This morning, many of us were woken to the sad news of the passing of NBA Legend Bill Russell.
Russell passed away peacefully at the age of 88 with his wife by his side.
Bill Russell was and forever will be Basketball’s greatest winner, winning 11 NBA Titles with the Boston Celtics, a legendary era of basketball for the Celtics in the 1950s and 60s.
The Celtics hired Russell as a player/coach in 1966, becoming the first African American head coach for any North American professional outfit.
Off the court, Russell led the way in the area of civil rights.
He was racially abused throughout his long illustrious career in Boston, but that never stopped him for standing up for what was right.
When Russell’s home was broken into and damaged, he tried moving his family to a different house nearby, with some residents (a mostly white neighbourhood) starting a petition to keep them out.
He played in an era that he would be denied service at restaurants and accommodation at hotels, along with his other black team mates.
Russell led a strike in a game back in 1961, in which his white team mates still took part in the game.
Bob Cousy was featured in the 2018 book “The Last Pass”, and said how ashamed he was at ever taking part in that game.
Russell participated in the 1963 March on Washington with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. He was also a key defender for Muhammad Ali (along with NFL Legend Jim Brown and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), when he refused to serve in the military on the basis of his religious beliefs.
Bill Russell was a pioneer in the basketball arena.
He paved the way for many black athletes coming into the league with the stand he took off the court, and many of his NBA75 members have him to thank for their long success in the league.
Russell was an idol for many young bigs coming into the league, with the likes of Shaq and Hakeem Olajuwon joining Russell in the NBA75, and in the very same conversation as the league’s best big men to ever play the game.
Tributes have flown through all day for Russell, with many stating how honoured they were to have ever met Russell. He was one of (if not the most) humble of all superstars to ever play the game, and someone who provided plenty of words of wisdom to future stars coming into the game.
Footage of Kobe and Bill Russell has surfaced today from the 2008 All-Star game, and you can just see how much in awe Kobe was of Russell, laying the platform for his success in the league.
Bill quoted “I couldn’t be more proud of you than if you were my own son”. They will both go down as two of the most beloved and respected athletes in the game of all time.
On the defensive end of the court, Russell was a phenomenal defender.
He mastered the art of the fundamentals of the game, and changed the way the game of basketball was played.
Russell only averaged 15 points per game, but more than made up for it on the other end of the floor, being a monster on the glass and blocking any shots that came his way.
Blocks weren’t recorded back in his era, but there’s no doubting he would go down as one of the greatest shot blockers in the history of the NBA.
He paved the way for someone like a Dennis Rodman, showing that it wasn’t all about flashy offensive skills, and that you could dominate the game on the other end of the floor on the glass or stopping your opponent from scoring!
Legends die, but their legacy will live on forever.
Rest in peace Bill Russell, a true champion of the game, on and off the court!
Bauky