One year ago today, the world mourned the passing of Bill Russell, a Boston Celtics star and activist. The Hall of Famer is recognized as one of the NBA’s all-time greats and victors.
Bill Russell, a Boston Celtics legend, was born in Monroe, Louisiana in 1934 and attended McClymond’s High School in Oakland, California. Russell went on to play collegiate basketball at San Francisco in 1953 after receiving only one scholarship offer in high school.
An announcement… pic.twitter.com/KMJ7pG4R5Z
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) July 31, 2022
Russell was selected second overall in the 1956 NBA Draft, by the St. Louis Hawks but Celtics coach Red Auerbach traded for Russell, in exchange for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan.
Landing No 6. turned out to be the best trade in NBA history for the Cs.
From 1956-1969, the Celtics great led the franchise to 11 championships. He was a 5x NBA MVP, 12x All-Star, 4x NBA Rebounding Champion, and NBA All-Defensive First Team, and finished with a career stat line of 15.1 PPG, 22.5 RPG, and 4.3 APG. Russel is tied with Canadiens Legend, Henri Richard, for the most titles won in the history of professional sports.
The NBA Center was also part of the NBA Anniversary team (25th, 35th, 50th, and 75th). Russell was an Olympic Gold Medalist and was awarded the NBA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. No 6. announced his retirement from professional basketball on June 30th, 1969.
The Boston Celtics icon became the first Black coach and player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame
55 years ago, Bill Russell became the first Black coach in NBA history.
Russell served as a player-coach with the Celtics for three seasons, winning two titles 🏆 pic.twitter.com/lT08zsjXER
— ESPN (@espn) April 18, 2021
Auerbach, the Boston Celtics’ head coach at the time, retired before the 1966 season. Russell then served as a player-coach from 1966 to 1969. In his final three seasons with the Celtics, the center led the team to a 162-83 record and a postseason record of 28-18. During his coaching tenure with the Celtics, he led the team to two NBA championships before retiring in the following weeks.
After leaving the Celtics, the former NBA legend pursued other coaching opportunities. Russell was the Head Coach of the Seattle Supersonics from 1973 to 1977, leading them to two playoff berths and a record of 162-166. From 1987 to 1988, he was the head coach of the Sacramento Kings.
Overall, Bill’s career counseling is excellent.
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