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Russell, a five-time Most Valuable Player who was also outspoken
on racial issues, passed away peacefully with his wife Jeannine
by his side, according to a statement posted on his Twitter
account that did not state a cause of death.
"Bill Russell was the greatest champion in all of team sports,"
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.
"The countless accolades that he earned for his storied career
with the Boston Celtics – including a record 11 championships
and five MVP awards – only begin to tell the story of Bill's
immense impact on our league and broader society."
Russell became a superstar in the 1950s and '60s not with flashy
scoring plays but through dominating rebounding and intense
defensive play that reshaped the game. He also had what team
mate Tom Heinsohn called "a neurotic need to win".
The Celtics won 11 NBA titles in Russell's 13 years with the
team from 1956 through 1969. He was the player-coach on two of
those championship teams.
"To be the greatest champion in your sport, to revolutionize the
way the game is played, and to be a societal leader all at once
seems unthinkable, but that is who Bill Russell was," the
Celtics said in a statement.
"Bill Russell's DNA is woven through every 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.
"Our thoughts are with his family as we mourn his passing and
celebrate his enormous legacy in basketball, Boston, and
beyond."
DEFENSIVE GENIUS
The Russell-era Celtics teams were rich in talent. Heinsohn, Bob
Cousy, Frank Ramsey, Bill Sharman, Tom "Satch" Sanders, John
Havlicek, Don Nelson, Sam Jones and K.C. Jones, his old college
team mate, would all join him in the Basketball Hall of Fame, as
would their coach, Red Auerbach.
But Russell's rebounding and defense, especially his
shot-blocking, were unprecedented and set him apart. Russell,
who was spindly compared to opponents at the center position
when he came into the NBA, would leap to block opponents' shots
at a time when the prevailing defensive philosophy was that
players generally should not leave their feet.
"Russell defended the way Picasso painted, the way Hemingway
wrote," Aram Goudsouzian said in his book "King of the Court:
Bill Russell and the Basketball Revolution."
"In time, he changed how people understood the craft. Until
Russell, the game stayed close to the floor. No longer."
Russell averaged 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds per game for his
career. He was the NBA's most valuable player in 1958, 1961,
1962, 1963 and 1965 and was a 12-time All-Star.
Despite the individual honors, Russell viewed "team" as a sacred
concept.
"For me, it didn't make any difference who did what as long as
we got it done," Russell said.
CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST
Off the court, Russell was opinionated and complicated. He had a
baleful glare but also a delightful cackling laugh. He was
intellectual and a "Star Trek" fan. Often surly or indifferent
to fans and hostile toward the media, he could be exceedingly
gracious with team mates and opponents. He refused to sign
autographs, saying he preferred to have conversations.
Russell often criticized Boston, a city with a history of racial
strife, and was one of the sports world's leading civil rights
activists in the 1950s and '60s. He was on the front row in
Washington in 1963 when Dr. Martin Luther King delivered his "I
Have a Dream" speech.
"Bill stood for something much bigger than sports: the values of
equality, respect and inclusion that he stamped into the DNA of
our league," said Silver.
"At the height of his athletic career, Bill advocated vigorously
for civil rights and social justice, a legacy he passed down to
generations of NBA players who followed in his footsteps.
"Through the taunts, threats and unthinkable adversity, Bill
rose above it all and remained true to his belief that everyone
deserves to be treated with dignity."
CELEBRATED RIVALRY
Russell had a celebrated rivalry with another NBA superstar,
Wilt Chamberlain, who played for the San Francisco/Philadelphia
Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers. Chamberlain
was an athletic freak the likes of which had not been seen in
the NBA - muscular, exceptionally agile, 7-foot-1 inches tall
(2.16 meters) and the most prodigious scorer of his time.
Chamberlain and Russell, who was 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10 cm)
shorter, went head to head against each other in some epic
battles. Chamberlain almost always outscored him but Russell's
Celtics had an 86-57 record against Chamberlain's teams.
Chamberlain compiled the record-breaking personal statistics but
Russell ended up with more championship rings than fingers.
In 1965, Chamberlain became the first NBA player to earn a
$100,000 annual salary so Russell demanded - and got - a
contract from the Celtics that paid him $100,001. Yet the fierce
rivals were friends off the court, often dining at each other's
homes.
Russell was born Feb. 12, 1934, in West Monroe, Louisiana, and
was eight when his family moved to Oakland, California, seeking
more economic opportunity and an escape from the extreme racial
segregation of the U.S. South.
It was in Oakland that Russell's career as a winner began. His
high school team won two state championships and he led the
University of San Francisco to national titles in 1955 and '56.
Russell also was captain of the U.S. team that easily won the
gold medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
MEDAL OF FREEDOM
When the Celtics retired his No. 6, Russell's love of privacy
and belief in the team concept led him to demand a private
ceremony with coaches and team mates in an otherwise empty
arena. He declined to attend the 1972 ceremony at which his
number was retired in front of fans and also skipped his
induction ceremony at the Basketball Hall of Fame.
Russell returned to basketball as general manager and coach of
the Seattle SuperSonics from 1973 through 1977 and as coach of
the Sacramento Kings for part of the 1987-88 season.
Russell became semi-reclusive after his coaching career, saying,
"I wanted to be forgotten." He took tentative steps back into
the public arena beginning in the early 1990s, after becoming a
founding board member of MENTOR: the National Mentoring
Partnership. He said his mentoring effort was the "proudest
accomplishment in life."
Russell went on to make frequent public speaking appearances and
television commercials and even showed up when the Celtics
dedicated a statue of him in Boston's City Hall Plaza in 2013.
In 2011, President Barack Obama cited Russell's dedication to
mentoring when he awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
which Russell called the second greatest personal honor of his
life. The first, he said, was when his 77-year-old father told
him that he was proud of him.
Russell, who lived in Mercer Island, Washington, was married
three times and had three children.
(Writing and reporting by Bill Trott; Additional reporting by
Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by David Gregorio and Toby
Davis)
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