Bill Russell, basketball legend with record 11 NBA titles, dies at 88

Bill Russell, one of basketball's legendary players, died at age 88. The announcement was posted on his verified Twitter account.

Russell won more NBA titles than any player in history. All eleven were with the Boston Celtics. As a five-time league MVP, he changed the game, making shot-blocking a key component of defence. And he was a Black athlete who spoke out against racial injustice when it was not as common as it is today.

At a young age, he went over his age 

To understand this superlative man and athlete, it is worth remembering the lessons of his parents.

One day when Bill Russell was nine years old, he was outside his apartment on a project in Oakland, California. Five boys ran and one slapped him in the face. He and his mother went looking for the group and when they found them, young Bill wanted justice for his mother. Instead, Katie Russell said: It was 2 wins and 3 losses. In his 2013 Civil Rights History Project interview, Russell said a tearful mother's message to her son changed her life.

"And he said, 'Don't cry,'" Russell said. "You did what you gotta do. It doesn't matter if you win or lose. It's important to stand up for yourself. And that's what you should always do."

Russell certainly did it on his basketball court.

lifting up & Pick up the game with him

"Krebs from the corner. His outside shot was blocked by Russell. And now Russell made three

big games in the last three minutes of the game. Barnett came in and Russell blocked it. ."

In this NBA Finals game of 1963, Russell became a shooting threat on his block and made a big difference in the game.

The maxim is always: A good defender never leaves his foot. In the 1950s, his coach at the University of San Francisco believed it. But Russell didn't. He's also a high jumper in track and field, and it seems very logical to try to improve in basketball as well.

In a 2013 interview, Russell said, "My first varsity game [at USF] was at [University of] Cal Berkeley. Their center was a preseason All-American. My first five shots were blocked. And no one in the building saw anything like that. “He showed on the sidelines that he wanted me to play defensively. Said this made no sense.So I went back to play.I know how to do it."

"Looking back, basically what I did was bring vertical play to a horizontal game."

And the results are compelling.

Russell led San Francisco to his NCAA title in 1955 and he in 1956. In 1956, he led the United States to an Olympic gold medal.

And soon, the historic journey of the NBA began.

Love and hate in Boston

From 1957 to 1969, the Celtics won 11 titles, including eight straight. Bob Cousy, Tom Heinsohn, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones and many others.

But nothing like Russell.

He was the bridgehead for all 11 championships and was a fierce competitor, often vomiting before matches.

However, his success could not hide his difficult relationship with the city in which he played.

Russell didn't believe some of Boston's white fans would support the win, but later complained that the team had too many black players, and former teammate Heinsohn said in a Boston Globe documentary: I recall having dinner in Russell's honour in his Boston suburb of Reading, where Russell lives.

"He was so shocked by the honour that was given to him," Heinson said.

But shortly afterwards, people broke into Russell's house, smashed his goblet, defecated in his bed, and smeared dirt on the walls.

His relationship with those outside the Celtics dressing room turned cold. He gained a reputation as a surly person. He refused to sign autographs as a way of getting rid of "good" fans.

"Russell is the kind of person who doubts people's intentions," Steven Beslick wrote to The Basketball Network in 2020. You won't get any autographs from him, but he'll enjoy 15 minutes of coffee with one of the greatest gamers of all time. ”

"If the fans don't want to chat with you, he'll sell autographs," Russell said.

but he loves his team

Russell, on the other hand, loves the Celtics and the progressive whites who run the franchise: owner Walter Brown and legendary head coach Red Orbach. During the Dynasty era, the Celtics became the first NBA team to start for the All Blacks.

And in 1966, more history.

When Auerbach retired, he appointed Russell to replace him, making him the first black head coach in the NBA. He simply believed he was the best person for the job.

As told in his 2013 NBA-TV documentary, reporters questioned it, Mr. Russell's house.

"As the first black coach in major league sports, can you work fairly without racial prejudice on the contrary?" the reporter asked.

“Yes,” said Russell.

over the court

The Celtics dynasty coincided with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and Russell was fully involved.

He sat front row at Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic speech "I Have a Dream" at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. He boycotted the game in Kentucky with teammate Black when the restaurant refused service. He joined other prominent black athletes in helping boxer Muhammad Ali, who refused to join the military during the Vietnam War.

Dan Russell wrote a book called Go Up for Glory.

Russell attends a civil rights summit
at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2014 in Austin,
 Texas. During and after his NBA career,
Russell spoke out often about civil rights issues.

Enlarge this image

Russell attended the Civil Rights Summit in 2014 at his LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. During and after his NBA career, Russell frequently spoke about civil rights issues.

Ricardo B. Brazier/Getty Images

"It's really changed the way athletes write about themselves and society," said Damien Thomas, curator of the sports exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's Museum of African American History and Culture.

He said the book, which is part of the exhibition, is a transformative autobiography.

"Instead of just sticking to sports, we're starting to see athletes speaking out about race and speaking out about politics," says Thomas.

For Russell, advocating for civil rights and fighting racism is never-ending. In a 2020 essay for Slam magazine, Russell said that George Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis police that year, was "another life stolen by a country ravaged by prejudice and prejudice."

"But what can we do about it?" Russell wrote. “Racism cannot simply be removed from the fabric of society because, like dust on a carpet, racism vanishes into the air for a moment before returning to its place and thickening over time.

“Police reform is a starting point, but it is not enough. We need to dismantle our broken systems and start over. We need to use different tactics to make our voices heard through many organizations. Yes, new carpet.”

the smile on his face 

Russell's life was long, sometimes deep, and sometimes messy.

He clashes with his longtime friend and fierce rival, Wilt Chamberlain. They have since reconciled. Russell also somewhat reconciled his feelings for the city of Boston.

Meanwhile, Russell had one constant factor: he was. It's a laugh.

Former President Barack Obama,
 who awarded Bill Russell a Presidential Medal of Freedom,
posted a touching statement remembering t
he NBA legend's impact on sports and civil rights.

laughter for many years. As part of Bill's Russell, who can be recognized as an image of him by the Celtics' No. 6 jersey number, he takes to the pitch, picking up rebounds and hitting opponents' shots. Red Auerbach reportedly said the only thing that kept him from coaching was Bill Russell's laughter.

But the high-pitched laugh was liked by more people. And that was another lesson for Katie Russell. His mother told him never to hold back. anything

And also his son listened well.