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Russell is the greatest Celtic and Top 5 NBAer (w/ Bird, Magic, Jordan and Kareem) but greatest "star"?
Let me recap for those that are too young to know.
In Russell's last two years for USF his team won the NCAA both seasons, at one point winning 55 straight games.
He then went to the Olympics and led the USA's gold medal team in scoring. Had he not been allowed to play (because he had been drafted by the Celtics) he would have competed in the high jump instead.
He then joined the Celtics and led the team to 11 NBA titles in 13 years, including 8 straight followed by 2 straight in his 3 years as player coach. The team's only losses in his time with the Celtics were in the conference and NBA finals.
Once Russell left it took the Celtics 3 years just to make the playoffs and 5 years to win another title. They have only won 6 titles in the 45 years since he's been gone.