We’re all thinking a lot about Bill Russell this week as basketball lost one of its greatest, most influential, and most successful players of all time. The NBA unveiled plans to honor Russell this week with the retired No. 6 league-wide, players wearing patches and courts adorned with shamrocks for the upcoming season.
All this made me think: what if NBA 2K followed suit? One of the most memorable additions in franchise history is undoubtedly the “Jordan Challenges”, which first appeared in NBA 2K11 are restarted in 2K23. From winning the national championship in North Carolina to the flu match to “The Shot” against Craig Ehlo, the Jordan Challenges have hit the right chord of nostalgia and difficulty perfectly.
When it comes to Russell, however, it’s a whole new ball game. We’re talking about taking players back to the 1960s and having them crack the game using a single player. Even against mediocre competition and old-school basketball sensibilities, can we really expect anyone to pull off any of these Bill Russell challenges?
The Whole Show: March 11, 1965 vs. Pistons
Challenge: Score 27 points on 40% or better shooting, record 49 total rebounds, while committing only one foul
Honestly, you would have to drop someone in the fourth quarter with this one already recording 40 rebounds for that to work. Get reliable bounces in 2K isn’t exactly easy, asking asking for 49 is ridiculous.
It was an incredible match that showcases Russell’s overall dominance. He led both teams in points, assists and rebounds (obviously) with no one coming close to him from a distance on the boards. After Russell, the second highest rebounder was Detroit’s Jackie Moreland, who knocked down 10 – again, RUSSELL HAD 49!
While this mid-season game wasn’t exactly a high-stakes affair, it was an incredible example of how so few came close to him on the court.
Challenge: Record a minimum of 10 points, 20+ rebounds and 10 assists
Here is a challenge that we must take back. The 1962 NBA Finals featuring Russell and Sam Jones dueling Jerry West and Elgin Baylor is one of legendary The NBA Finals series in history. While the Celtics prevailed in seven games, it was Game 6 where Boston relied on the No. 6 to be the whole fucking show, opening the field for Jones to score 35 points as a volume shooter. .
Russell finished the night with 19 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists. It would have been one of the first triple-doubles in NBA history if it were a stat recorded in 1962. The added level of challenge played against a team of the caliber of the early ’60s Lakers makes this one to put in the game.
Changing History: Jan. 30, 1968 vs. 76ers
Challenge: Beat Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers
It’s one of those legendary games that often gets overlooked because of the box score. In late January 1968, Russell and the Celtics were absolutely swallowed alive by Wilt Chamberlain in a 125-118 loss.
The final scoreline doesn’t do justice to how completely demolished Russell was in this game. At a time when stats weren’t fully tracked, we don’t have much understanding of the game in the paint outside of knowing that Russell went 3 of 10 from the field, while Chamberlain went for 23 points, 29 boards and 13 assists.
It’s a great opportunity to put the Russell against Chamberlain in a game where the No.6 was the underdog in one of the rare instances in his career.
Block Party: February 7, 1966 vs. Warriors
Challenge: Save more than 20 blocks in a win against San Francisco
Part of the fun of a challenge mode like this is going back and applying modern concepts to old games. In this case, they are blocks. Russell is unequivocally considered one of the greatest shot blockers of all time, but back in the days when blocks weren’t a recorded statistic.
There have been huge fan projects to track down every game report, possibly to try to estimate blocks from this era, it’s generally accepted that Russell blocked around 8.1 shots per game during his career. Inside this ridiculous number one game for Russell stands head and shoulders above the rest – against the poor Warriors, who were wiped out in 1966.
Local accounts of the game credited Russell with 25 blocks against San Francisco. That appears to match the official box score, which shows the Warriors shooting 37 for 88 from the field (below their average) and Russell is recording an unusually low 11 rebounds – potentially because he was blocking so many shots instead.
Even though there’s a bit of fiction in there, it would be an extremely fun addition to the mode.
The Last Hurrah: Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers
Challenge: Keep Wilt Chamberlain to 18 points
Bill Russell’s final NBA career game was also one of his most important. Once again facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, it was the first time Russell had watched a team containing Jerry West, Elgin Baylor AND Wilt Chamberlain with everything at stake.
A series of back and forths pushed both teams to the limit, and it was clear that an aging Russell could no longer make a difference offensively against Chamberlain, a player he is so often compared to, and who had his number. in the past.
West, playing like a possessed man, was desperate to win a ring that scored 42 points in the game and overcame an early Celtics lead and beat Boston 30-17 in the fourth quarter. Elgin Baylor added 20 more, and with Wilt averaging 30.1 on the season, all the Lakers needed was a typical big man game in the middle.
Chamberlain ended up scoring 18, stuffed to the brim by Russell’s defensive prowess. The Lakers would lose 108-106 – allowing Russell to retire from the NBA with yet another championship to his name.