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No Russell faced tougher competition than MJ.
As someone else pointed out, fewer teams mean more quality players per team.
The more teams there are,the more watered-down the talent becomes. That's true for every team sport.
The Russell-era Celtics never or rarely were the most talented team. They played against the original superteams in Philly and LA.
The C's were mostly a collection of very good role-players, not unlike a lot of BB/TB era Pats' teams.
That Lakers squad with Wilt, West,Baylor,Goodrich etc is still the greatest collection of NBA talent on one team.More than any GS squad. Russell destroyed them.
I lean towards MJ as the goat but Russell is clearly#2 and hes WAY ahead of whoever is #3.
Most certainly Kareem Abdul-Jabar, who I think belongs with Russell and Jordan in the GOAT discussion.
6X champion
6x MVP
19x (!) all-star
Not that all-star appearances should decide the debate, but consider his greatness over such a long period. First championship was 1971; last one was 1988!