HH Tournament Round 1: (1) Bill Russell vs (16) Isaiah Thomas

Who had the better career with the Celtics: Bill Russell or Isaiah Thomas?

The first match-up in the Hardwood Houdini Tournament to decide who is the greatest Boston Celtic ever is here! The top seed in the tournament, Bill Russell, will take on arguably the best Celtic on today’s roster, Isaiah Thomas.

Don’t forget that this is based solely off their playing careers with the Boston Celtics. Any coaching or front office experience shouldn’t be taken into account, neither should their collegiate careers or any other NBA teams they may have played for.

Bill Russell – 1975 Hall of Fame Inductee

15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, 4.3 APG

13 seasons with Boston, 11x Champion, 12x All-Star, 5x MVP

Bill Russell is considered one of the best centers in NBA History. He was selected with the second pick in the 1956 draft by the St. Louis Hawks, however, in one of the most historic trades in NBA history, Russell was traded to the Celtics on draft night in exchange for Cliff Hagan and Ed Macauley.

Russell spent all 13 NBA seasons with the Celtics, including winning 10 championships in 11 seasons. He is the most decorated NBA champion in the history of the NBA and helped start the historic winning tradition that goes hand-in-hand with the Boston Celtics franchise.

In Boston Celtics history, he currently ranks first in rebounds, second in minutes played, fifth in games played, sixth in assists and eighth in points. He was also one of the fiercest defensive centers the game has ever seen, although blocks weren’t recorded when he played. Therefore there are no statistics to back up his dominance. However, he also had three games in which he recorded at least 49 rebounds.

Also, Russell led the league in rebounds per game five times and averaged at least 20 rebounds per game in 10 seasons, and never averaged fewer than 18 boards per night. In 1963-64, he set a career-high of 24.7 rebounds per game, however, his best season came in 1961-62. Russell averaged an insane 18.9 points and 23.6 rebounds per game.

He was never asked to be a main scorer on those historic Celtics teams, although he still averaged a double-double in each of his first 12 seasons – 9.9 points per game in his final season. Russell’s role was as a rebounder and rim protector, and many consider him the best at each in NBA history.

Isaiah Thomas – 2016 NBA All-Star

21.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG

2 Seasons with Boston, 1x All-Star, 3x Player of the Week

Isaiah Thomas was the Celtics lone All-Star last season. He ended a two-year drought for the Celtics as he took over as the starting point guard early in his first full season with the Boston Celtics. He was part of a multi-player, three-team trade at the trade deadline in 2015, and has quickly becoming one of the best point guards in the NBA.

Last season, Thomas ranked 11th in the NBA in points per game and 14th in assists per game. During his first season with Boston, he was able to become more of a playmaker and focused on creating opportunities for his teammates rather than always looking to score. Still, Thomas is one of the best at creating his own shot. Since being traded to the Celtics, he has been named Player of the Week three times, as well.

His Celtics career has been short-lived thus far, however, many consider him an integral part to the Celtics future. With Al Horford joining Boston this offseason, Thomas has a chance to cement his stardom in the NBA in 2016-17 and become the second piece to a Big Three for the Celtics.

He is coming off a season in which he contributed 22.2 points, 6.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game as the Celtics go-to-player. Although, there’s good reason to believe that Thomas will inch closer to averaging a double-double in the near future.

Don’t forget to vote on Twitter @HoudiniCeltics! The poll is up for 20 hours. Comments on here don’t count as votes, only the poll on Twitter will be looked at to determine who goes on to round two.

Also, look at tomorrow’s match-up to see the results from today’s Bill Russell – Isaiah Thomas showdown.