Bill Russell takes all 5 top spots on the Celtics’ all-time rebounders in the playoffs list.
The Boston Celtics have a rich history filled with NBA greats (players and coaches) throughout their 79 seasons as a franchise. Bill Russell, however, qualifies as both. He played 13 seasons and won 11 championships in green and white, including back-to-back titles as a player/coach during the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons. Boston made the postseason every year with Russell in town, and he went on to lead the league in playoff rebounding seven times while averaging an all-time NBA record 24.9 total rebounds per game. He also owns the top 57 individual rebounding performances in Celtics’ history, but we’ll just check out his top five for today.
1. Bill Russell, 40 rebounds – 1960 NBA Finals, Game 2
The only entry on this list where the Celtics lost the game came in Game 2 of the 1960 NBA Finals versus the St. Louis Hawks. Russell was a massive presence in the paint, as he was throughout his Hall of Fame career, grabbing 40 rebounds while scoring 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting in 48 minutes of action. He averaged a league-best 25.8 boards per game in the playoffs in 1959-60, his fourth straight year of claiming that title. Boston and St. Louis alternated wins in their series before the C’s took Game 7 at the Boston Garden, where Russell dominated again with 35 rebounds and 22 points in the 122-103 championship-clinching victory.
2. Bill Russell, 40 rebounds – 1958 Eastern Division Finals, Game 3
Russell notched his first career 40-rebound game in just his second season in the league (1957-58), but it was one of his only two campaigns that didn’t end with Boston raising a championship banner. He played the full 48 minutes to give the Celtics a 106-92 win over the Philadelphia Warriors in Game 3 of the Eastern Division Finals, tallying 14 points (6-17 FG, 2-2 FT) and six assists along with his 40 boards. The all-time great averaged 16.6 points and 22.7 rebounds in the regular season to earn the first All-Star and MVP awards of his 13-year career.
3. Bill Russell, 40 rebounds – 1962 NBA Finals, Game 7
Perhaps the most important and clutch performance on this list, Russell’s 40 rebounds in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1962 NBA Finals helped the Celtics capture a fourth straight title. His work on the glass, along with a team-high 30 points (8-18 FG, 14-17 FT) in 53 minutes, was crucial to Boston out-dueling Jerry West (35 points) and Elgin Baylor (41 points, 22 rebounds) in overtime. Russell also set an NBA record for most rebounds in a single quarter in a playoff game with 19.
4. Bill Russell, 39 rebounds – 1960 Eastern Division Finals, Game 3
Russell was unstoppable on the glass in the Celtics’ 120-90 win versus the Philadelphia Warriors in Game 3 of the 1960 NBA Eastern Division Finals. He pulled down 39 boards in 40 minutes of play and added a game-high 26 points on 12-for-24 from the field with five assists. Boston would go on to take the series in six games before being crowned champs in Game 7 of the Finals with a 122-103 victory over the St. Louis Hawks. Russell led the league in playoff rebounding for the fourth consecutive year in 1959-60, posting 18.5 points and 25.8 rebounds per game.
5. Bill Russell, 39 rebounds – 1961 Eastern Division Finals, Game 3
‘Bill the Hill’ played 41 minutes in Boston’s 133-110 victory over the Syracuse Nationals in Game 3 of the 1961 NBA Eastern Division Finals. He scored 18 points on 8-for-20 shooting and grabbed 39 rebounds while not committing a single personal foul. He nearly out-boarded the Nationals by himself (50-39) in this matchup and went on to average a league-best and career-best 29.9 rebounds during the postseason that year. Russell earned his second MVP honor while capturing the C’s fourth championship in five seasons.
