Bill Russell

William Felton Russell (born February 12, 1934 in Monroe, Louisiana) is a former American basketball player, remembered for his central role in the Boston Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA championships in thirteen seasons. Along with Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard of the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, Russell holds the record for the most championships won in a North American sports league.

Russell is credited to have raised defensive play to a new level, and is recognised by the NBA as one of the greatest players of all time. Russell also became the first black coach of an NBA team, winning two championships in three years. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975 and became part of the inaugural National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class of 2006.

Early years

Born in Monroe, Louisiana and raised in Oakland, California, the 6-foot 9-inch (2.06 m) tall Russell played at McClymonds High School. He also played college basketball at the University of San Francisco under coach Phil Woolpert. In 1954, Woolpert became the first coach of a major amateur basketball squad to start with three African-American players, namely Hal Perry, K.C. Jones and Russell. The USF squad soon experienced blatant racism, as Russell and fellow black teammates were denied access to hotels in Oklahoma City. In protest, the whole team decided to camp out in a closed college dorm and experienced this as an important bonding experience.

On the hardwood, his experiences were far more pleasant. Russell led USF to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, including an impressive string of 55 consecutive victories. He became famous for his strong defense and his blocking skills, once denying 13 shots in a single game. Rival coach John Wooden called Russell "the greatest defensive man I've ever seen".For his college career, Russell averaged 20.7 points per game and 20.3 rebounds per game.

Russell was then offered a place in the legendary Harlem Globetrotters basketball squad after college. However, when owner Abe Saperstein would only talk with Russell's coach, Russell declined signing, saying that if Saperstein was too smart to talk to him, he was too smart to play for Saperstein. Instead, Russell made himself eligible for the NBA Draft of 1956.

Professional Biography

1956 NBA Draft

In the 1956 NBA Draft, Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach had set his sights on Russell, thinking his defensive toughness and rebounding prowess was the missing link the Celtics needed. In perspective, Auerbach’s thoughts were unorthodox. In that period, centers and forwards were defined by their offensive output, and the ability to play defense was secondary.

However, the chances of getting Russell seemed slim. Because the Celtics had finished second in the season before, and the worst teams have the highest draft picks, the Celtics slipped too low in the draft order to pick Russell; in addition, Auerbach used his territorial pick to get talented forward Tom Heinsohn. But Auerbach knew that the Rochester Royals, who owned the first draft pick, already had a talented young rebounder in Maurice Stokes and were unwilling to pay Russell the $25,000 signing bonus he was asking for. The St. Louis Hawks, who owned the second pick, originally drafted Russell, but were vying for Celtics center Ed Macauley, a six-time All-Star who had roots in St. Louis. Auerbach agreed to trade Macauley if they gave up Russell instead, and after the Celtics additionally gave up rookie Cliff Hagan, the Hawks made the trade. In that same draft, Boston also received Russell's former USF team mate, guard K.C. Jones. So, the Celtics drafted three future Hall-of-Famers in a single night, namely Russell, Heinsohn and Jones.

1956-59

In the first year, the 1956-57 NBA season, Russell could not join the Celtics until December, because he was on the road with the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team. After rejoining the Celtics, Russell played 48 games, on average scored 14.7 points and pulled down a league-high average of 19.6 rebounds.In that year, the Celtics featured a starting five of center Bill Russell, forwards Tom Heinsohn and Jim Loscutoff, guards Bill Sharman and Bob Cousy plus forward Frank Ramsey coming off the bench. This qualifies as one of the most impressive squads of all time, featuring five future Hall-of-Famers plus defensive hardman Loscutoff. With their tough defense, using turnovers to overpower their opponents with fast breaks, the Celtics dominated their opposition in the regular season. The Celtics put up an impressive 44-28 regular season record, their second-best ever since their inception in the 1946-47 BAA season.

Russell’s impact on the game is illustrated in the circumstances of one playoff game, namely Game 1 of the First Round against the Syracuse Nationals, led by future Hall-of-Famer Dolph Schayes. Firstly, the Nationals decided to bench starting center Johnny Kerr, because he had been shut down by Russell in the regular season. Secondly, after the Celtics had won 108-89, and Russell had poured in 16 points, pulled down 31 rebounds, and recorded a reported 7 blocks (at that time, blocks were not an officially registered statistic), Schayes asked: “How much does that guy make a year? It would be to our advantage if we paid him off for five years to get away from us in the rest of this series.” The Celtics proceeded to sweep the Nationals with 3-0.

In the NBA Finals, the Celtics met the St. Louis Hawks of superstar forward Bob Pettit and their former colleague Macauley. They split the first six games, and in Game 7, Russell made the famous “Coleman Play”, in which he ran down Hawks guard Jack Coleman, who had received an outlet pass at midcourt, and blocked his shot despite Russell had been standing at his own baseline when the ball had been thrown to Coleman. The block preserved the slim 103-102 lead with 40-odd seconds left to play and finally, the game went into double overtime. At last, the Celtics prevailed with a double-overtime 125-123 for their first NBA Championship. In previous years, the Celtics had been a high-scoring team, but had missed the defensive toughness to win it all. But with the defensive genius Russell, the Celtics laid the fundament of one of the most impressive sports dynasties of all time.

In the 1957-58 NBA season, Russell scored 16.6 points a game and pulled down a league-record average of 22.7 rebounds.In that season, an interesting phenomenon began: Russell was voted the NBA Most Valuable Player, but strangely, only to the All-NBA Second Team, something that would happen repeatedly in his career. The argument was that, while other centers were better all-round players than Russell, no player meant more to his team. The Celtics met the Hawks again in the NBA Finals. After splitting the first two games, Russell went down with an ankle injury in Game 3. Powered by a frontcourt of Macauley and Pettit, the Hawks and their coach Alex Hannum won the NBA title in 1958.

In the 1958-59 NBA season, Russell continued establishing his strong play, logging 16.7 ppg / 23.0 rpg. In fact, he started one of the most impressive rebounding performances of all time, never failing to average less than 23 boards for the next seven years.In that season, the Celtics retook the NBA crown, disposing of the Minneapolis Lakers with 4-0 in the NBA Finals. Lakers trainer John Kundla praised Russell: “We don’t fear the Celtics without Bill Russell. Take him out and we can beat them … He’s the guy who whipped us psychologically.”

1959-66

In the 1959-60 NBA season, the NBA witnessed the debut of legendary 7'1" Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain, who as of 2006 holds the great majority of statistical single-game and full-season records, among them his record-setting 100-point- and 55-rebound-games and his incredible 50.4 ppg regular-season scoring average (1961-62), a mark which never has been approached ever since. The matchup between Russell and Chamberlain, the greatest defensive and the greatest offensive pivot in the NBA, became one of basketball's legendary rivalries. The Celtics met Chamberlain's Warriors in the Eastern Division Finals, where Chamberlain outscored Russell by 81 points, but the Celtics walked off with a 4-2 win.That the smaller, lighter and offensively limited Russell outhustled his opponent, would become a repeated occurrence in this decade. In the Finals, the Celtics outlasted the Hawks 4-3 and won yet another championship.Russell helped by grabbing an incredible 40 rebounds in Game 2 and contributing 22 points and 35 rebounds in Game 7 and shutting down the Hawks’ offense as the Celtics won the final game with 122-103.

In the 1960-61 NBA season, Russell had another fine season, scoring 16.9 ppg / 23.9 rpg. The Celtics won their next ring. They dominated their opposition in the regular season and went 57-22. They then disposed of the Syracuse Nationals with 4-1 in the Eastern Division Finals and then won against the St. Louis Hawks with 4-1.

In the 1961-62 NBA season, Russell scored what would be his career high scoring average of 18.9 points, accompanied by 23.6 rebounds. His rival Chamberlain had his record-breaking season of 50.4 points per game and had his legendary 100 point game, but Russell still was voted MVP. The Celtics claimed their fourth title en bloc, winning 4-3 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Russell added another clutch performance in Game 7, pouring in 30 points despite not being noted as a great offensive threat.

In the 1962-63 NBA season, the Celtics lost their playmaker Bob Cousy to retirement, but drafted another legendary player, future Hall-of-Famer John Havlicek. Once again, the Celtics were powered by an inspired Russell, who averaged 16.8 ppg / 23.6 rpg and won his fourth MVP title. In the NBA Finals, the Celtics were matched up against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers and the Celtics split the first six games, and in Game 7, it was Russell’s clutch play which powered the Celtics to victory, pouring in 30 points and snaring 40 rebounds in a highly dramatic double-overtime game.

In the 1963-64 NBA season, the Celtics were again unbeatable, routing the Cincinnati Royals with 4-1 and then winning against the newly-relocated San Francisco Warriors of Wilt Chamberlain with equally 4-1. It was their seventh title in Russell’s eighth year, and their sixth consecutive, a streak prior unreached in any U.S. professional sports league. Russell called this Celtics team the best ever. Russell himself achieved 15.0 ppg and a career-high 24.7 rpg.

In the 1964-65 NBA season, Russell was at his best again. He achieved 14.1 ppg / 24.1 rpg and won his fifth MVP award. In the playoffs, the Celtics played the Eastern Division Finals against their perennial Division rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers of Wilt Chamberlain. Russell soon proved that he was worthy of his MVP award, holding the seemingly unstoppable Chamberlain in Game 3 to a pair of field goals in the first three quarters, and in Game 5, scoring 28 rebounds, 10 blocks, six steals and seven assists. However, that playoff series went down to a highly dramatic Game 7. Five seconds before the end, the Sixers were trailing 109-110, and Russell turned over the ball. However, when the Sixers’ Hall-of-Fame guard Hal Greer inbounded, John Havlicek stole the ball, causing Celtics commentator Johnny Most to scream the legendary words: “Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball!” After this highly dramatic Division Finals, the Celtics enjoyed an easy NBA Finals series, convincingly winning 4-1 against the Los Angeles Lakers of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.

In the 1965-66 NBA season, the Celtics won their seventh title en bloc. This time, Russell’s teams yet again beat Chamberlain’s Philadelphia 76ers with 4-1 and then proceeded to win the NBA Finals in a dramatic seven-game, 4-3 showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers.Russell contributed 12.9 ppg / 22.8 rpg, finally not managing to average 23 boards a game after a seven-year streak.

1966-69

Before the 1966-67 NBA season, legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach retired and named Russell his successor as head coach; he thus became the first African-American head coach in US major league team sports history. In that year, the Celtics’ championship streak ended at eight. Russell could not prevent that his perennial rival Wilt Chamberlain, now a member of the famous Philadelphia 76ers squad that won a record-breaking 68 games in the regular season, at last overpowered the aging Celtics.As a side note, the Sixers team was coached by Alex Hannum. Hannum, who had coached the Hawks championship team of 1958, became the only coach who could twice interrupt the Celtics stranglehold.

In the 1967-68 NBA season, Russell’s numbers slowly declined, but at age 34, he still put up 12.5 ppg and an impressive 18.6 rpg. In the Eastern Division Finals, the Celtics seemed to succumb a second time against Wilt Chamberlain’s 76ers in the Eastern Division Finals. After four games, the Celtics were trailing 1-3. However, they rallied to win the next two games, and in Game 7, Russell so out-psyched his perennial rival that Chamberlain only attempted two shots in the entire second half. Despite this, the Celtics were leading only with 97-95 with 34 seconds left when Russell closed out the game with several consecutive clutch plays. He sank a foul shot, then blocked a shot by Sixers player Chet Walker, grabbed a rebound off a miss of Sixers player Hal Greer, and finally passed the ball to team mate Sam Jones, who made the final basket in a 100-96 triumph. Boston then beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 in the NBA Finals, giving Russell his tenth title in twelve years. After losing for the fifth time straight against Russell and his Celtics, Hall-of-Fame Lakers guard Jerry West stated: “If I had a choice of any basketball player in the league, my No.1 choice has to be Bill Russell. Bill Russell never ceases to amaze me.”

In Russell’s last season, the 1968-69 NBA season, the circumstances seemed bad. Russell himself put up decent numbers of 9.9 ppg and 19.3 rpg, but the aging Celtics stumbled through the regular season, ending with a lackluster 48-34 record and entered the playoffs only as the fourth seeded team. However, in the playoffs, Russell and his Celtics pulled off one upset after the other, until they met the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. The Celtics faced the daunting task of having to play against the heavily favoured Lakers featuring future Hall-of-Famers Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and the newly acquired Wilt Chamberlain. However, the Celtics split the first six games, and seemed winners when they got nine points ahead with five minutes left and Chamberlain hurt his leg and was substituted. However, the Lakers cut the lead to one, and Chamberlain asked to be subbed back in. But for some reason, Lakers coach Bill van Breda Kolff benched the star center until the end, much to disgust of Lakers superstar Jerry West.The Celtics won the NBA title, and Russell claimed his eleventh championship in 13 years. At age 35, Russell contributed 21 rebounds in his last NBA game ever.In the next season, the Celtics won only 34 of 82 games and failed to make the playoffs, illustrating just how valuable he was to them.

International career

In his rookie year, Russell was the captain of the 1956 United States men's Olympic basketball team. Russell had the option to skip the Olympics and fully concentrate on the Celtics, but pointed out that he really wanted to play in the Olympics. Russell stated that he would have participated in the high jump if he had been snubbed by the basketball team.

Post-player Career

Russell had his Nr. 6 jersey retired by the Celtics in 1972, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975. Russell, who had a difficult relationship with the media, was not present at either event.

In his later years, Russell coached the Seattle SuperSonics (1973 to 1977) and Sacramento Kings (1987 to 1988). His time as a coach was lackluster; though he led the struggling SuperSonics into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, Russell’s defensive, team-oriented Celtics mindset did not mesh well with the team. Ironically, later trainer Lenny Wilkins would use the exact same concept to win the Sonics the title in 1979. Russell’s stint with the Kings was even worse, his last assignment ending when the Kings went 17-41. Between his coaching stints, he worked as a color commentator, but found he was not cut to make this job. Russell also wrote books, usually written as a joint project with a professional writer.

In 2006, he convinced Miami Heat superstar center Shaquille O'Neal to bury the hatchet with fellow NBA superstar and former Los Angeles Lakers team mate Kobe Bryant, with whom O'Neal had a bitter feud.

On November 17, 2006, the two-time NCAA winner Russell was recognised for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of five, along with John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith, selected to represent the inaugural class.

Legacy

Bill Russell is the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics dynasty.
— introductory line of Russell's nba.com summary.
Russell is the NBA's greatest winner of all time. He won 11 NBA championships in the 13 years that he played in the NBA, and is credited having raised defensive play in the NBA to a new level. Russell was first and foremost known as one of the most clutch players in the NBA. He played in 11 deciding games (10x a deciding Game 7, once a deciding Game 5), and ended with a flawless 11-0 record. In these eleven games, he averaged 18 points and 29.45 rebounds.

On the hardwood, Russell was considered the consummate defensive center. First and foremost, he was noted for his unmatched defensive intensity, his stellar basketball IQ and his sheer will to win. Russell excelled at playing man-to-man defense, blocking shots, pluck defensive and offensive rebounds, score with putbacks and make mid-air outlet passes to point guard Bob Cousy for easy fast break points. Russell was also known as an excellent passer and pick-setter, featuring a decent left-handed hook shot and finishing strong on alley-oops. On offense, his input was limited. His NBA career personal averages paint him as a mediocre scorer (15.1 points career average), a poor free throw shooter (56.1%), and average overall shooter from the field (44%, mild for a center). In his 13 years, he averaged a relatively low 13.4 field goals attempted (normally, top scorers average 20 and more), proving he never was focal point of the Celtics offense, instead open to focus on his beloved defense.

Having won an NCAA Championship his final year with the University of San Francisco in 1956 and an NBA title with the Celtics in 1957, Russell is only one of four players in basketball history to win an NCAA championship and an NBA Championship back-to-back, the others being Henry Bibby (UCLA 1972, New York Knicks 1973), Magic Johnson (Michigan State University 1979, Los Angeles Lakers 1980) and Billy Thompson (University of Louisville 1986, Los Angeles Lakers 1987). In the interim, Russell collected an Olympic gold medal in 1956.

In his first full season (1957-58), Russell became the first player in NBA history to average more than 20 rebounds per game for an entire season; a feat he accomplished 10 times in his 13 seasons. Career-wise, Russell ranks second only to Wilt Chamberlain in regular season total (21,620) and average (22.5) rebounds per game. Russell's 51 rebounds in a single game is the second best performance ever, only trailing Wilt Chamberlain's all-time record of 55, and Russell still holds the NBA record for rebounds in one half with 32. Russell is the all-time playoff leader in total (4,104) and average (24.9) rebounds per game, he grabbed 40 rebounds in three separate playoff games, and he never failed to average at least 20 rebounds per game in any of his 13 post-season campaigns. In his career, Russell won four rebounding titles and earned five regular season MVP awards. He was named MVP of the NBA All-Star Game in 1963. Russell is universally seen as one of the best NBA players ever, and is certainly the most decorated.

Awards and Feats

Russell is one of the most successful and decorated athletes in North American sports. His awards and achievements include:

• 11 NBA championships with Boston Celtics in 13 seasons (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69)
• NBA Most Valuable Player Award (1958, 1961- 63, 1965)
• All-NBA First Team (1959, 1963, 1965)
• All-NBA Second Team (1958, 1960- 63, 1964, 1966- 68)
• NBA All-Defensive First Team (1969)
• Twelve-time NBA All-Star (1958-1969)
• MVP All-Star Game (1963)
• NBA single-game record for most rebounds in a half (32) vs. Philadelphia on November 16, 1957
• Celtics's all-time leading rebounder (21,620, 22.5 rpg) in 963 games; second best in history behind Wilt Chamberlain
• Career playoff record for most rebounds (4,104, 24.9 rpg) in 165 games
• NBA Finals record for highest rebound per game average (29.5 rpg, 1959) and by a rookie (22.9 rpg, 1957)
• NBA Finals single-game record for most free throws attempted in one half (15, April 11, 1961) vs. St. Louis; most rebounds (40, March 29, 1960 vs. St. Louis and April 18, 1962 vs. Los Angeles); most rebounds by a rookie (32, April 13, 1967 vs. St. Louis); and most rebounds in a quarter (19, April 18, 1962 vs. Los Angeles)
• Career-high 51 rebounds vs. Syracuse (February 5, 1960), making him one of two players ever (Wilt Chamberlain is the other) to grab more than 50 boards in a game
• Seven games with 40 or more rebounds
• Led the NBA in rebounding in first three seasons (19.6, 22.7, 23.0) and five times overall
• Led the NBA in minutes played (1959, 42.5 mpg) and in 1965 (44.5 mpg)
• Scored 14,522 points (15.1 ppg) in his career and averaged 16.2 ppg in 165 playoff games
• Declared Greatest Player in the History of the NBA by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America (1980)
• NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time Team (1970)
• NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team (1980)
• NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)
• Celtics retired his jersey number 6 (1972)
• Named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated (1968)
  

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Bill Russell. (2006, December 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07:53, December 20, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Russell&oldid=94683341