The late Bill Russell talked at one point about how people maybe didn’t realize how good an athlete he really was. He had world class speed and could really get off the ground (we linked a video not too long about where he just jumped over a guy in transition for a layup. That would have been impressive if the guy had been 5-5 but he was considerably taller than that).
What he didn’t say though was that a lot of his rivals had high-level talent. Wilt Chamberlain of course, but also Nate Thurmond, Walt Bellamy and Willis Reed, to name a few.