Fansided

The best NBA Draft pick of all time at every slot

By Brandon Jefferson

NEW YORK - JUNE 26: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers poses with his jersey during the 2003/2004 NBA Draft Portrait at Paramount Theatre Madison Square Garden on June 26, 2003 in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2003 NBAE (Photo by: Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK - JUNE 26: LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers poses with his jersey during the 2003/2004 NBA Draft Portrait at Paramount Theatre Madison Square Garden on June 26, 2003 in New York, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright 2003 NBAE (Photo by: Jennifer Pottheiser/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – MAY 18: Students swarm Bill Russell after he gave a speech at the Patrick T. Campbell Junior High School “Freedom Graduation” in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, June 22, 1966. (Photo by Frank O’Brien/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MAY 18: Students swarm Bill Russell after he gave a speech at the Patrick T. Campbell Junior High School “Freedom Graduation” in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, June 22, 1966. (Photo by Frank O’Brien/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

2. Bill Russell, 1956 NBA Draft, St. Louis Hawks

The greatest winner the sport has seen, Bill Russell won 11 NBA championships during his playing days with the Boston Celtics. Russell’s athleticism, basketball IQ, and shut-down defense made him the backbone of the Red Auerbach-era Celtics of the 1950s and 1960s. Russell’s skills were well-known as he led the University of San Francisco to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 1955 and 1956; however, circumstances worked out that allowed Boston to snatch him away from the St. Louis Hawks who drafted him second overall.

First, the team with the top pick (Rochester Royals) already had an All-Star as their starting center, Maurice Stokes, and felt that adding Russell would be redundant. Also, there were rumors that Russell would command a hefty signing bonus to play in the NBA otherwise he would join the Harlem Globetrotters instead of the team that drafted him.

St. Louis knew that Boston was after Russell, it was rumored that Auerbach had offered to get the on-ice performers, the Ice Caps (think Disney on Ice but in the 1950s), to do a full week of shows in Rochester to provide financial stability to the Royals franchise. Auerbach, not wanting to miss out on his man, offered the Hawks Ed McCauley (the Celtics’ best player at that time) and Cliff Hagan (wasn’t in the NBA due to military obligations) for Russell and the rest is history. It was Auerbach’s version of the move Masai Ujiri made last summer to bring Kawhi Leonard — and an NBA title — to Toronto. Having that much faith in a rookie might bewilder some, but the gamble paid off for Auerbach and he got the last laugh in this scenario.

Russell’s Celtics are the dynasty that all other dynasties are measured against. Any team winning 11 out of 13 championships — regardless of the sport — is unlikely to happen again and it makes what Russell and Auerbach did together even more special.

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