It’s a sad day for basketball fans everywhere as the great Bill Russell, the winner of 11 NBA titles in his 13-year career with the Boston Celtics, died Sunday at age 88, his family announced on social media.
Russell, who also won two NBA titles as head coach of the Celtics, is one of the greatest players in basketball history and has the NBA Finals MVP award named after him. He was a five-time NBA MVP, 12-time All-Star, and a Hall of Famer.
In 2011 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from president Obama for his many years of civil rights activism that helped lead to huge societal changes.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke about that important work:
“Bill stood for something much bigger than sports: the values of equality, respect, and inclusion that he stamped into the DNA of our league, At the height of of his athletic career, Bill advocated vigorously for civil rights and social justice, a legacy he passed down to generations of NBA players who followed in his footsteps. Through the taunts, threats, and unthinkable adversity, Bill rose above it all and remained true to his belief that everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.”
Russell was always quick with his classic laugh and huge smile and seemed to be just one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet.
Here’s the announcement from his family:
An announcement… pic.twitter.com/KMJ7pG4R5Z
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) July 31, 2022
Here is Silver’s full statement:
Statement from NBA commissioner Adam Silver on the death of the iconic Bill Russell, “the greatest champion in all of team sports.” pic.twitter.com/uDG15nmqJ1
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 31, 2022
The NBA world paid tributes to Russell.
