The NBA's 50 Greatest Duos Of All-Time

The NBA’s 50 Greatest Duos Of All-Time

November 17, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates with guard Stephen Curry (30) against the Toronto Raptors during the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Raptors 115-110. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

49 of 51

3. Bill Russell and Sam Jones, Boston Celtics

They say that winners win, and that’s exactly what the Boston Celtics did for the first couple decades of the NBA’s existence. The Celtics were virtually playing their own game on the parquet, and everybody else was just trying to keep up.

Bill Russell and Sam Jones are a big reason for that tremendous start the Celtics franchise enjoyed. Between 1956-57 and 1968-69, the Celtics won all but two NBA championships.

That’s 11 NBA titles. That’s incredible.

The gap between the Celtics and the rest of the league was unlike anything the NBA has ever seen, or will ever see again. Bill Russell was Bill Russell, averaging a ho-hum 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds for 13 years, and Sam Jones added a scoring touch that the rest of the league couldn’t match.

Jones averaged 17.7 points for his career, peaking in 1964-65 with a 25.9 point per game average. It’s no surprise that the Celtics went 62-18 that season, and (you guessed it) won the NBA championship.

Next: Number 2