Red on Russell, Bird, and Jordan

Q: Did you say that Bird was the best all-around player you ever saw?

RED: No. It would be a heart-wrenching decision to have to pick between Bird and Russell . The question you have to ask is, Who are the other four guys on the court? To make a snap choice, an out-and-out pick, you can't do it.

Q: What about Jordan?

RED: He's great. I could make a case for Jordan, Magic, Bird, Russell, even Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar being the greatest player who ever lived. But you do have to ask, Who are the other four guys? If Michael Jordan doesn't have a center or a power forward on his team, he's not going to beat you. He can't do it by himself. If you have Russell, you have to have a ball handler in the backcourt. Even the greatest need someone else.