re: Is Karl Malone the best basketball player born in Louisiana?

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You clearly don't understand an era when defense was valued more than offense. He was one if not the best defender of all time. The team was never an offensive powerhouse and he got those 15 with a lot of good players on the floor with him. Go back and look how they did with him off the floor, if basketball had a simple WAR stat I think you would be amazed. Russel won 5 MVPs at a time the players voted for the winner. The only way Bill Russel is highly overrated is if one is making a GOAT argument but even then he is an easy Top 5 argument and would be a consensus Top 10. Recency bias is the only thing holding him back now.

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well said

also consider that back then in the 1960s the game was actually played at a break neck speed and points per game was sky high. Russell being the absolute best defensive player in an offensive league was extremely valuable to the Celtics.

1960 Avg PPG Team 115
1961 118
1962 118
1963 115
1964 111
1965 110
1966 115
1967 117
1968 116
1969 112

the 1960s is by far the greatest offensive era in league history, yet the League was dominated by the team with arguably the greatest defensive player in league history.