Shaquille O’Neal has impressed a lot of people with his improved play this season. Even Bill Russell has taken notice.
“To me, he’s the most improved player in the league,” Russell said last night before a screening of the HBO documentary “Bill Russell: My Life, My Way.”
“Phil Jackson has done some good things for him, but this is Shaquille. He’s worked on his game more than ever before this year.
“He’s become a better defender, a better rebounder and has gotten a lot more creative offensively,” Russell said. “But his passing is what gets me the most. That’s what a big man needs to do to make his team win.”
And that’s what Russell did, along with everything else. So, does he see any of himself in the big man?
“No way,” Russell said with a laugh. “I was never that big. And he’s not really like Wilt [Chamberlain], either. He’s unique.”
Still, the 7-foot, 315-pound Shaq has a long way to go before he is mentioned with the incomparable Russell, whose accomplishments are astounding. In his 13 NBA seasons, Russell and the Celtics won 11 championships. They came after he won back-to-back NCAA titles at the University of San Francisco in 1955-56.
During one stretch, Boston won eight consecutive NBA crowns.
“Nobody will ever do that again,” Russell said. “Think about it, I won an NBA title when I was a rookie. That’s impossible nowadays. Things are a lot more balanced now.”
And a lot more high profile. Players who haven’t won a thing are routinely glorified as great players. Who is responsible for that? Michael Jordan, according to Russell.
“He raised the bar for everyone,” Russell said. “Now guys want to see what miraculous things they can do, but they don’t realize how deep Michael’s game was.”
But Russell isn’t blasting anyone.
“That’s the way the game has evolved,” Russell said. “All these great individual players like Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, they all play to win, but they have to get better and add to their game before they do. That’s what Shaquille did. He’s a good example for all of them.”
Not as good as Russell.