Why Bill Russell Should Be Celebrated More by All Coaches/Athletes.

Recently, LeBron James was interviewed and asked about who his "Mount Rushmore" of NBA players would include. He named Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Oscar Robertson, adding that he would for sure be in that group when his career was finished. Bill Russell, who I consider the greatest winner of the history of sports, proceeded to respond with this quote:

I admit I knew very little about Bill Russell aside from the statistic that he won 11 NBA Championships in 13 seasons until last year, when I watched this documentary on him. What impressed me about him wasn't just his success as an athlete, but the morals/values he stood for. For those that don't want to spend the time to watch that clip, here's what I hope you know about him:

He was the ultimate team player - figuring out how to make those around him better and adjust his style of play to best compliment those around him. The first thing he did when he joined the Celtics was scouted the team to figure out what their strengths/weaknesses were.


His biggest competitor was Wilt Chamberlain - people constantly try to talk to Bill as if it was a rivalry. Russell refuses to buy into it, always talking about how good Wilt was instead of focusing on the fact that he won 9 more championships than Chamberlain. My favorite quote regarding this: "Wilt and I were not rivals... we were competitors. You see, in a rivalry, there is a victor and a vanquished. He was never vanquished - so we were competitors."

When Muhammad Ali refused to go to war in 1967, Bill Russell was on the forefront with other African-American athletes to speak out for him. Many people feel that Russell was the first African-American athlete to be outspoken for equal rights. He was actually a Pall-Bearer for Jackie Robinson. Speaking about Robinson: "I had enormous respect for him. My attitude was that Jackie took us from Point A to Point B. I want to go from Point B to Point C. It was my inheritance from Jackie, to do things to seize that opportunity."

He had been invited to speak with Martin Luther King Jr. where he did his "I Have a Dream" Speech - but respectfully declined as while they had done one year of preparations, he had not done anything. He instead sat in the front row.

Barack Obama said that Russell's speech at MLK Jr's funeral inspired him. "The President of the United States, said 'in 40 years in a negro could be elected President. But with the atmosphere as it is today, it won't happen for 400 years.' For you young people here that would like to be President of the United States, if you'd like to don't give it up. You don't have to give it up. Because in spite of everything, I want you to remember one thing. You can do anything that you want to do, if you want to do it bad enough." Recently he received the Medal of Freedom, which is the highest award an American Citizen can be awarded.

He did not attend the Celtics game that they retired his number, and this quote sums him up as well as any he's ever said: "I don't need any validation. I played, and I played. And that trip and that experience was enough to last me a lifetime."

The man has a ton of individual awards, but all he ever seems to take pride in is talking about his team's success. He has dominated his craft on the court, as well as changed the world for the better off of it. Thank you for everything you've done Mr. Russell.