Rest in Peace, Bill Russell.

[Chief00]

Quite frankly, as great as Russell was and the various championships he won, the story was he would get so intense before a game his stomach would get upset, and he would have to go in the locker room and vomit. Before one game for whatever reason that did not happen and Coach Auerbach grew concerned - why mess up the winning ways?

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

A worthwhile 1987 article written by Bill Russell's daughter Karen...

GROWING UP WITH PRIVILEGE AND PREJUDICE (Published 1987)

www.nytimes.com

 

[mauconnfan]

One of the greatest on and off the court. Some of todays stars should try to be who this man was off the court, but they never will be. RIP Bill

 

[Fishy]

Outside of everything else on his resume, and that was nuts, the 21 or 22-0 record in winner take all games is astounding.

 

[Scoe]

The greatest winner ever, one of the greatest icons in history, won titles as a player/coach too. He did it all on the court and off the court. RIP

 

[dennismenace]

One of the All-Time Greats is gone, and the world is a poorer place for it.

He was before my time but I loved watching clips and analysis of him and listening to his interviews, especially when he tallked about the great Wilt Chamberlain.

Amazingly, like Chamberlain, they were great track and field stars including the high jump. Hard to imagine giants high jumping but they did it with grace and athleticism. Russell was an all-time great with winning and therefore a unique understanding of teamwork in addition to great personal prowess. A great athletic role model and man to study as well as admire.

 

[GemParty]

It might surprise you, but if you ask a 7 year old, in a blind resume, who the best NBA player ever was, it might be ☘️

You decide~

 

[Kitaman]

He was bigger than basketball and always fought for justice. Amazing how he was a better man than basketball player!

To me that's the ultimate compliment, especially for HOF player.

He can rest peacefully in all eternity in knowing that he left his mark on this Earth.

 

[Chief00]

A UConn angle to this story is the tremendous impact the Celtics of that era had on Jim Calhoun’s approach to basketball. Over the years the public has heard tidbits about that but it would be great if someone could write an extensive story about that.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Bill Russell was one of my first boyhood heroes. During that time it was not easy to find news as there was no cable, no internet and sports reporting was limited to a few minutes during the news. He stood up when he was told to sit down. When someone is 88 you know the end is not very far off, but a piece of my youth is gone, and that saddens me.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

This was posted by saxophonist Charles Lloyd, now 84, and still an active musician. I'll continue to share some non-basketball tributes that add detail to the many mentions here of Bill Russell as a great man outside of basketball...

CHARLES LLOYD

It broke my heart to wake up to the news that my great hero and friend, Bill Russell has left town. Tears stream as I write... The greatness of this man is hard to quantify in words. Straight on through, his dignity, vision, and convictions, were steadfast and True. He was King on and off the court. In 1964 when I was with Cannonball Adderley performing at the Jazz Workshop in Boston, Bill came every night to hear the music. He had us to his restaurant and did not let us pay. He had us to his home and showered us with his generosity. The racism he endured in his life and the intense work he did for all of us in the name of equality and freedom was tireless. Above all, he did not suffer fools lightly. I love you Bill Russell - fly on to the great yonder in peace. Om shanti, shanti, shantihi.

-----------

For anyone interested in musical explorations, this is the first full LP album side jazz piece I ever listened to...

 

[Umami Zen]

A quote from Vincent Goodwill-Yahoo Sports USA-- Out of a tribute article on Bill Russell.

'Bill Russell was a man of his time, in his time and timeless, all at the same time."

 

[ThetaZoo]

Lost a living legend.

He blocked a shot and then jumped again to snare the loose ball. Not as flashy as most of today's players but way more effective.

 

[Waquoit]

He blocked a shot and then jumped again to snare the loose ball. Not as flashy as most of today's players but way more effective.

I had never heard that before...except every time a blocked shot goes out-of-bounds.

 

[CTHSHoops]

From Bob Ryan: in 21 winner take all games (9 NCAA Tournament Games, 1 Olympic Gold medal game, 10 game 7's, one deciding game 5) Russell's TEAMS were 21-0.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

from all the stuff i watched of him, he was dead nails serious when it was game time in whatever he pursued, and he was lighthearted and jovial when it wasn't.
now, that's a winner. great smile, it always seemed to say 'nice to meet you, how you doing?'

 

[Umami Zen]

He loved to bust on Wilt.. But there was always a great deal of mutual respect between the two of them.

Many a Celtics fast break was started with a Russell block that was kept inbounds.

 

[RichZ]

Bill didn't just keep the blocked shot inbounds, he usually directed it to a teammate.
He will always be my favorite player ever. And one of my favorite human beings. Everything he did, he did with dignity.
I remember a story he told of being yanked from a game after blocking a shot, by a coach who told him that a good defensive player never leaves his feet. He didn't SAY the coach was an idiot, but you knew he felt that way. He actually said that he had never seen anyone block a shot, but it seemed like the natural thing to do, so he started dong it.

 

[Fishy]

From Bob Ryan: in 21 winner take all games (9 NCAA Tournament Games, 1 Olympic Gold medal game, 10 game 7's, one deciding game 5) Russell's TEAMS were 21-0.

Apparently, there was a game five in a five game series against Cincinnati in 65-66 which made him 22-0 all time in winner take alls.

 

[freescooter]

Russell was one of the greatest if not the greatest. He basically invented the blocked shot as a weapon. Before Russell the mantra was defenders shouldn't leave their feet. And he did make a blocked shot an offensive weapon…Blocked by Russell, picked up by Sam, then Havlicek, sometimes Russell himself, led to an incredible number of fast breaks for the Green.

When I posted about his greatness, there were a bunch of posters here who questioned his skills. Look at his records what he did for the game. He was an incredible player who basically redefined the position.

 

[superjohn]

ESPN had Russell ranked this year at #6 on their top 75 players of all-time list. That sounds about right and overall it was a really good list.

 

[Chin Diesel]

ESPN had Russell ranked this year at #6 on their top 75 players of all-time list. That sounds about right and overall it was a really good list.

Yeah, about right.

I still have my big 4 of Jordan, Magic, Kareem and Lebron. After that you can slot Russell in against any of the rest.

 

[QDOG5]

Sports list are fun to compile and discuss/argue over. On this site we proudly boast about our 4 nattys and how winning championships trumps everything. Russell was the best player on a team that won 11 titles. If he was listed #1 on a top 75 list I would never argue against it.

 

[superjohn]

Yeah, about right.

I still have my big 4 of Jordan, Magic, Kareem and Lebron. After that you can slot Russell in against any of the rest.

I have him the way ESPN had him in their 2016 list at #7 with Bird ahead of him. They flipped Bird and Russell on the new list.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Sports list are fun to compile and discuss/argue over. On this site we proudly boast about our 4 nattys and how winning championships trumps everything. Russell was the best player on a team that won 11 titles. If he was listed #1 on a top 75 list I would never argue against it.

Best all around player and leader.