Russell revolutionized the game with his defense. Thurmond is NEVER mentioned unless you have seen him which I did not [same with Russell] or take the word of the players who went up against him. I did not see Abdul-Jabbar in his prime either [early to mid 1970's]. It was a close call for me between Olajuwon and Rodman but I went with the former.

Some fun old school / new school debates here.

I do know Kareem called Thurmond the toughest defender he ever faced.

I'll vote Russell on this poll, with Hakeem a valid argument.

I have Russell in his own tier, and Hakeem in his own tier below that. Then everyone else I think you can make a argument for the order, but those two guys IMO are untouchable as the two defensive GOATs

I would have put Nate Thurmond second behind Russell.

TIME wrote:Some fun old school / new school debates here.

I do know Kareem called Thurmond the toughest defender he ever faced.

I'll vote Russell on this poll, with Hakeem a valid argument.

Ha! I posted about Nate before reading other posts and just saw yours. Chamberlin said the same thing about Thurmond's defense. Nate was a monstrously great defender and not bad on the other end either. A great, hard working talent that was overshadowed by a couple very high profile hall of famers. He was a superb ballplayer and about as good defensively as it gets.