> 
> But yea, Larry Bird. Talent, leadership, savior.


Talent, leadership, savior? Isn't that what you called Walker?


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## aquaitious (Jun 11, 2002)

Lanteri said:


> Talent, leadership, savior? Isn't that what you called Walker?


If you're putting words into my mouth, then I guess I did.


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## ZWW (Jan 17, 2004)

Well, I personally think Bird had the most talent but, Russell won 11 titles out of 13 seasons I believe and the guy was just unstoppable in his day. Probably the greatest winner in sports and a guy no one really ever talks about. So, I voted for Bill Russell.


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## Rizzah (Mar 27, 2005)

Those five I put up there were certainly the most symbolic Celtic players of the chapters of Celtic history

Cooz and Russell got the Celtics off the ground, Havlicek was the main man when Russ was wearing down, Cowens was the main man in the 70's and Bird, as we all know, was the face of the franchise in the 80's. 

I voted for Bird, as he is the one out of those five that I have seen the most. My stepdad is a diehard Celtics fan and has tapes of a lot of the Celtics games in the 80's, and every so often when I was growing up, especially when I began to play organized basketball, we'd watch them together, and with all due respect to Russ (my second choice pick), Bird was absolutely amazing. An incredible all-around player who could see plays before they developed and made every single play necessary to win. He played with a chip on his shoulder matched only by Jordan, like he always has something to prove. He just refused to let the Celtics lose...he inspired everyone around him to do better. 

My stepdad was at the "Baby Hook" game in the 1987 NBA Finals when Bird missed a 20-something footer at the buzzer by like, 1/100th of an inch, and everyone in the Garden was SHOCKED that he missed. I dunno. Bird was just one in a million. There's a reason a lot of players have been touted "The next Jordan" but never "The next Bird" (or "The next Magic", even).

banner17: I remember back in '97, Bird was really interested in being the coach or the GM...and then they kind of pushed him aside for Rick Pitino. I'd be pretty pissed, too.

By the way, BackwoodsBum, someone could make a case for Red Auerbach (I said greatest Celtic, not greatest player)  . Granted, I didn't do that with that option in mind, but hey, now I have justification for putting it down.


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## BackwoodsBum (Jul 2, 2003)

Rizzah said:


> By the way, BackwoodsBum, someone could make a case for Red Auerbach (I said greatest Celtic, not greatest player)  . Granted, I didn't do that with that option in mind, but hey, now I have justification for putting it down.



You got me there :cheers: 

Without Red how many banners would be hanging in the rafters??? Probably not nearly as many as there are now.


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## Kunlun (Jun 22, 2003)

I think it's Larry Legend. He was just amazing, but to be fair to the others I haven't seen any of them play other than highlights. I have seen Larry Bird's old games and he's great.


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## whiterhino (Jun 15, 2003)

Bill Russell

I grew up with Larry Legend and he was amazing but Bill Russell was just the best in his time by soooo far....he was just incredible and he gets my nod.


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## white360 (Apr 24, 2004)

I'll give my vote to Robert Parish.
Just because he is the blue collar worker, and was consistant for so many years. Bill Russell, sure why not? He didn't have any real competition besides Chamberlain and Thurmond.
ROBERT "THE CHIEF" PARISH


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## AoK-TripleDouble (Feb 28, 2005)

I think Bill Russel, he led the Celtics to 8 Championships in a row and 9 in total!


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## Al Jefferson (Nov 20, 2003)

Bird, No question.

PdP


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## AoK-TripleDouble (Feb 28, 2005)

PhearDaPierce said:


> Bird, No question.
> 
> PdP



Why do you think it is Bird, give us a few reasons...


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## P2TheTruth34 (May 25, 2003)

Bird. Russ #2 but so many great Teammates.


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## celtsb34 (Apr 22, 2005)

Dennis Johnson is great but larry is the best


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## whiteboy jumper (Mar 8, 2005)

I think Bird is the best celtic ever Russel obviously won more championships but Bird was a better player personally though i think had the len bias tragedy been avoided we would be talking about him as the greatest celtic and maybe even the greatest player ever imagine this dynasty had Bias and Reggie Lewis lived long enough to be real contributors


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