I got the news about Bias from a police detail that I knew and I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in a vehicle and as I passed him by on the morning after the draft he yelled "Len Bias is dead" as I passed him. I was in shock.
This is within a handful of lifetime events which include the JFK assassination.
You feel it down deep in your core.
"I'm real excited to play for Coach Auerbach."
I'm sorry to bring up sad memories.
I feel blessed to have been able to witness Russell's career live. I understand that many current fans have never seen him play so they don't realize the impact that he had on games, but when a group of folks who never saw him play decided to rank the top NBA players of the last 75 years, they put him 6th. What a joke.
Similar to nonsense putting Orr less than 1.
Russell won not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7, not 8, not 9, not 10 but 11 titles in only 13 years, and as you said 8 straight. That was on a team that never won squat until he got there and didn't win again until a few years after he left.
Celts weren't bad before, they just didn't win in the playoffs. Titles aren't always the measure of a great player (Julius Adams, Ted Williams etc.) but, in this case, they are.
It's funny that you mentioned Danny Ainge here and Gerald Henderson in another post. Those were the only two players that I ever saw cry after they found out they'd been traded by the Celtics. It meant a lot to them.
Both made critical contributions to two titles.
Trades on opposite ends of the spectrum. Henderson trade was surprising, but part of Auerbach's genius. We lost multiple titles when Lenny died.
Ainge trade was incredibly stupid. Wrong. It did give him a chance to play in two more Finals, w/POR & PHO, but it sowed the seeds for Trader Danny.
