“You have to be careful with him. Earlier in my career, he really bothered me a lot” - Jerry West on how challenging it was to play against Bill Russell

bill-russell–jerry-west

During the 1960s, Bill Russell was the premier defender in the NBA. He was a superb athlete who could outrun and outjump almost every on the court. Outside of his athletic gifts, Russell also had an insane length and a knack for when the opponent was going to shoot, which helped him block shots more easily and grab rebounds faster than others.

While some people might doubt Russell’s defensive reputation, most of Bill’s peers can agree he was the best at that aspect in the league. As one of the greatest offensive players of the era, Jerry West admitted he could not play well against the Boston Celtics legend.

“Earlier in my career, I’ve never seen a player like this. I was probably an athlete before my time that could go there and jump over people,” West said on The Dan Patrick Show. “You have to be careful with him. Earlier in my career, he really bothered me a lot because I had the ability to get by people. With him back there, you had to learn to either make a pass which would help players if they were gifted enough to do it. More importantly, how to look for him before he got there.”

Bill Russell’s secret for being a good defender

Most people know Bill was a fantastic defender who could block any shot. However, that was a skill he built up from his early years playing the sport. His defensive abilities are not just a blessing because he worked on it and became the 11-time champ.

Russell has spoken about how staying flatfooted was not optimal despite being the fundamental way to defend before his rise to stardom. Nowadays, you can see almost every player on that side of the ball game play by being light on their feet, to move around quicker and react to certain plays.

“Defense was taught differently back then. It was thought that you had to stay flatfooted to react quickly and play good defense. Today, that seems preposterous, but back then, the game wasn’t played the same as it is now,” Russell said per FifteenMinutesWith. “Almost everyone utilized the set shot on offense. I wanted to use my strengths to make defensive plays, so I started jumping to block shots. It was something the coaches initially wanted to change, but I stuck with it.”

West found a way to score over Russell

Amidst the many Los Angeles Lakers vs. Celtics matchups during the decade, Jerry became more aware of what to do when Russell was the defender. He started shooting pull-up jumpers to limit Russell’s reach but also learned to delay some moves to get a better look at the rim.

West’s reputation as one of the greatest scorers ever meant it was no shock he eventually found ways to counter the Celtics’ center. Yet, it took him a while to crack the code against the Celtics, showcasing Russell’s defensive brilliance. The impact of the two legends of the game endured, with defenders emulating Russell’s style and West setting the standard for guards excelling in offense through both scoring and playmaking.