When you think of Bill Russell, you think of one of the most dominant basketball players to ever grace the hardwood. When you think of Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside, you think of a former second-round draft pick who floundered in the league before eventually gaining some traction.
You certainly wouldn’t compare the two, unless you were NBA legend Bob Cousy who says Hassan Whiteside reminds him of Bil Russell on the defensive end.
Wait – say what?!
Yes, Cousy has made headlines for comparing Whiteside to Russell.
“I have never said this in the 40 years since I retired,” Cousy said in a recent telephone interview, “but he is the first big guy, not Patrick Ewing, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, who reminds me defensively and on the boards of Russell. He runs the floor well, he has excellent timing, he blocks shots and keeps them in play the way Russell did.”
Look, Hassan Whiteside’s emergence from being out of the NBA to taking the league by storm is a pretty good story, but Bill Russell? Really, Bob?!
Perhaps he didn’t understand the waves such a comparison would make, but either way I want whatever he’s been drinking because it must be good stuff.
On the flip side, at least Hassan Whiteside’s girlfriend is smoking hot.
