When the 17-time champions of the National Basketball Association tip off their 76th season in late October, it will be unlike any other season they have had since the late 1950s. They will tip off this upcoming season without not just the pillar of their organization, but the greatest representative that they ever had not just on the court with his play and leadership that helped guide them to multiple titles as both a player and coach but as a leader off the court who fought for the rights of others to be treated as equal to their Caucasian counterparts. He was someone who made every person that he came into contact with better not just on the hardwood but off of it as well.
On Sunday afternoon, Bill
Russell, the lynchpin for the Boston Celtics championship dynasty that won
eight consecutive titles and 11 titles overall during his career in “Beantown”
as both a player and coach passed away at his home in Mercer Island, WA. The
Hall of Famer two times over was 88 years old. The cause of death was not
given.
Mr. Russell passed away
“peacefully” on Sunday with his wife Jeannine at his side. Mr. Russell is also
survived by his three children: daughter Karen Russell, a television pundit and
lawyer, and sons William Jr. and Jacob that he had with his first wife of 17
years (1956-73) Rose Swisher, his college sweetheart. Mr. Russell was also married
to for three years (1977-80) to Dorothy Anstett, Miss USA 1968. In 1996, Mr.
Russell married his third wife Marilyn Nault. Their union lasted until her
passing in January 2009.
In a statement announced
on Mr. Russell Twitter page @RealBillRussell, “It is with a very heavy heart we
would like to pass along to all of Bill’s friends, fans, & followers: Bill
Russell, the most prolific winner in American sports history, passed away peacefully
today at age 88, with his wife, Jeannine, by his side. Arrangements for his
memorial service will be announced soon.”
“Bill’s two state
championships in high school offered a glimmer of the incomparable run of pure
team accomplishment to come: twice an NCAA champion; captain of a
gold-medal-winning US Olympic team; 11 times an NBA champion; and at the helm
for two NBA championships as the first African American head coach of any North
American professional sports team.”
“Along the way, Bill earned a string of individual awards that stands unprecedented as it went unmentioned by him. In 2009, the award for the NBA Finals Most Valuable Players (MVP) was renamed after two-time Hall of Famer as the “Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award…”
“But for all the winning,
Bill’s understanding of the struggle is what illuminated his life. From
boycotting a 1961 exhibition game to unmask too-long-tolerated discrimination,
to leading Mississippi’s first integrated basketball camp in the combustible
wake of Medgar Evans’ assassination, to decades of activism ultimately
recognized by his receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010, Bill
called out injustice with an unforgiving candor that he intended would disrupt
the status quo, and with a powerful example that, though never his humble
intention, will forever inspire teamwork, selflessness and thoughtful change.”
“Bill’s wife, Jeannine,
and his many friends and family thank you for keeping Bill in your prayers.
Perhaps you’ll relive one or two of the golden moments he gave us, or recall
his trademark laugh as he delighted in explaining the real story behind how
those moments unfolded. And we hope each of us can find a new way to act or
speak up with Bill’s uncompromising, dignified and always constructive
commitment to principle. That would be on last, and lasting, win for our
beloved #6.”
Bill Russell’s
Career Resume
No. 2 overall pick out of University of
San Francisco
Two-time NCAA champion
Played for the Celtics for 13 seasons 1956-69
Averaged for his career 15.1 points, 22.5 rebounds, 56.1 percent shooting
Had 51 rebounds in one game and 49 rebounds in two others
Posted 12 consecutive seasons with 1,000 or more total rebounds
11-time NBA champion as a player (1957, 1959-1966, 1968, 1969)
Five-time NBA MVP recipient (1958, 1961-1963, 1965)
12-time All-Star selection
11-time All-NBA selection (Three-time First Team selection in 1959, 1963, 1965;
Eight-time
Second Team selection (1958, 1960-1962, 1964, 1966-1968)
NBA All-Defensive First Team selection (1969)
Four-time NBA Rebounding champion (1958, 1959, 1964, 1965)
Head Coach of the Celtics from 1966-69
Two-time NBA champion as a head coach with Celtics (1968-69)
Also coach the then Seattle Supersonics (now Oklahoma City Thunder) from
1973-77 and
was the head coach of Sacramento Kings 1987-88 season.
Member of the NBA’s Anniversary teams (25th, 35th, 50th,
75th)
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975 as a player
Inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021 as a coach
Inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006
In a statement on Sunday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called Russell, “the greatest champion in all of team sports.”
Commissioner Silver added, “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. Bill was the ultimate winner and consummate teammate, and his influence
on the NBA will be forever.”
Mr. Russell was born February 12, 1934 in
the segregated South part of the U.S. in Monroe, LA.
At age 8, Russell’s father Charles Sr. and
his wife Kate moved the family during World War II, when the Second Great Migration
began to Oakland, CA where they fell into poverty and Russell spent his
childhood living in public housing projects.
In his early years, Mr. Russell was not an
all-world basketball player that we come to know him now. While back then he
was a good runner, can jump and had large hands, his understanding of the game
was not there at that time and he was cut from his junior high school team
Herbert Hoover. He was almost cut from the high school team at McClymonds in
Oakland in his freshmen but the coach of the team then George Powles saw
potential in Russell and encouraged him to become more fundamentally sound.
Coach Powles also used encouraging words with Russell as his prior experience
with Caucasian authority figures was not always warm.
That commitment to improving basketball
fundamental along with a growth spurt helped Russell become a better basketball
player and that led to the development of his uncanny style of playing defense
that made him one of the greats to ever grace the hardwood.
“I was an innovator,” Russell told The
New York Times in 2011. “I started blocking shots although I had never seen
shots blocked before that. The first time I did that in a game, my coach called
timeout and said, ‘No good defensive player ever leaves his feet.’”
In an autobiographical account, Mr.
Russell said that during a California High School All-Stars tour he became
obsessed with studying and memorizing the moves of other players from their
foot work from what foot they used for on a play as a way to prepare for how to
defend against that move. That studying included practicing in front of a
mirror at night.
Russell also said in that autobiography
that he described himself as an avid reader of “Dell Magazines” 1950s
sports publications, which he also used to scout the moves of his opponents for
the purpose of defending against them.
The only college that had Russell on their radar was University of San Francisco (USF), with recruiter Hal DeJulio, who watched Russell play in a high school game and while Russell’s meager scoring and what was described as “atrocious fundamentals” did not impress DeJulio, his extraordinary instincts for basketball, especially in clutch moments did make a solid impression. That impression led to DeJulio offering Russell a scholarship to attend USF, which Russell eagerly accepted.
Sports journalist then John Taylor
described that moment as watershed event for Mr. Russell because it was this
moment that he realized that basketball became his chance to escape the grip of
poverty and racism, and he swore that he would make the best of this
opportunity.
At USF, Russell became the Dons new
starting center for then head coach Phil Woolpert, who coaching emphasis was on
defense and deliberate half-court play at the offensive end, which favored
Russell and his exceptional defensive skillset. On top of that, Coach
Woolpert’s decision on how to use his players was unaffected by their skin
color.
In 1954, Coach Woolpert became the first
head coach of a major collegiate basketball program to have three African
American players in his starting lineup: former Celtics player and coach in the
late K.C. Jones, the late Hal Perry, and Russell.
Russell while at USF used his defensive
skills and slight frame, quickness, and speed as a help side defender against
the opposing team’s forwards, challenging their shot attempts with aggressive
abandon.
Behind the combination of Russell’s
stature, ability to block shots and his footspeed of a guard, he became the
centerpiece of a Dons squad.
Individually, Mr. Russell was remarkable
at USF as he was a two-time All-American leading the Dons two consecutive NCAA
titles in 1955 and 1956, which included a 55-game winning streak. In 1955,
Russell was named the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player thanks to
averages of 20.7 points and 20.3 boards.
In a game as a collegiate, Russell
registered the first unofficial double triple-double of 26 points, 27 rebounds,
20 blocks, three steals, and an assist. Mr. Russell also registered 13 blocks
in a game as a collegiate. He also held then Holly Cross Crusaders’ star and
eventual NBA legend also with the Celtics in the late Tom Heinsohn scoreless
for an entire half.
Along with dominating on the collegiate
hardwood, Russell played Trak and Field for the Dons, where he was a standout
high jumper, ranking in his senior year No. 7 in the world in 1956, according
to “Track and Field News.” In 1956, Russell won the high jump championships
at Central California Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) meet, the Pacific AAU meet
and the “West Coast Relays (WCR),” where Russell achieved one of the highest
jumps there with a mark of 6 feet 9 ¼ inches (2.06 meters). At that meet,
Russell tied the late Charlie Dumas, who that summer won gold at the 1956
Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia for the U.S., where he became the first
person to jump 7 feet (2.13 meters). Russell also compete in the 440-yard race
(402.3 meters), which he completed in an average of 49.6 seconds.
“Sports Illustrated” back
then wrote about Russell that if he “ever learns to hit the basket, they’re
going to have to rewrite the rules.”
The NCAA did rewrite the rules because of
Mr. Russell’s dominance on the hardwood by widening the lane his junior year
with the Dons and after graduating from USF, the NCAA rules committee
instituted the rule basket interference. College basketball had previously
outlawed goaltending in response to the late Hall of Famer George Mikan (1945)
and later banned players dunking in response to fellow Hall of Famer Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar, who was then while at UCLA Lew Alcindor (1967), although that
rule was later repealed.
Russell and Jones helped to pioneer a play
that is trademark of basketball in the following years called the “alley-oop,”
where a player passes the ball to his/her teammate for a dunk or acrobatic
layup.
While Mr. Russell had success on the
collegiate hardwood, he and his African American teammates were the constant
targets of racist taunts and jeers from their Caucasian counterparts,
particularly on the road.
One time at a hotel in Oklahoma City, OK,
Russell and his African American teammates were refused admission while in town
for the 1954 All-American Tournament.
In protest, the entire team made the
decision to camp out in a closed college dorm, which later was called an
important bonding experience for them.
“I never permitted myself to be a victim,”
Russell said decades later about how his experiences with racism hardened him
against all kinds of abuse.
Russell also said that racism shaped his
lifelong commitment to become one of the greatest collaborators of team
chemistry in pro sports history saying that back being the best in college
basketball or any sport as an African American “was never acceptable.”
Mr. Russell said that in his junior year,
he thought he had one of the best seasons in college basketball history in
helping the Dons to a 28-1 mark. Led them to the National Championship. Was
named MVP of the Final Four and was a First Team All-American selection behind
averages of 20 points and 20 rebounds.
After the season at banquet in Northern
California and another center was chosen as that states Player of the Year.
“Well that let me know that if I were to
accept these as the final judgments of my career I would die a bitter old man,”
Russell said of that moment.
It was then that Russell made the conscious decision to put team and the goals of the team first and foremost and put aside any individual achievements.
That was put on full display when Russell
received an invitation to join the famed Harlem Globetrotters exhibition squad.
But when then owner Abe Saperstein only wanted to speak to Coach Woolpert about
the matter. While Saperstein took a meeting with Coach Woolpert, assistant
coach Harry Hanna tried to keep Russell entertained by telling jokes. But
Russell became livid after Saperstein would only talk to Woolpert and not him,
and declined the Globetrotters offer. Russell reasoned that if had no interest
in talking with him, then he had no interest in playing for them.
Russell instead made himself eligible for
1956 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the Celtics No. 2 overall.
While then head coach and lead man in the
Celtics front office in the late Hall of Famer Red Auerbach drafted who they thought
could make them a better defensively, the chances of drafting Russell were very
slim because the Celtics had the second best record the year before and the
worst squads had the highest draft selections. On top of that, the Celtics
already what was known then as “NBA Territorial Pick” to acquire Heinsohn.
Auerbach however knew that the then Rochester Royals (now Kings), who owned
that year’s No. 1 overall pick already had a strong rebounder in late Maurice
Stokes out of Saint Francis and were looking for a shooting guard. Also, the
Royals were unwilling to pay Russell the $25,000 signing bonus that he
requested.
After then Celtics owner, the late Walter
A. Brown contacted Royals owner in late Les Harrison, they received assurance
that they were not going to draft Russell because they could not afford him and
that they would draft late Sihugo “Si” Green out of Duquesne University.
Russell however was drafted No. 2 overall
by then St. Louis (now Atlanta) Hawks but had their eyes set on then current
Celtic six-time All-Star Ed Macauley, who was from St. Louis, MO and previously
asked to be dealt to St. Louis to be with his sick son, if the Hawks gave up
Russell.
The Hawks also wanted the Celtics premier
player then in five-time All-Star, Naismith and College Basketball Hall of
Famer Cliff Hagan. After much debate, Auerbach agreed to the terms of the deal
to acquire Russell, for Hagan and Macauley. He also in that same draft selected
Russell’s college teammate in Jones, managing to select three future Hall of
Famers in Russell, , Jones, and Heinsohn in what would be later called the most
important trades in the history of North American sports.
Before beginning his iconic NBA career, Russell
captained the 1956 U.S. Men’s Olympic National team to a gold medal at the
Olympics in Melbourne, Australia defeating the Soviet Union National squad
89-55, to complete an 8-0 run in that Olympics. The United States squad, led by
the late head coach Gerald Tucker won in dominant fashion, winning those eight
games by an average of 53.5 points, with Russell leading the way averaging 14.1
points and Jones averaged 10.9 points.
Russell proud moment before beginning his
NBA career almost did not happen because the late Avery Brundage, then head of
the International Olympic Committee made the case that Russell because he
signed a pro sports contract with the Celtics was no longer an amateur
sportsman.
Back then in order to compete in the
Olympics, you had to still be a collegiate unlike today where members of the
U.S. Olympic team both men and women are pros.
Russell was given the option to skip the
Olympic games and play a full season with the Celtics because the Olympics were
held in November and December that year.
Mr. Russell was determined to play in that
Olympics, saying later that he would have competed in the high jump if the
basketball team snubbed him.
In Russell’s 13 years with the Celtics, he
helped lead them to 12 Finals appearances, winning nine titles as a player
including eight straight (1959-1966) behind Russell’s evolutionary defensive
skill-set of lightning quick reflexes of blocking a shot and other defensive
maneuvers that created fast-break scoring chances in bunches for the Celtics.
Many years ago, Russell’s aforementioned
daughter Karen told ESPN that one of her dad’s favorite quotes was that when he
passes away that going to heaven would be a step down for him because he was
already in heaven playing for the Boston Celtics.
“12-time @NBA All-Star; 11 NBA rings; 5 MVPs; No 3-Point line; No
social media; Just played and dominated in a day and a league that was def
[definitely] not soft,” Celtics guard and 2022 Kia Defensive Player of the Year
Marcus Smart Tweeted @smart_MS3 Sunday afternoon.”
Smart’s All-Start teammate Jayson Tatum
Tweeted @jaytatum0 on Sunday “Thank you for everything! R.I.P. Legend.”
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Tweeted @CHWPO early
Sunday afternoon, “Rest In Peace. Thank you for paving the way and inspiring so
many. Today is a sad day but also [a] great day to celebrate his legacy and
[for] what he stood for.”
Former Celtic All-Star, now television NBA
analyst for FOX Sports Antoine Walker tweeted @WalkerAntoine8, “Rest in peace
to an absolute LEGEND.”
Former Celtics head coach and now their
General Manager Brad Stevens Tweeted @BCCoachStevens, “So very sad to hear
about Bill Russell today. He set the standard-on and off the court. RIP to an
all-time winner, teammate, and person.”
Most Titles By An Athlete In Four Major
U.S. Pro Sports (NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL)
Bill Russell (NBA) 11 titles w/Boston Celtics
Henri Richard (NHL) 11 titles w/Montreal Canadiens
Jean Beliveau (NHL) 10 titles w/Montreal Canadiens
Yogi Berra (MLB) 10 titles w/New York Yankees and New York Mets
Sam Jones (NBA) 10 titles w/Boston Celtics
Until we witnessed what Hall of Famer
Michael Jordan did in 1990s leading the Chicago Bulls to six titles in an
eight-year span behind his dominant exploits offensively and defensively, while
thrilling us with one acrobatic highlight after another, it was Mr. Russell
that many considered the greatest player in NBA history as well as the player
who won the most titles.
“Bill Russell was a pioneer—as a player,
as a champion, as the NBA’s first Black head coach and as an activist,” Jordan,
now chairman of the Charlotte Hornets said in a statement on Sunday.
“He paved the way and set an example for
every Black player who came into the league after him, including me. The world
has lost a legend. My condolences to his family and may he rest in peace.”
Russell however became head coach
(player/coach) of the Celtics because Auerbach’s first choice in late Frank
Ramsey was preoccupied running three lucrative nursing homes. Auerbach’s second
choice in fellow Hall of Famer Bob Cousy declined the invitation to stating he had
no interest in coaching his former players. The third choice in Heinsohn also
declined because he did not think he could manage the often-surly Russell.
On Apr. 16, 1966, Mr. Russell agreed to be
Auerbach’s successor as head coach of the Celtics, and it was made official via
a public announcement on Apr. 18, 1966.
This moment to many was hailed as a major
sociological advancement with Russell becoming the first African American head
coach in any sport, let alone such a distinguished team like the Celtics.
Neither Russell nor Auerbach saw it that way though. To both of them, this was
simply the best decision to keep the Celtics atop the NBA mountain.
“I wasn’t offered the job because I am a
Negro, I was offered it because Red figured I could do it.”
The Celtics title streak ended in
Russell’s first year as head coach when the Philadelphia 76ers took them down
4-1 in Eastern Divisional Finals. They would win back-to-back titles the next
two seasons.
“Bill Russell’s DNA is woven through ever
element of the Celtics organization, from the relentless pursuit of excellence
to the celebration of team rewards over individual glory, to a commitment to
social justice and civil rights off the court,” the Celtics said in a statement
on Sunday. “Our thoughts are with his family as we mourn his passing and
celebrate his enormous legacy in basketball, Boston, and beyond.”
The Celtics two biggest opponent’s during that time-frame were age and expansion. After winning their 11th title in franchise history in 1969 at age 35, Mr. Russell retired, which triggered a mini rebuild.
During Russell 18 seasons as a player, the
NBA expanded from eight teams to 14. Also, the Celtics then never had to
survive more than three rounds of the Playoffs to win their titles unlike today
where you need to win four rounds, win 16 games to become an NBA champion.
“If Bill Russell came back today with the
same equipment and the same brainpower, the same person exactly as he was when
he landed in NBA in 1956, he’d be the best rebounder in the league,” former
longtime Celtics beat writer with “The Boston Globe” and frequent
panelist on ESPN’s weekday show “Around the Horn” Bob Ryan to the “San
Francisco Chronicle” in 2019.
“As an athlete, he was so far ahead of his
time. He’d win three, four or five championships, but not 11 in 13 years,
obviously.”
Besides leading the Celtics to a plethora
of titles, Russell’s career was also defined by his rivalry with fellow Hall of
Famer and NBA champion in late Wilt Chamberlin.
The rivalry began with their first meeting
on Nov. 7, 1959 when Russell’s Celtics hosted Chamberlin’s Philadelphia
Warriors, which the pundits called the matchup between the best offensive
center and the best defensive “The Big Collision” and “The Battle of the
Titans.”
While Chamberlin outscored Russell 30-22
the Celtics won the game 115-106 in a game that was called a “new beginning of
basketball.”
Russell also won two titles as a
player-coach of the Celtics, replacing the retiring Auerbach, and becoming the
first African American head coach not just in the NBA but in all of pro sports
then.
While Chamberlin had the edge over Russell
from a statistical standpoint in their 142 career head-to-head tilts (28.7 to
14.5 in points; 28.7 to 23.7 in rebounds) as well as their career statistics
(30.1 to 15.1 in points; 22.9 to 22.5 in rebounds), Russell was considered by
many as the better overall player for the fact that his teams won more of their
games (87 percent) than Chamberlin’s squads (61 percent).
In their eight postseason appearances,
Russell and Celtics were victorious in seven of those eight series. Russell was
a champion 11 times, while Chamberlin led his squad to the NBA’s mountain top
just twice.
“I was the villain because I was so much
bigger and stronger than anyone else out there,” Chamberlin told the “Boston
Herald” in 1995. “People tend not to root for Goliath, and Bill back then
was a jovial guy and he really had a great laugh. Plus, he played on the
greatest team ever.”
“My team was losing and his was winning,
so it would be natural that I would be jealous. Not true. I’m more than happy
with the way things turned out. He was overall by far the best. And that only
helped bring out the best in me.”
The now seven-time NBA champion Golden State
Warriors, who now call San Francisco home said in a tweet from their advisor
and former President in Hall of Famer Rick Welts @warriors, “Basketball has
lost the greatest champion in the history of the game and I’ve lost a friend.”
Welts also said in that tweet that his
friendship with Mr. Russell began in 1973 when the legend was the Supersonics
head coach and Welts was working for part-time in the team’s media relations
department.
Each time the two spoke, Welts said
Russell never missed the opportunity to call him “white boy down the hall,”
which was followed by his trademark laugh.
“He was such a genuine and supportive friend,”
Welts added in that tweet. “He honored my request for him to be on stage with
me during my Hall of Fame induction in 2018. I’m forever touched and grateful.”
“I already miss his laugh, but his dignity,
strength and advocacy for social justice leave a legacy to admire and celebrate.
My heart goes out to his wife Jeanine, and his kids.”
The newest Finals MVP Stephen Curry, whose
Warriors defeated the Celtics in six games in the 2022 Finals said on his Instagram
page @stephencurry30 about Russell, “Trailblazer. Icon. Greatest Champ in
basketball. Made the world on and off the court a better place. Thank you and
rest easy! 11.”
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr echoed
those same sentiments saying that Mr. Russell’ passing on Sunday, saying in a
message on Twitter that the 11-time NBA champions life was more than just his exploits
on the hardwood.
“He was an incredible voice in the fight
for an equal and just society,” Kerr said about Mr. Russell. “And during a time
when where it was very difficult for athletes to speak up, Bill Russell was fearless
in his quest to ask for and to demand social justice for African American
people around this county and around the world.”
“Bill has been somebody the entire NBA has
looked up to and revered. And today is a day to celebrate his incredible life
and to mourn his passing and to also send our thoughts to his family. So, Bill
Russell from the Warriors organization. Rest in peace. You were an amazing man.”
Two of the NBA’s most dominant big men who have a plethora of All-Star appearances, MVPs, and titles o their own in fellow Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal tweeted their thoughts on the passing of the man that paved the way for them on how to play the game.
In a picture with Mr. Russell, MLB legend
in the late Hank Aaron and former Los Angeles Dodger Matt Kemp, Abdul-Jabbar
tweeted @kaj33, “Bill Russell was the quintessential big man. Not because of
his height but because of the size of his heart. In basketball, he showed us
how to play with grace and passion. In life, he showed us how to live with compassion
and joy. He was my friend. My mentor. My role model. RIP my friend…My deepest
condolences to his family.”
O’Neal in a picture of him with Mr.
Russell in an exclusive interview in the early part of his NBA career about the
“art of playing center” Tweeted @SHAQ, “Thank you for paving the way. You will
be missed legend. @RealBillRussell.”
Russell would go on to coach as well as be
the General Manager of the Seattle Supersonics from 1973-1977, who were a
six-year-old expansion franchise that won just 26 games the season before,
selling just 350 season tickets. Under Russell, the Supersonics won 36, 43, 43
and 40 games, reaching the playoffs in 1975 and 1976, reaching the Western
Semifinals in both seasons. When Russell resigned after the 1976-77 season,
compiling a 162-166 mark, the Supersonics reached a fanbase of 5,000 season
tickets and they made it to The Finals in back-to-back seasons (1978 and 1979)
winning their lone title 4-1 in 1979 over the then Washington Bullets (now
Wizards), led by the second player/coach in NBA history in fellow Hall of Famer
Lenny Wilkens.
Russell reportedly was frustrated with his
players reluctance to embrace playing team basketball which he thrived in as a
player for the Celtics. It was also suggested that the bigger issue was Russell
himself due to the fact that he had an inability to adjust to any other form of
play that did not embody what he was always around with the Celtics. The irony
of that is the Supersonics became the top dogs in the Western Conference under
Wilkens who preached the same team concept that Russell unsuccessfully tried to
instill
A decade later, Russell gave coaching
another chance with the Sacramento Kings, taking over for now longtime Kings
television commentator Jerry Reynolds early in the 1987-88 season. That stint
was even shorter than his one with the Supersonics as Russell departed after a
17-41 mark that season.
One positive from Mr. Russell experience
as head coach of the Kings was the impact he had on NBA studio analyst for
Turner Sports for over two decades Kenny Smith, primarily as the co-host of TNT’s
“Inside the NBA,” who drafted Smith out of University of North Carolina in the
late 1980s. Smith called being drafted into the NBA back in 1987-88 and playing
for Mr. Russell was he said, “the biggest honor.”
On Sunday, Smith, who helped lead the Houston Rockets to back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 told his colleagues Kristen Ledlow and on a special edition of NBATV’s “Gametime” how he sat next to Mr. Russell every day. How he was the first person he saw in the morning back then because he lived just down the street from Smith.
Smith also said that one of his tasks in his
rookie season was to either ride with him to practice or ride with him after
the game from when the Kings came from the team plane after touching down after
a road game. He also had to sit next to Mr. Russell on every bus ride and every
pregame meal.
Smith also said of his first NBA head
coach in Mr. Russell that he was the “advocate basketball player” who when he had
the opportunity, he would teach you not just the X’s and Os of pro basketball
but about life, more than basketball.
The one story that Smith said that stands
out to him that he and Russell had in their plethora of talks was about foreign
players coming into the NBA, specifically some foreign players that he was eyeing
from a script he had.
Smith asked Russell why he was looking for
the next great basketball player here in America like Alabama? How he had to search
in Europe to find that next possible great talent to help the Kings be a better
team.
Mr. Russell stopped Smith and said to Smith
as an African American you should always want inclusion in and for anything.
It was here that Russell used a basketball
moment and used it to teach a life moment, about the value and importance of
inclusion.
He also talked to Smith about the last day
of Dr. Matin Luther King before he died that he and Mr. Russell were having a
pillow fight in the hotel room in Memphis, TN.
“I spent so much time with him in those
six months that it was an unbelievable experience. Unbelievable mentorship,”
Smith said of his six-months of his rookie season being coached by Russell. “I don’t
remember one basketball play honestly. I just remember all the mentor stories
that we had in those moments.”
Smith also said on Sunday in his telephone
interview with Ledlow and Scott that one time during his rookie season when he
was walking to the back of the bus and Russell called him up to the front and
said that he had to sit next to him the entire season.
Smith at first was hesitant because he did
not want to be considered the “teacher’s pet” by his teammates.
Russell in that moment gets up in the middle
of the bus and goes screaming, “Look at all of these guys. None of them have
won anything.”
He then said to Smith that if he wanted to
be a champion that he had to sit next to him, which Smith did for the entire
six months Russell was the coach, hearing Russell’s famed cackle and joke.
When the Kings played road games, Russell
never slept on any flight. So, each road game and road trip they took he was up
and ready to talk, which meant Smith had to be well rested and ready to
converse with his coach, where they talked each and every flight.
“It was just a great, unique experience
that’s one of a kind,” Smith said of those moments with Mr. Russell.
In his eight seasons as a head coach with
the Celtics, Supersonics and Kings, Russell compiled a 341-290 record in the
regular season and a 34-27 mark in his five postseason appearances.
Between his coaching stints with the
Supersonics and Kings, Russell basketball journey took him to the television
broadcast booth where for a time he paired with his equally blunt opinionated
fellow Hall of Famer Rick Barry, who worked for Turner Sports in the late 1980s
and early 1990s gave their brutally honest commentary on the game.
“So sad to lose a friend, broadcasting
partner and one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA. RIP Bill
Russell,” Barry said on his Twitter page @Rick24Barry.
While Barry was comfortable in his
television role, Russell never found that comfort level saying once to the “Sacramento
Bee,” “The most successful television done in eight-second thoughts, and
the thing I know about basketball, motivation and people go deeper than that.”
Over the past four to five decades, the
NBA as well as our nation has made sure to say thank you to Mr. Russell for not
just his greatness, he displayed on the floor both individually as well as a
teammates but for his courage and unapologetic stances he has taken against
racism off of it as well.
In 1975, Mr. Russell became the first
Black player to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
and in 1980 was voted the Greatest Player in the History of the NBA by the
Professional Basketball Writers Association of America.
Along with as mentioned earlier being
voted to the 25th, 35th, and 50th Anniversary
teams of the NBA, Mr. Russell was honored as a member of the NBA’s 75th
Anniversary team, which was announced in October 2022, at the NBA All-Star Game
in Cleveland, OH back in February.
In 2009, the Finals MVP trophy was named
in Mr. Russell’s honor, despite the fact he never won the award himself due to
the fact it was not awarded until 1969.
Russell had traditionally presented the Finals MVP the first decade it was changed to honor him at the end of The Finals, with the last time in 2019 to now Los Angeles Clippers’ All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard when the Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games to win their first title in franchise history. Mr. Russell was not on hand in 2020 because The Finals took place during the restart in Orlando, FL nor in 2021 due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns.
In 2011, Mr. Russell received the most
distinguished award of his life when he was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom and he was given that distinguished honor by a person who because of
how Mr. Russell stood up for the rights of all, especially African Americans
and other marginalized minorities in our nation became the 44th
President of the United States of America Barack Obama.
In speaking about Mr. Russell prior to
presenting him and the other honorees with the most distinguished medal that
can be rewarded to an American citizen at the White House in our nation’s
capital back on Feb. 15, 2011, Mr. Obama said that Mr. Russell “the man” was
someone who stood up for the rights and dignity of “all men.” That he marched
for social justice and equality with Dr. King, stood by Muhammad Ali.
Mr. Obama also said that during Russell playing
days with the Celtics that when he and his African American teammates were refused
service in a restaurant, he refused to play in the scheduled game.
Mr. Russell ability to maintain his composure
in the face of insults and vandalism by those who looked at him and his African
American teammates as less of human being and kept his focus on making his
teammates both African American and Caucasian “better players” and made
possible the success of future Celtics that followed him.
Mr. Obama Tweeted @BarackObama on the
passing of Mr. Russell in the middle of Sunday afternoon, “Today we lost a
giant.”
Mr. Obama also tweeted, “As tall as Bill
Russell stood, his legacy rises far higher both as a player and as a person.
Perhaps more than anything else, Bill knew what it took to win and what it took
to lead. On the court, he was the greatest champion in basketball history. Off
of it, he was a civil rights trailblazer—marching with Dr. King and standing
with Muhammad Ali.”
“For decades, Bill endured insults and
vandalism, but never let it stop him from speaking up for what’s right. I
learned so much from the way he played, the way he coached, and the way he
lived his life. Michelle and I send our love to Bill’s family, and everyone who
admired him.”
The ironic thing about Mr. Russell passing
is that took place on a day when the most active sports league in terms of
their fight for social justice was in action, the WNBA.
The news of Mr. Russell’s passing was
first reported during telecast of the “Chicago Sky versus Connecticut Sun” on
NESN by sideline reporter Terrika Foster-Brasby.
There was a moment of silence held for the passing of Mr. Russell before contest between the “Phoenix Mercury vs. New York Liberty,” “Las Vegas Aces versus Indiana Fever,” “Seattle Storm vs. Washington Mystics,” and “Minnesota Lynx vs. Los Angeles Sparks.”
In recent years, especially with the
brutality that the likes of Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake, George Floyd and many
others have suffered at the hands of law enforcement, it has been the WNBA,
especially in 2020 season on the campus of IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL where
they used that season and beyond to speak out against the social unrest that
our nation has faced, especially during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
They particularly stood made their voices
heard in 2020 when now former Atlanta Dream co-owner and U.S. Senator Kelly
Loeffler (R-GA) wrote a public letter in objection to the players for all 12
teams in the WNBA wearing shirts during warmups with “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name” printed on them.
Loeffler stated in her opposition to the “Black
Lives Matter Movement” that it “advocates things like defunding and abolishing
the police, abolishing our military, emptying our prisons, destroying the ‘nuclear
family’ and ‘promotes violence and antisemitism.’”
In August 2020, players from the Atlanta
Dream and several other WNBA squads wore “Vote Warnock” T-shirts in support for
one of Loeffler’s opponents on the Democratic side.
That Senate race went to a run-off because
none of the candidates in the race received over 50 percent of the vote. In the
run-off election held Jan. 5, 2021 between Loeffler and Warnock, as well as the
one held between incumbent senator David Perdue (R-GA) and his Democratic
challenger Jon Ossoff. Warnock and Ossoff defeated Loeffler and Perdue in the run-off
which gave control of the U.S. Senate to the Democrats because despite a 50-50
tie in terms of representation on both sides of the political aisle, the Democrats
have the tiebreaking vote thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris.
The newest fight advocacy the WNBA is
involved with now is keeping the awareness up about the wrongful holding of
WNBA perennial All-Star Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury, who has been
detained in Russia since February and is currently on trial for what the Russian Federal Customs Service had
claimed “large-scale transportation of drugs.”
Back in February, the RFCS claimed to find
vape cartridges that contained marijuana concentrate hashish oil in Griner’s
luggage.
While our nation has come a long way in terms
of speaking out against injustice and unjust happenings against minorities
across the nation and the world, this situation that Griner facing is another example
of how much further we have to go. But because of the example Mr. Russell put
on display back in the early years of his life, especially during his playing
days both in college and in his NBA career, he has provided the tools and
knowledge necessary for people and leagues like the WNBA to use to keep this
fight going, which they have and will continue to do so for those who cannot
always speak for themselves.
On Nov. 1, 2013, Boston honored Mr.
Russell with a statue at Boston’s City Hall Plaza.
On Sunday, the National Basketball
Association (NBA) and the world said goodbye to a sports Icon who was a perfect
11-0 in his NBA Finals career with the Boston Celtics and civil rights icon who
broke barriers both on the hardwood and the world. He spoke up against injustice
at a time when it was not the most popular and had dire consequences with it.
He made a stand against inequality against minorities in this country and the world
and showed how one can change the circumstances of others and can bring people
together for good and inspired many others that came after him in the NBA to be
great both on and off the court.
To put into context how important Bill
Russell was to the NBA landscape, when he conversed talked with anyone from
fans to former and current players of today, especially after they won a
significant award like All-Star Game MVP or won an NBA title, he took a picture
with them.
In the many photographs that have been
displayed on the internet, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and many news programs
that talked about Mr. Russell’s passing, you saw him in some him in photographs
with some of the great players that played in the NBA back in his playing
career. During iconic moments both on the hardwood and during moments where he
stood up for social justice.
They say a picture is worth a 1,000 words
and that was especially true in the case of those who had the opportunity to get
a photo with Mr. Bill Russell.
NBA Hall of Famer, two-time NBA champion
with New York Knicks (1970, 1973) and their current television analyst for
Madison Square Garden Network (MSG) Walt “Clyde” Frazier Tweeted @WaltFrazier,
“He was a pioneer, a motivator, devastator & juggernaut that the NBA will
never witness again.”
“When I think of Bill his classic line
Going to Kick you ass. The laughter, the cackle. Cackle on Mr. Bill. Your
legacy is omnipotent. You’ve done all you can do here. Keep giving them hell.”
Fellow Knicks’ Hall of Famer and current
head coach of the Georgetown University Hoyas Men’s Basketball team Patrick
Ewing Tweeted @CoachEwing33 “The World lost a legend with the passing of Bill
Russell.”
“His impact on basketball and society will
not be forgotten. He handled every adversity with dignity and grace and walked
away a champion. My condolences to his family and those blessed enough to call
him a friend.”
Five-time NBA champion with the Los
Angeles Lakers in the 1980s, League MVP, businessman and fellow Hall of Famer
Earvin “Magic” Johnson Tweeted @MagicJohnson, “Bill Russell was my idol. I
looked up to him on the court and off. His success on the court was undeniable;
he was dominant and great, winning 11 NBA championships. Off the court, Bill
Russell paved the way for guys like me.”
Johnson added in his tweet, “He was one of
the first athletes on the front line fighting for social justice, equity,
equality, and civil rights. That’s why I admired and loved him so much. Over
the course of our friendship, he always reminded me about making things better
in the Black community.”
Fellow Hall of Famer of the San Antonio
Spurs; NBA MVP in 1994-95; two-time Olympic gold medalist and education
advocate and former Navy Academy graduate out of Annapolis, MD David Robinson
Tweeted @DavidtheAdmiral, “Bill Russell was the most powerful ambassador of the
NBA. I held him in the highest regard and tried to build on the groundwork laid
by him and his generation of players. Thank you, Bill, for leading the way and
giving us such a high bar to shoot for.”
Fellow Hall of Famer and co-host of TNT’s “Inside
the NBA” Charles Barkley said in a Tweet @NBAonTNT, “Bill Russell’s passing is
not just an NBA loss, it is a world loss.”
“When your actions match your words on
important issues, you are a great man, not just a great basketball player. The
word ‘here’ is tossed around a lot, but today it is perfect. RIP great man BR.”
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