He unfortunately passed away from cancer back in 2016 at the early age of 58, according to NBC News. Well, that let me know that if I were to accept these as the final judges of my career I would die a bitter old man." Therefore, once the latter knew he was well on his way to stability upon getting drafted by Boston Celtics in 1956 and winning gold at the Summer Olympics mere months later, they decided to marry. 101", "The NBA's 75th Anniversary Team, ranked: Where 76 basketball legends check in on our list", "NBA 75: Top 75 NBA players of all time, from MJ and LeBron to Lenny Wilkens", "President Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients", "Bill Russell to receive NBA's inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award", "Bill Russell's No. He was selected into the NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971 and the NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1980, named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996,[5] one of only four players to receive all three honors, and selected into the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. Yet its important to note that the happily married Seattle, Washington resident has since been serving at King Countys Metro Transit, where he currently holds the post of Transit Operator. 6 for most regular season MVPNBA Finals MVP awards, despite the latter being assigned only since 1969. [5] In addition, Russell holds the NBA Finals single-game record for most rebounds (40, March 29, 1960, vs. St. Louis, and April 18, 1962, vs. Los Angeles), most rebounds in a quarter (19, April 18, 1962, vs. Los Angeles), and most consecutive games with 20 or more rebounds (15 from April 9, 1960 April 16, 1963). [30] Woolpert's choice of how to deploy his players was unaffected by their skin color. During a conversation with students, a reporterunknown to Russellheard Russell describe Chamberlain as a malingerer and accused him of "copping out" of the game when it seemed that the Lakers would lose. [5], Despite his limitations on offense, as Russell averaged 15.1 points per game, his rebounding, defense, and leadership made him one of the dominant players of his era. Boston then beat the Los Angeles Lakers 42 in the 1968 NBA Finals, giving Russell his tenth title in twelve years. [115] He attended his 2021 induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. [28], Russell was ignored by college recruiters and received not one offer until recruiter Hal DeJulio from the University of San Francisco (USF) watched him play in a high school game. [12] Russell averaged 16.6 points per game and a league-record average of 22.7 rebounds per game. She is a media person, lawyer, and Black-rights activist who has also contributed to publications likeThe New York Times Magazine. One of the greatest players in NBA history, Bill Russell, is currently in his 4th marriage. The Celtics made good use of the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers had exhausted the St. Louis Hawks in a long seven-game Western Conference Finals,[75] and Boston won the 1961 NBA Finals in five games. [174][175][176] During the spring of 2015, two statues of children were added, honoring Russell's commitment to working with children. My father is Bill Russell . [168] In October 2021, Russell was honored as one of theleague's 75 greatest players of all-time. @NBA: The great Bill Russell joins the fellas, live on . Brown contacted Rochester owner Les Harrison and received an assurance that the Royals could not afford Russell, and they would draft Sihugo Green. [88] In Game 3, Russell had 21 points, 38 rebounds, and 6 assists. [5], On February 5, 1960, Russell had 23 points, 51 rebounds, and 5 assists in a 124100 win over the Syracuse Nationals. [107] It was so surprising that Auerbach was blindsided and made the mistake of drafting guard Jo Jo White instead of a center. In 1975, he was inducted into the basketball hall of fame. Bill Russell, an 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and the first Black head coach in a major American sports league, died July 31. The oldest son of Bill Russell, William Felton Russell Jr, who was named after the 11-time NBA champion, unfortunately passed away in 2016. He worked hard and used the benefits of a growth spurt to become a decent basketball player. [30], Combining the stature and shot-blocking skills of a center with the foot speed of a guard, Russell became the centerpiece of a USF team that soon became a force in college basketball. [56] Auerbach assigned him to shut down the Hawks' main scorer and Russell impressed the Boston crowd with his man-to-man defense and shot-blocking. [34] Even after he became a star with the Celtics, Russell was the victim of racial abuse. Bill Russell never ceases to amaze me. After USF kept Holy Cross Crusaders star Tom Heinsohn scoreless in an entire half,[31] Sports Illustrated wrote: "If [Russell] ever learns to hit the basket, they're going to have to rewrite the rules. When he became player-coach in 1966, Russell bluntly said to his teammates that "he intended to cut all personal ties to other players" and seamlessly made the transition from their peer to their superior. Jones. [65] Many observers thought that Boston could have won had Russell not been injured, but Auerbach commented: "You can always look for excuses We just got beat. [105] He was 15 pounds overweight, skipped mandatory NBA coach meetings, and was generally lacking energy; after a New York Knicks game, he complained of intense pain and was diagnosed with acute exhaustion. [18][169] However, the NBA players who currently wore the number 6 jersey (i.e. Date Divorced. Bill was married four times and had three children with his first wife and college sweetheart Rose Swisher. "[5] The Sixers outpaced the Celtics when they shredded the famed Boston defense by scoring 140 points in the clinching Game 5 win. He was born on November 2, 1957, and spent several years working for Cox Trucking. (2004). During a press conference, Russell was asked: "As the first Negro head coach in a major league sport, can you do the job impartially without any racial prejudice in reverse?" The truth is she had to pursue different opportunities to make money for herself since she wanted to attend university, which ultimately led her to the glamorous world of pageantry. The Lakers featured new recruit Chamberlain next to perennial stars Baylor and West, and were the favorites. [85] On February 10, 1963, Russell recorded his first regular season triple-double after putting up 17 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 129123 win over the New York Knicks. This was the first time in seven years that he failed to average at least 23 rebounds a game. That did not happen My junior year in college, I had what I thought was the one of the best college seasons ever. The ex-wife of Bill Russell. After he graduated, the NCAA rules committee instituted a second new rule to counter the play of big men like Russell; basket interference was now prohibited. In the piece, she explains how she experienced such privilege in her life at times, but how she was also met with periods of intense racism and sexism. His marital status is married. [158][159] In 2007, he was voted the third best center of all-time by ESPN behind Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain. The game featured Shane Battier, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Maya Moore, Alonzo Mourning, Joakim Noah, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and Obama's friends from high school. William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 July 31, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who played as a center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. I wanted you to have the best possible education and to be able to make the best contacts. It hence comes as no surprise Bill and Rose happily welcomed three kids into their lives over the next six years William Bill Russell Jr. (1957), Jacob Russell (1959), and Karen Russell (1962). And in basketball I respect a man for his ability, period. He has three children, Jacob Russell, William Russell Jr., and Karen Russell . [50] He had the option to skip the tournament and play a full season for the Celtics, but he was determined to play in the Olympics. After the next provocation, Russell pounded Felix to the point of unconsciousness, paid a modest $25 fine, and rarely was the target of cheap fouls thereafter. Karen graduated from Harward Law School and has dissected high-profile trials and national political issues. Bill Russell is an 11-time NBA champion, and 12-time All-Star and is perhaps the game's greatest champion. Russell, who once said he owed the public nothing,[109] was not there; he ended his career and cut all ties to the Celtics. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. [19] In another incident, Russell's mother was walking outside in a fancy dress when a white policeman accosted her. He actually enrolled at the School of Art Institute in Chicago for a Bachelors in Design-Visual Communications upon graduating from Californias Galileo Academy of Science & Technology, just to then kickstart his career. The champion marched with Martin Luther King for civil rights. He shares all three of his children with his first wife and college sweetheart, Rose Swisher, whom he divorced in 1973. As part of the 1961 Celtics boycott, he and the other black teammates refused to play in the exhibition game and flew home, drawing a great deal of controversy and publicity. Russell was accused of selling out the future of the franchise for a month of his salary. Russell wore his Presidential Medal of Freedom and the image was captioned: "Proud to take a knee, and to stand tall against social injustice." He's so good, he scares you. [121], Russell became a vegetarian, took up golf, and worked as a color commentator for CBS and TBS throughout the 1970s into the mid-1980s, but he was uncomfortable as a broadcaster. The Internal Revenue Service discovered that Russell owed $34,430 in tax money and put a lien on his house. "[49], The Celtics swept the Nationals in three games to earn the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance in the 1957 NBA Finals,[62] where they met the St. Louis Hawks, led by Pettit and former Celtic Ed Macauley. [103], In Game 7, 15,202 Philadelphia fans witnessed a home-team 10096 defeat, making it the first time in NBA history a team lost a series after leading 31. [8][38] His awards and achievements include eleven NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in thirteen seasons,[52] two of which were won as player-coach,[142] and he is credited with having raised defensive play in the NBA to a new level. He wrote these words after recounting how grandfather Jake Russell had stood up to the Ku Klux Klan and other whites who attempted to thwart his efforts to build a schoolhouse for black children; his grandfather was the first person in Russell's patrilineal line born free in North America and was himself illiterate. One of his highest jumps occurred at the WCR, where he achieved a mark of .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}6feet 9+14inches (2.06m);[43] at the meet, Russell tied Charlie Dumas, who would later in the year win gold in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia for the United States and become the first person to high-jump 7 feet (2.13m). And that's the kind of guy [Brown] was. He is depicted in-game, surrounded by 11 plinths representing the 11 championships he helped the Celtics win. He was 88. Bill Russell was born to Charles and Katie Russell on February 12, 2022, in West Monroe, Louisiana. [197], In 1966, The New York Times wrote that "Russell's main characteristics are pride, intelligence, an active and appreciative sense of humor, a preoccupation with dignity, a capacity for consideration once his friendship or sympathy has been aroused, and an unwillingness to compromise whatever truths he has accepted. [49], The Celtics lost Cousy to retirement after the 196263 NBA season, and they drafted John Havlicek and were powered by Russell, who averaged 16.8 points and 23.6 rebounds per game, won his fourth regular-season MVP award, and earned the NBA All-Star Game MVP honors at the 1963 NBA All-Star Game following his 19-point, 24-rebound performance for the Eastern Conference's All-Star team. There were times I wondered, but not Rose, Bill penned for Boston Traveler in 1956. [223] He thanked Chamberlain for taking him to the limit and "making [him] a better player", and the crowd for "allowing [him] to be a part of their lives.