| Well, PER does measure greatness, but it can only measure it statistically, and much of Russell's greatness would not show up on a statsheet. Plus, blocks and steals were not official NBA stats during Russell's career, so the only way for his defensive dominance to be measured was in his rebounding. He also shot less than 45% for his career, and never had a season over 50%, and shooting percentages are a big part of PER. Other dominant big men like Wilt, Shaq, and Dwight Howard all shot well over 50%, to go along with their dominant rebounding (and blocks for the latter two) numbers. |