Bill Russell is one of the greatest athletes to play the sport of basketball, winning 11 championships during his career. There’s no doubt that he was a trailblazer for the sport, and it is highly doubtful that there ever will be an athlete that can lead their team to 11 championships as Russell did.
Over the course of his career, Bill Russell has not received the best treatment in the city of Boston. There was once an incident where fans broke into his house, and did a variety of vile actions, such as spray painting racist words in his living room.
Teammate Tommy Heinsohn once blasted the city of Boston for the way they treated Bill Russell, pointing out that Russell won 11 championships in 13 years, but that the city named a tunnel after baseball player Ted Williams instead. Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated relayed the news.
Of course, genuine achievement is everywhere devalued these days. On the 200th anniversary of his death, George Washington has been so forgotten that they’re toting his false teeth around the republic, trying to restore interest in the Father of Our Country with a celebrity-style gimmick. So should we be surprised that one spectacular show-off dunk on yesterday’s highlight reel counts for more than some ancient decade’s worth of championships back-before-Larry&Magic-really-invented-the-sport-of-basketball?
Tommy Heinsohn, who played with Russell for nine years and won 10 NBA titles himself, as player and coach, sums it up best: “Look, all I know is, the guy won two NCAA championships, 50-some college games in a row, the [’56] Olympics, then he came to Boston and won 11 championships in 13 years, and they named a f—— tunnel after Ted Williams.” By that standard, only a cathedral on a hill deserves to have Bill Russell’s name attached to it.
Bill Russell is now extremely respected by the majority of Boston Celtics fans, even though it took some time for that to happen. Bill Russell gave the Celtics the winningest dynasty in NBA history, and he has had a huge impact on the NBA as a whole.
Hopefully, the league is able to find a way to commemorate Bill Russell’s achievements going forward. There’s no doubt that he was an inspirational figure both on and off the court, and his contributions to basketball.
