Greatest NBA Player of All Time

MVPS- Kareem won 6 (all of them deserved and could be argued that he could of won more but that's an argument for another day) and Russell won 5. As great as Russell was he did not deserve the MVP in the 1961-1962 season, for either Oscar Robertson and/or Wilt Chamberlain should of won it (This was Wilt's 50 ppg and 25 rpg year and Oscar's triple double year). Also you stated that in only 30% of Kareem's career he was a MVP winner while Bill Russell was an MVP in 40% of his career, that is a deluded stat because no one is expecting you to win the MVP when you're in your late 30s or early 40s (Kareem played until he was 41 while Russell only played until he was 34). Also Bill Russell had to go against Wilt, Pettit, Oscar, and Jerry West for the MVP while Kareem had to go against Wilt (he was older but still a great player), Jerry West (older but still a great player), Elvin Hayes (a forgotten legend), Bob McAdoo, Wes Unseld, Rick Barry, Moses Malone, Dr. J, Bob Lanier, Dave Cowens, George Gervin, Bill Walton, Larry Bird and Magic. Kareem was in the top 5 for MVP voting a record 15 times while Bill Russell was in the top 5 for mvp voting only 9 times. Kareem wins this easily. Championships-Kareem has 6 championships with 2 finals mvps, although he got robbed of the one in Magic's rookie year because one of the judges changed their vote plus he was the better player in the overall series and he should of won the one in 1985 too. Russell has 11 championships (finals mvps were counted when he played but we can assume he'd have atleast 6). You might think that Russell blows away Kareem in this aspect but in fact it's much closer than you think. All of Russell's championships came under legendary coach Red A. while Kareem only one a couple of his championships with a hall of fame coach (Pat Riley). Bill Russell played on teams with Bob cousy, Sam Jones, KC Jones, John Havilcek, and many other great players and had all of them in there and his prime. While Kareem had oscar in the beginning of his prime and then a period of nobody right in the middle of his prime and then Magic joined him in the end of his prime. Kareem never had the luxury of being with so many great players in the middle of his prime while Russell did. Kareem also won 5 championships in the 1980s which is often considered the toughest era to win in NBA history. While i do still believe Russell has the edge for championships I do think that it is really close. Scoring- Russell averaged about 15 ppg and barely played out of his prime while Kareem was able to maintain a career 25 ppg average while playing for 20 years!!! That is incredibly difficult. He even averaged 23 ppg at the age of 38!!! He didnt slip below 20 ppg until he reached age 39. Kareem's usage % (possessions ending with this player) is at 24% (the stat started in the 1978 season but we could assume that it would be no higher than 28) while Michael Jordan has the record at 33%. Kareem didn't get the ball as much late in his career because of the lakers incredible efficiency to score on the fast break but when they couldn't score on the fast break Kareem would be their first option. Kareem wins this easily Blocks-Had they counted this stat in Russell's time he'd most likely be 2nd all time to Wilt. However, in Russell's era players were way more likely to drive to the paint due to no 3 pt line while in Kareem's later career they didn't drive to the paint nearly as often so that is one reason he wouldn't have as many blocks. Also, they didn't count Blocks for Kareem's first 3-4 years but if they did he'd have about the same as Hakeem does. Kareem wins this but not by much. Yes Russell won most of the times vs Wilt but Wilt almost always dominated him in their h2h matchup. Just because your team wins doesn't mean your better. Wilt could do it all while Russell was most one dimensional. Bill Russell also had better teams and a much much better coach. Overall- Bill Russell is without a doubt one of the greatest NBA players of all time. However, there is absolutely no way in which Bill Russell could be considered the greater than Kareem. Kareem's statistical dominance along with longevity and how he did things made him a much better player.