I understand that the much-revered Bob Ryan did not start writing about the Boston Celtics until 1969, the year Bill Russell retired, but I have to differ with him with regard to what he wrote about Robert Williams III.
Ain’t nobody. The Celtics have never had this kind of 7-foot modern athlete rim-protecting center as Robert Williams. And that includes the fading Shaq.
— Bob Ryan (@GlobeBobRyan) January 16, 2022
I have labeled Rob Williams as the most physically-gifted Celtics big man since Bill Russell. Did Ryan forget about Russ as the epitome of "this kind of 7-foot modern athlete rim-protecting center"? "Big Bill" was truly the first super-athletic NBA big who was quick and a high-flyer. He made shot-blocking an art. The following from my previous article:
Russell was closer to 6'10" than his often-listed 6'9", and his wingspan extended to 7'4". Upon his entry into the League in 1956, no one had yet seen anyone like him. Bill was quick, superbly athletic - and had nice handles for a big man. Until Wilt Chamberlain showed up, there was no match for Russ in the middle. He could out-rebound, outrun and out-quick any opposing center, and his shot-blocking prevented untold numbers of shots from ever being taken.
My apologies to Bob if I misconstrued his words, but I watched Russell perform at Boston Garden all through the 60's, and I place him number-1 in the Boston annals of rim-running, rim-protecting bigs. Perhaps Ryan's use of the word "modern" meant that Rob was the top rim-protecting center in modern times (post-Russell), since I regard Bill as a "modern athlete" who was before his time..
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