text: who is the best basketball player of all time?   i have to go with bill russell. he is that rare player who:  1) was a superstar individually and also a consummate team player. he led his san francisco team to back-to-back ncaa championships, won an olympic gold medal, and his boston celtics to 8 straight nba championships!  2) could put up great stats. he averaged 22 rebounds a game for his career. seriously, 22.  you can make a case for jordan, chamberlain, magic johnson, larry bird, among others, but i think i've got to give it to bill russell and all his rings.