This may sound like heresy to many Boston Celtics fans, but Bob Cousy had some extremely high praise for the Miami Heat's Hassan Whiteside recently, comparing him to Celtics great Bill Russell.
Via the Worcester Telegram and Ball Don't Lie:
“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, Shaq (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.”
“That’s a great honor,” Whiteside said before the Celtics hosted Miami Wednesday. “Everybody knows that Bill Russell is probably one of the best shot blockers that ever lived. That’s really a big honor that he thinks of me that way.”
While Cousy may be a little generous in his assessment, who are we to deny a Hall-of-Famer like Bob Cousy such a opinion -- especially seeing that Cousy played alongside the great Russell and had the best seat in the house to watch his legend grow.
Follow our Boston Celtics team page for the latest Celtics news!
Back to the Boston Celtics Newsfeed