The tall player swiftly turned and began to run down the court. Closer and closer to the basket he moved. Then he threw up his arms and caught pass from his teammate.
Confidently, he gave a fake to the right. Then, in a graceful sweeping motion to the left, his right hand hooked the ball upward. He seemed positive that the ball would float into the basket.
Then… smack! A long arm flicked out of nowhere and swatted the ball out of the big man’s hand. The ball soared up court. The shot had been blocked perfectly.
Stunned, the big man looked around. Then he saw Bill Russell, the skinny rookie with Bolton Celtics, running down court on a fast break that he had started by blocking the shot.
The tall man could hardly believe that rookie Bill Russell had blocked his shot. For years this man had been one of the best centers in the National Basketball Association. His graceful hook shot was his trademark. Hardly anybody ever blocked his shots.
“Rookies”, the tall man muttered. “Trying to show off on defense”.
“All right, Rookie”, the tall man grumbled. “Let’s see you do that again”.
As soon as his team got the ball, the tall player moved into his familiar position in the pivot. He raised his arms and called for the ball. He was going to show this rookie how to play the pivot.
The pass was thrown. The tall player gave his fake to the right. Then he gave another fake to the left. Then he made his move to the right. First he stuck out his right elbow, feeling it smack into Russell’s ribs.
“Oooof”, Russell grunted.
Then in the same motion the tall player continued around, his left hand hooking the ball in that same graceful arc. This time he was sure he had a clear shot. But at the last possible second, Russell somehow whirled around his opponent’s back and blocked the shot from behind… smack! The ball sailed out of bounds.
A few seconds later, the tall man signaled to his coach on the bench. He pointed to his chest, as if to say he was short on breath from playing too long. He needed a rest. The coach took him out. And the tall man was never the same player after that meeting with Bill Russell. The rookie had almost destroyed his experienced center. Russell would destroy whole teams before long. It was the start of an era.
The era of Bill Rusell.
