2023
Bill Russell. William Felton " Bill " 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. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and a 12-time NBA All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the ...
- 1956–1969
- 1956 / Round: 1 / Pick: 2nd overall
- San Francisco (1953–1956)
Jul 31, 2022 · Bill Russell, the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics dynasty that won eight straight titles and 11 overall during his career, died Sunday. The Hall of Famer was 88.
- 2 min
- ESPN News Services
- Who Was Bill Russell?
- Early Years
- University of San Francisco Star and Olympic Gold Medalist
- Boston Celtics Career and Championships
- Executive and Hall of Fame
- Personal Life
Hall of Fame basketball center Bill Russell led the University of San Francisco to consecutive NCAA titles before starting his pro career with the Boston Celtics in 1956. Over the course of his 13-year NBA career, Russell steered the club to 11 titles. He retired in 1969 and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame six years ...
Considered one of the greatest basketball players in NBA history, William Felton Russell was born on February 12, 1934, in Monroe, Louisiana. His early childhood was shaped by poor health, as the sickly Russell battled several different illnesses. When Russell was 10, his father, Charlie, fed up with trying to navigate a racially charged South, mov...
Russell's 6'9" frame also earned plenty of attention. In the fall of 1952, he tried out as a walk-on at the University of San Francisco and earned a scholarship. It wasn’t long before the defensively adept Russell proved to be dominating presence, with a scorer’s touch and uncanny ability to rebound. During his three-year varsity career, in which h...
That same year, in the NBA draft, the Boston Celtics orchestrated a deal with the St. Louis Hawks and traded for the draft rights to the young center. The team’s coach, Red Auerbach, coveted Russell as the missing piece to what he believed could be a championship roster. With Russell anchoring the middle of the floor, the Celtics finished with the ...
Following the 1969 season, Russell retired from the game. Over the next several decades he periodically came back to the game as a coach or as an executive, but his teams failed to win with the kind of regularity he enjoyed as a player. He last led the Sacramento Kings as president of basketball operations in the late 1980s. Russell was inducted in...
Even as he won on the court, Russell, an outspoken backer of the Civil Rights Movement, experienced his struggles off of it. He was never embraced by Boston fans in the way his white teammates were. On the road it was not uncommon for him to have to sleep in a different hotel from the one the rest of the club used. Russell was married three times. ...
Apr 26, 2023 · Bill Russell, byname of William Felton Russell, (born February 12, 1934, Monroe, Louisiana, U.S.—died July 31, 2022), American basketball player who was the first outstanding defensive centre in the history of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and one of the sport’s greatest icons.
Jul 31, 2022 · CNN —. NBA legend Bill Russell, an 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and the first Black head coach in the league, passed away “peacefully” Sunday, according to a family statement ...
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