Russell was the greatest defensive center ever, the anchor of a great Celtic defense for over a decade, and probably would have been the leader in career blocks per game if they had recorded defensive stats in his era.

In his 13-year career, Russell had averages of 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists along with shooting 44 percent from the field and a terrible 56.1 percent from the free-throw line.

Russell was also selected to the All-Star team 12 times, winning the All-Star game MVP in 1963. Russell was selected to the All-NBA team 11 times, with three of the selections as a member of the first team. Russell also ranks tied for second all time in MVP awards with five in his career.

He is also considered by many to be the greatest winner in team sports. He won 11 championships in this 13-year career and led his team to the Finals in every season he played in except for one.

He led the Celtics to a record eight consecutive championships in the 1960s, with most of those Finals wins coming against the great Lakers teams of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.

6. Hakeem Olajuwon, "The Dream"

Hakeem was one of the most skilled big men of all time at both ends of the floor. Offensively, he averaged 21.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, shooting 51.2 percent from the field and a solid 71.2 percent from the free-throw line. Defensively, he was amazing, with career averages of 3.1 blocks and 1.7 steals.

He won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in both 1993 and in 1994 and he was selected to the All-NBA Defensive team nine times, with five of the selections as a member of the first team. He was also selected to the All-Star team 12 times and to the All-NBA team 12 times, with six of those selections as a member of the first team.

He also won his only MVP award in the 1993-1994 season. He won two rebounding titles in his career, along with three blocked-shot titles. He ranks first all-time in career blocked shots with a total of 3830, and he somehow is eighth all time in total steals with 2162.

Hakeem led the Rockets to back-to-back championships in the mid '90s, winning the Finals MVP award each time.

5. Larry Bird

Bird is one of the five greatest players of all time. He averaged an amazing 24.3 points, 10 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.8 blocks. He also shot a fantastic 49.6 percent from the field, 37.6 percent from the three-point line, and 88.6 percent from the free-throw line. He was selected to 12 All-Star teams in his 13-year career.

He was also one of the most clutch players of all time, as he had several legendary performances in the playoffs and several game-winning shots. He also led the Celtics to three championships in the 1980s.

He was selected to the All NBA team 10 times, with nine of the selections on the first team.

Bird won three consecutive MVP awards from 1983 to 1986, one All-Star Game MVP, and two Finals MVP awards. He also won the 1980 Rookie of the Year Award. Finally, he and Magic revived the NBA with their legendary rivalry in the 1980s after the league's popularity dropped in the late '70s.

4. Wilt Chamberlain, "The Big Dipper"

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