Person attributes
Other attributes
Who is Bill Russell?
Regarded as one of the best ever players in the history of National Basketball Association (NBA), William Felton “Bill” Russell is a retired professional basketball player who was the centerpiece of the Boston’s Celtics dynasty for a period of 13 years. He was very famous for his shot-blocking and man-to-man defense which led his team to many victories in major tournaments. The talented player had grown up in a neighbourhood notorious for its rampant racism. Basketball provided him a means of rising above this issue and he got the chance as a professional player to prove his mettle. He was also much respected for his ability to inspire and motivate his team members to improve their playing techniques and give their best performances. Equally skilled at grabbing rebounds, he is just one of the only two players to have made more than 50 rebounds in a single game and has had a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds. Russell’s superstardom is special not just because of his amazing performances, what makes his success even more special is the fact that he was the first African American player in NBA history to achieve such glory, and he was also the first African American to become an NBA coach.
Career
He was selected by the Boston Celtics during the 1956 NBA Draft because of his defensive toughness and rebounding prowess. However before his rookie year he was made the captain of the U.S. national basketball team that competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He helped the team win a Gold medal.
He started playing for the Celtics in the 1956-57 season in December. He played 48 games with an average of 14.7 points per game and 19.6 rebounds per game. The Celtics were already a high-scoring team but the addition of Russell added to their strengths.
In his first NBA playoff game against the Syracuse Nationals in 1957, he finished with 16 points and 31 rebounds along with 7 blocks. The Celtics managed a 108-89 victory and swept the Nationals in three games.
In the beginning of the 1957-58 season the Celtics won 14 straight games. He was named the NBA Most Valuable Player for that season. His team won 49 games and easily made the first berth in the 1958 NBA Playoffs.
His amazing performance continued in the 1958-59 season where he averaged 16.7 points per game and 23.0 rebounds per game. The Celtics won 52 games—a league record.
The Celtics played against the Philadelphia Warriors in November 1959. The game was primarily considered a match between Russell and the Warriors’ center Wilt Chamberlain—both of whom were amazing centers. The Celtics won the match 115-106.
Russell averaged 16.9 points and 23.9 rebounds per game in the 1960-61 season leading his team to 57-22 record. The following season the Celtics became the first team to win 60 games in a season and he was again voted as NBA’s Most Valuable Player.
He scored 15.0 ppg and 24.7 rebounds per game during the 1963-64 season. He kept up his excellent performance during the 1964-65 season too when he helped the Celtics win a league-record of 62 games.
The Celtic coach Red Auerbach retired before the 1966-67 season. Russell was offered the role of becoming a player-coach which he accepted—making him the first African American NBA coach.
He was growing older and tired and by the 1967-68 season his figures were slowly declining. However he still made 12.5 points per game and 18.6 rebounds per game. He ended his playing career at the age of 35.
