Bill Russell was the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics' dynasty of the 1960s, an uncanny shot blocker who revolutionized NBA defensive concepts. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time All-Star, the angular center amassed 21,620 career rebounds, an average of 22.5 per game, and led the league in rebounding four times. He had 51 boards in one game, 49 in two others, and a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds.

Bill Russell's legacy: Defense wins championships. Before Bill Russell brought his marvelous defensive and shot blocking skills to basketball, the game focused primarily on offense. But Russell initiated a defensive mentality that remains a focal part of championship basketball at every level. Without a doubt, Russell was the greatest defensive center in the history of basketball.

His many individual accolades were well deserved, but they were only products of Russell's philosophy of team play. Until the ascent of Michael Jordan in the 1980s, Russell was acclaimed by many as the greatest player in the history of the NBA.

Although the arrival of Michael Jordan later in the decade may have reopened the debate over who was truly the game's best player, what remains irrefutable is that Russell radically changed people's thinking about how basketball games are won.