Celtics Legend Bill Russell Passes Away at 88
NBA and Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell passed away on Sunday, his family announced in a statement on social media. Russell, an 11-time NBA champion as a player and coach, was 88 years old.
Russell is one of the winningest athletes of all time, collecting hardware at every step along his basketball journey. As a high schooler, Russell led his team to two state championships, and after accepting a scholarship offer at the University of San Francisco, led the Dons to victory in back-to-back national championships (1955 and 1956) — which remain the school’s only two national titles in men’s basketball.
Sandwiched in between his time in amateur basketball and his legendary professional career that few, if any, athletes have come close to replicating, was his gold medal win at the 1956 Olympics with the United States.
After joining the Celtics that same year, Russell embarked on a journey that cemented his place in basketball lore. In 13 seasons, the Oakland, Calif. native led the Celtics to 12 NBA Finals appearances, losing just once. He was a five-time MVP and 12-time All-Star and finished his NBA career with 21,620 rebounds — good for second all time.
In a statement released by the NBA, commissioner Adam Silver heralded Russell as “the greatest champion in all of team sports.”
However, Russell’s impact goes far beyond the hardware he collected on the basketball court.
An unrelenting force, Russell never cowered in the face of discrimination and injustice and began a journey of activism that continued long after his playing days were done.
“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 [Evers’] assassination, to decades of activism ultimately recognized by his receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom … 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,” his family’s statement read.
Quote via Twitter/Bill Russell’s account
Russell was awarded the 2010 President Medal of Freedom. His No. 6 jersey was retired by the Celtics in 1972 and he was the first Black player inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975.
Russell was a transformative and transcendent figure in the game of basketball and beyond, and his legacy is forever cemented in the sport and world. Rest in peace to a man who was not only “the most prolific winner in American sports history,” but so much more.
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