The basketball world lost an iconic individual on Sunday afternoon, when the news was broken that NBA legend Bill Russell had died at 88 from natural causes. The death sparked reaction from around the country, including from other memorable names in basketball. One of those that shared a response was Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, who some consider the best basketball player ever.
“Bill Russell was a pioneer — as a player, as a champion, as the NBA’s first Black head coach and as an activist,” the statement read. “He paved the way and set an example for every Black player who came into the league after him, including me. The world has lost a legend. My condolences to his family and may he rest in peace.”
The second overall pick out of San Francisco in the 1956 NBA Draft, Russell was the winningest player to ever play the game. Russell played for the Boston Celtics from 1956-69, winning 11 NBA Championships in that timespan. Russell was also named NBA MVP five times and an All-Star 12 times during his career. Russell’s No. 6 jersey is retired by the Celtics.
Russell played in 963 games over his career with the Celtics, averaging 42.3 minutes per contest. He averaged 15.1 points and 22.5 rebounds. Russell was originally drafted by the St. Louis Hawks, but they traded him to Boston during the draft.
“Bill Russell, the most prolific winner in American sports history passed away peacefully today at age 88, with his wife, Jeannine, by his side,” a statement read. “Arrangements for his memorial service will be announced soon.
“Bill’s two state championships in high school offered a glimmer of the incomparable run of pure team accomplishment to come: twice and NCAA champion; captain of a gold-medal winning US Olympic team; 11 times an NBA champion; and at the helm for two NBA championships as the first black coach of any North American professional sports team. Along the way, Bill earned a string of individual awards that stands unprecedented as it went unmentioned by him. In 2009, the award for the NBA Finals most valuable player award was renamed after two-time Hall of Famer as the ‘Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.’”
Russell spent the final three seasons of his playing career serving as the Celtics’ coach after Red Auerbach’s retirement. Russell led the Celtics to championships in his final two seasons. He went on to coach the Seattle SuperSonics from 1973-77 and had a short stint as head coach of the Sacramento Kings from 1987-88. He was 341-290 (.540 winning percentage) in 631 career games as a coach.
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