Greatest shot blocker in each NBA team’s history

Best shot blocker from Boston Celtics history: Bill Russell

Bill Russell is widely regarded as one of the best defensive players in league history, and for good reason. The former Boston Celtics center was the epitome of a guy willing to do anything it took in order to win just a single basketball game.

A 12-time NBA All-Star, Russell wasn’t this overpowering physical specimen who simply overwhelmed his opponents, he just wanted it more. That sounds cliché, but those always hold some truth. He averaged 22.5 rebounds per game for his career, adhering to the fundamentals of the game with a relentless pursuit of the basketball once it went up in the air.

Russell was one of the few players on this list who played in an era that didn’t recognize blocks as an official stat, a true shame. As an elite defensive force, we know Russell must have been a terrific shot-blocker as well, and we can only imagine just how many balls he swatted away during his playing days.

He led the Celtics to 11 championships in 12 years. Yet the most points he ever averaged in a season was 18.9 per game. Though a good number, it’s definitely not what you’d expect from the leader of a perennial contender. This shows just how much he contributed everywhere else on the hardwood.

Russell didn’t care about scoring, as he left it to some of his more talented teammates. He wanted to win, so much so that he’d expel his insides before every game with a level of nervousness reserved only for the biggest of stages, the true beauty of his style of play. Russell treated every game like the most important one, which is what drove him to do the little things like go for every rebound and make the right play.

He wasn’t the flashiest of players, nor was he the most dominant, but given his résumé, it’s hard to argue with the results.