Bill Russell

Bill stood for something much bigger than sports," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.

In 2009, the MVP trophy of the NBA Finals was named in his honor. In 2013, a statue was unveiled on Boston’s City Hall Plaza of Russell surrounded by blocks of granite with quotes on leadership and character. Bill was the ultimate winner and consummate teammate, and his influence on the NBA will be felt forever. Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach so coveted Russell that he worked out a trade with the St. Louis Hawks for the second pick in the draft. From my first moment of being alive was the notion that my mother and father loved me.” It was Russell’s mother who would tell him to disregard comments from those who might see him playing in the yard. The Celtics also picked up Tommy Heinsohn and K.C. Jones, Russell’s college teammate, in the same draft. At the height of his athletic career, Bill advocated vigorously for civil rights and social justice, a legacy he passed down to generations of NBA players who followed in his footsteps,” Silver said. He endured insults and vandalism, but he kept on focusing on making the teammates who he loved better players and made possible the success of so many who would follow.” But it was Jackie Robinson who gave Russell a road map for dealing with racism in his sport: “Jackie was a hero to us. He was at the March on Washington in 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, and he backed Muhammad Ali when the boxer was pilloried for refusing induction into the military draft. Often, that meant Wilt Chamberlain, the only player of the era who was a worthy rival for Russell. A Hall of Famer, five-time Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star, Russell in 1980 was voted the greatest player in the NBA history by basketball writers.

Former Boston Celtics star Bill Russell, one of the sports world's greatest winners as the anchor of a team that won 11 NBA championships, as well as the ...

When the Celtics retired his No. 6, Russell's love of privacy and belief in the team concept led him to demand a private ceremony with coaches and team mates in an otherwise empty arena. In 2011, President Barack Obama cited Russell's dedication to mentoring when he awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which Russell called the second greatest personal honor of his life. Russell became semi-reclusive after his coaching career, saying, "I wanted to be forgotten." It was in Oakland that Russell's career as a winner began. Chamberlain compiled the record-breaking personal statistics but Russell ended up with more championship rings than fingers. Yet the fierce rivals were friends off the court, often dining at each other's homes. He was the player-coach on two of those championship teams. Until Russell, the game stayed close to the floor. Russell averaged 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds per game for his career. He refused to sign autographs, saying he preferred to have conversations. The Russell-era Celtics teams were rich in talent. He also had what team mate Tom Heinsohn called "a neurotic need to win".

Bill Russell, the cornerstone of the Celtics dynasty that won eight straight titles and 11 overall during his career, died Sunday at age 88.

The team staggered to a 17-41 record, and Russell departed midseason. For a time he was paired with the equally blunt Rick Barry, and the duo provided brutally frank commentary on the game. He was overall by far the best, and that only helped bring out the best in me." It was hailed as a sociological advance, since Russell was the first Black coach of a major league team in any sport, let alone so distinguished a team. "I was the villain because I was so much bigger and stronger than anyone else out there," Chamberlain told the Boston Herald in 1995. "My team was losing and his was winning, so it would be natural that I would be jealous. Our thoughts are with his family as we mourn his passing and celebrate his enormous legacy in basketball, Boston, and beyond," the Celtics said in a statement. He then led the U.S. basketball team to victory in the 1956 Olympics at Melbourne, Australia. The first time I did that in a game, my coach called timeout and said, 'No good defensive player ever leaves his feet.'" "I cherished my friendship with Bill and was thrilled when he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. I often called him basketball's Babe Ruth for how he transcended time. And he won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics. At USF, he was a two-time All-American, won two straight NCAA championships and led the team to 55 consecutive wins.

Bill Russell, the NBA great who anchored a dynasty that won 11 titles in 13 years and marched for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr, died Sunday.

In 2009, the MVP trophy of the NBA finals was named in his honor. “Bill was the ultimate winner and consummate teammate, and his influence on the NBA will be felt forever,” Silver added. In 2013, a statue was unveiled on Boston’s City Hall Plaza of Russell surrounded by blocks of granite with quotes on leadership and character. Celtics coach and general manager Red Auerbach so coveted Russell that he worked out a trade with the St Louis Hawks for the second pick in the draft. From my first moment of being alive was the notion that my mother and father loved me.” It was Russell’s mother who would tell him to disregard comments from those who might see him playing in the yard. He was at the March on Washington in 1963, when Martin Luther King Jr gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, and he backed Muhammad Ali when the boxer was pilloried for refusing induction into the military draft. The Celtics also picked up Tommy Heinsohn and KC Jones, Russell’s college teammate, in the same draft. At the height of his athletic career, Bill advocated vigorously for civil rights and social justice, a legacy he passed down to generations of NBA players who followed in his footsteps,” Silver said. He endured insults and vandalism, but he kept on focusing on making the teammates who he loved better players and made possible the success of so many who would follow.” But it was Jackie Robinson who gave Russell a road map for dealing with racism in his sport: “Jackie was a hero to us. Often, that meant Wilt Chamberlain, the only player of the era who was a worthy rival for Russell. A Hall of Famer, five-time Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star, Russell in 1980 was voted the greatest player in the NBA history by basketball writers.

Known as the winningest NBA player of all time, Bill Russell also blazed trails as a civil rights advocate.

Regarded as a recluse for much of his post-retirement years, Russell did occasionally take to social media in the final stages of his life, posting about basketball and his travels. In 2009, the NBA renamed the Finals Most Valuable Player award the “Bill Russell Award,” a fitting honor for a man who went 21-0 in winner-take-all games between his collegiate, Olympic and professional careers. Russell boycotted an exhibition game in 1961 in Lexington, Kentucky after two of his teammates were denied service in a coffee shop and was a highly visible member of the Black Power movement. Even as the Vietnam War and other off-court issues compromised his attention during his last season, Russell went out on top in his final campaign, combining with John Havlicek to lead the Celtics to a seven-game NBA Finals victory over the Lakers. Russell had 26 rebounds in his last professional game, a 108-106 road victory that cemented Boston as the first team to win the NBA Finals after losing the first two games. Bitter feelings over his treatment in Boston led Russell to forgo attending his own jersey retirement in 1972 and Hall of Fame induction in 1975. The 1966 series, also against the Lakers, required seven games, and he willed the Celtics to a 95-93 victory with 25 points and a game-high 32 rebounds.

Bill Russell, who won 11 National Basketball Association titles in 13 years with the Boston Celtics spanning the 1950s and 1960s, has died. He was 88.

'Bill Russell, the man, is someone who stood up for the rights and dignity of all men', Obama said in 2011.

“Bill was the ultimate winner and consummate teammate, and his influence on the NBA will be felt forever”, he added. At the height of his athletic career, Bill advocated vigorously for civil rights and social justice, a legacy he passed down to generations of NBA players who followed in his footsteps”, Mr Silver said. From my first moment of being alive was the notion that my mother and father loved me.” He endured insults and vandalism, but he kept on focusing on making the teammates who he loved better players and made possible the success of so many who would follow”, Mr Obama added. Arrangements for his memorial service will be announced soon”, the family said in a statement posted to Mr Russell’s Twitter account on Sunday. “Along the way, Bill earned a string of individual awards that stands unprecedented as it went unmentioned by him.

The basketball legend was a champion not just on the court but off it—through his groundbreaking activism for racial justice.

But when you’re making $5,000 a year, and living in the America that he was at the time, that’s what makes him a hero.” As a homage to Colin Kaepernick’s protest, Russell posted a photo of himself taking a knee while wearing the presidential medal of freedom that he’d received from President Barack Obama in 2011. I cannot say the same about the fans or the city.” Russell endured their calling him “baboon,” “coon,” and “nigger” during games. Russell had been the NBA’s first Black head coach, while he was still a player—and he had experienced painful and humiliating racist abuse, even as he built the Celtics into a powerhouse. One of the ways the American Negro has attempted to show he is a human being is to demonstrate our race to the people through entertainment, and thus become accepted. Negroes are in a fight for their rights—a fight for survival—in a changing world. The experience only seemed to make Russell more determined to use his voice to bring awareness to this country’s deep-seated racial problems. Russell went ahead with the initiative despite death threats. I felt like the best thing I could do was use that as fuel, as opposed to simply having an emotional outburst at them. You went to public school, and I bet the police came to your neighborhood when somebody called the cops.’ I said, ‘Yes, Mr. Russell.’ He said, ‘Somebody was paying those people and you didn’t have any money. I decided to use that as energy to enhance my performance.” More than that, though, his fierce dedication to speaking out against racial injustice, his deep sense of integrity and righteousness, have long been considered the gold standard for athlete activism.

Michael Jordan, Martina Navratilova and Barack Obama joined a long list of icons paying tribute to Bill Russell after the basketball legend and civil rights ...

One of basketball's great players has died. Bill Russell was a star with the Boston Celtics and won the most titles of any NBA player: 11.

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Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell was a civil rights trailblazer, before, during and after his basketball career. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of ...

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