Former Boston Celtics star Bill Russell, 88, passed away on Sunday. He was one of the greatest victors in sports history as the leader of a team that won 11 NBA titles and the first black coach in the NBA.
According to a statement released on his Twitter account, Russell, who was also vocal about racial issues, died peacefully with his wife Jeannine by his side.
“Bill stood for something much broader than sports: the principles of equality, respect, and inclusiveness that he etched into the DNA of our league,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in a statement.
Legends are forever.
RIP Bill Russell, truly a titan of our game. pic.twitter.com/EKpLABwzmT
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) July 31, 2022
Who was Bill Russell? (Wiki, Age, Bio)
When Bill was at the peak of his athletic career, Bill fought tirelessly for civil rights and social justice, leaving a legacy that countless NBA players have carried on.
Bill “rose above it all” and “remained true to his idea that everyone deserved to be treated with dignity” through ” threats, taunts, and unthinkable adversity.”
In the 1950s and ’60s, Russell transformed the game with his intensity on defence and ability to corral offensive rebounds at will. A “neurotic need to win,” as his teammate Tom Heinsohn put it, was another of his notable traits.
With Russell on the club from 1956 to 1969, the Celtics won 11 NBA championships. On two of those championship squads, he served as player coach.
The Celtics teams led by Bill Russell were loaded with all-stars. Along with Red Auerbach and their coach, Heinsohn’s college teammate K.C. Jones and NBA greats Frank Ramsey, Bob Cousy, Tom “Satch” Sanders, Bill Sharman, Don Nelson, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, and K.C. Jones would all go on to the Hall of Fame.
Russell’s shot-blocking and defensive prowess, in particular, were truly remarkable and unique. Even though the conventional wisdom at the time was that defensive players should not leave their feet, Russell, who was relatively frail compared to his opponents at the centre position, would leap to block opponents’ shots.
According to Aram Goudsouzian’s “King of the Court: Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution,” “Russell defended the way Picasso painted, the way Hemingway wrote.” Time and again, his explanations of the craft were adopted by the public. Before Russell, the action rarely left the court’s surface. That’s it; I’m done with that.”
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