Video Of NBA Hall Of Famer Shows Extreme Athleticism Existed In 1960s

Shandel Richardson | 21 Hours Ago

Unknown Date; Cincinnati, OH, USA; FILE PHOTO; Boston Celtics center (6) Bill Russell in action against the Cincinnati Royals. Mandatory Credit: Photo By Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images / Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

There is the notion NBA players were less athletic in the 1960s than today's game.

Many fans feel the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell and Elgin Baylor would struggle against the likes of Kevin Durant, Victor Wembanyama and Joel Embiid. A clip of Russell dribbling the length of the court before finishing at the rim proves otherwise.

Take a look:

Bill Russell took one dribble from half court then jumped over the defender 👀

Yet some of you claim back then there weren’t any athletes like today 😂🤣
pic.twitter.com/1Nu5x8UcXT

— Jacob (@Jacobtheclipper) January 5, 2025

EX-NBA STAR CHOSE DREAMS INSTEAD OF MONEY AT FIRST

Former NBA player Troy Hudson went undrafted after his playing career at Southern Illinois University in the late 1990s.

He had a chance to make a six-figure salary by playing overseas but Hudson wanted no part of that.

"Someone wanted to pay him an God-awful amount of money," said Bill Neff, who is Hudson's agent. "And Troy said, `I'm not going overseas and Troy said, `I'm not going overseas. I said, `Troy, this is more money than you've ever seen. It's $200,000 cash for a month and a half."

At the time, Hudson felt he was "not an overseas player. I'm an NBA player." Hudson took a gamble despite struggling financially shortly after college.

"I probably had about $500 to $600 in my pocket," Hudson said. "Bill hit me up and was like, `they're going to playoff, they're going to pay you like $250,000 for a month and a half. Let's get ready. I was like, `That's not my dream. My dream is the NBA."'

The move paid off for Hudson. He played eight games with the Utah Jazz in the 1997-98 season before beginning an 11-year NBA career. He had stints with the Los Angeles Clippers and Orlando Magic before making his biggest impact with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He averaged a career-high 14.2 points with the Timberwolves in 2002-03 before playing a huge role in them making the Western Conference finals in 2004, where they lost to the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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