Name
Bill Russell

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(0 users)

Complete
80%

Born
Deceased

Birth Place
Monroe, Louisiana

Position
Forward/Center

Status
Deceased

Ethnicity


Team Number
6

Height
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)

Weight
220 lb (100 kg)

Outfitter


Kit


Side


Agent


Wage Year



Player Cutout


Player Action Render


Sport
Basketball

Team
_Deceased Basketball

2nd Team


League
_No League Basketball

Creative Commons Artwork
No



Description
Available in:

William Felton Russell (February 12, 1934 – July 31, 2022) was an American former 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 and a 12-time NBA All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA championships during his 13-year career. Russell and Henri Richard of the National Hockey League are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. He led the San Francisco Dons to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, and he captained the gold-medal winning U.S. national basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

Despite his limitations on offense -- Russell never averaged more than 19.0 points per game in any season -- some regard him to be among the greatest basketball players of all time for his dominating defensive play. Standing at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) tall, with a 7 ft 4 in (2.24 m) arm span, his shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' domination of the NBA during his career. Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities, and he led the NBA in rebounds four times, had a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds, and remains second all-time in both total rebounds and rebounds per game. He is one of just two NBA players (the other being prominent rival Wilt Chamberlain) to have grabbed more than 50 rebounds in a game.

Russell played in the wake of black pioneers Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Sweetwater Clifton, and he was the first black player to achieve superstar status in the NBA. He also served a three-season (1966–69) stint as player-coach for the Celtics, becoming the first black coach in North American professional sports and the first to win a championship. Russell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975, was one of the founding inductees into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007. 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, one of only four players to receive all three honors, and selected into the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. In 2009, the NBA renamed in his honor the NBA Finals' Most Valuable Player trophy to the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award. In 2011, Barack Obama awarded Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his accomplishments on the court and in the civil rights movement. In 2021, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a second time for his coaching career.

Russell died at his Mercer Island, Washington, home on July 31, 2022, at the age of 88. The news was announced in a Twitter post by his family. In a statement, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that Russell was "the greatest champion in all of team sports".


Career Honours

Basketball Hall of Fame
2021

_Retired Basketball

Basketball Hall of Fame
1975

_Retired Basketball

NBA
1969

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1969

Boston Celtics

NBA
1969

Boston Celtics

NBA
1968

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1968

Boston Celtics

NBA
1968

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1967

Boston Celtics

NBA
1966

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1966

Boston Celtics

NBA
1965

Boston Celtics

NBA MVP
1965

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1965

Boston Celtics

All NBA First Team
1965

Boston Celtics

NBA rebounding leader
1965

Boston Celtics

NBA
1964

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1964

Boston Celtics

NBA rebounding leader
1964

Boston Celtics

NBA
1963

Boston Celtics

NBA MVP
1963

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1963

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star MVP
1963

Boston Celtics

All NBA First Team
1963

Boston Celtics

NBA
1962

Boston Celtics

NBA MVP
1962

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1962

Boston Celtics

NBA
1961

Boston Celtics

NBA MVP
1961

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1961

Boston Celtics

NBA
1960

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1960

Boston Celtics

NBA
1959

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1959

Boston Celtics

All NBA First Team
1959

Boston Celtics

NBA rebounding leader
1959

Boston Celtics

NBA MVP
1958

Boston Celtics

NBA All Star
1958

Boston Celtics

NBA rebounding leader
1958

Boston Celtics

NBA
1957

Boston Celtics

NCAA Basketball
1956

San Francisco

Olympics Gold
1956

United States Basketball

NCAA Basketball
1955

San Francisco


Career Milestones


Former Youth Teams

1953-1956


Former Senior Teams

1956-1969

1956


Former Club Staff

1966-1969
Manager

1973-1977
Manager

1987-1988
Manager


Contracts



Fanart


Banner



News Reports
None found...

Statistics


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1968-196995

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1968-1969472

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1968-19694,120

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1968-1969957

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1968-19691,853


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1967-196897

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1967-1968456

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1967-19683,822

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1967-19681,251

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1967-19681,885


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1966-196790

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1966-1967522

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1966-19673,687

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1966-19671,170

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1966-19671,898


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1965-196695

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1965-1966456

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1965-19664,200

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1965-19661,329

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1965-19662,207


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1964-196590

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1964-1965486

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1964-19654,027

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1964-19651,300

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1964-19652,180


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1963-196488

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1963-1964414

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1963-19643,933

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1963-19641,299

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1963-19642,202


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1962-196391

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1962-1963414

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1962-19634,117

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1962-19631,573

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1962-19632,169


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1961-196290

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1961-1962411

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1961-19624,105

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1961-19621,750

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1961-19622,160


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1960-196188

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1960-1961316

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1960-19613,920

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1960-19611,513

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1960-19612,167


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1959-196087

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1959-1960315

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1959-19603,718

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1959-19601,591

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1959-19602,114


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1958-195981

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1958-1959262

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1958-19593,475

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1958-19591,339

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1958-19591,917


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1957-195878

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1957-1958226

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1957-19582,995

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1957-19581,278

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1957-19581,785


Boston CelticsAppearancesNBA1956-195758

Boston CelticsAssistsNBA1956-1957120

Boston CelticsMins PlayedNBA1956-19572,104

Boston CelticsPointsNBA1956-1957845

Boston CelticsReboundsNBA1956-19571,187



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