Bill Russell, an 11-time NBA champion as a player and coach of the Boston Celtics and one of the most important figures in NBA history, has died at the age of 88, his family announced Sunday. Russell died peacefully with his wife Jeannine by his side. His family issued the following statement.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we would like to convey to all of Bill’s friends, fans and supporters:
Bill Russell, the most prolific winner in American sports history, died peacefully today at the age of 88, with his wife, Jeannine, by his side. Arrangements for his memorial service will be announced soon.
Bill’s two state championships in high school offered a glimpse of the unmatched streak of pure team accomplishments that was coming: two-time NCAA champion; captain of a gold medal-winning US Olympic team; 11-time NBA champion; and at the helm of two NBA championships as the first black head coach of any American professional sports team.
Along the way, Bill won a number of individual awards that are unprecedented because he didn’t mention them. In 2009, the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award was renamed the “Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award”.
But for all the winnings, Bill’s understanding of the struggle is what lit up his life. From boycotting a 1961 exhibition game to expose long-tolerated discrimination, to leading Mississippi’s first integrated basketball camp in the wake of the Medgar Evans murder, to decades of activism finally recognized by the his receipt of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010. Bill called out injustice with an unrelenting sincerity that sought to disrupt the status quo and with a powerful example that, though never his humble intent, will forever inspire work in team, selflessness and reflective change.
Bill’s wife Jeannine and his many friends and family thank you for keeping Bill in your prayers. Maybe you’ll relive one or two of the golden moments he gave us, or remember his signature laugh as he reveled in telling the real story behind how those moments unfolded. And we hope that each of us can find a new way to act or speak with Bill’s uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principles. This would be a final and lasting victory for our beloved #6.”
Born in Louisiana in 1934, Russell wasn’t initially considered one of basketball’s top prospects. His first scholarship offer came from the University of San Francisco, a school not known for its basketball prowess but which Russell was able to lead to back-to-back national championships in 1955 and 1956. In addition to basketball, Russell was a runway star in San Francisco. , especially competing in the high jump. He won an Olympic gold medal in basketball as captain of Team USA in 1956 before turning pro.
Despite his collegiate excellence, Russell was not the first pick in the 1956 NBA Draft. That honor went to Duquesne wing Si Green. That left Russell available at No. 2, where the St. Louis Hawks were drafting. However, circumstances worked in Russell’s favor. Boston Celtics star Ed Macauley’s son was being treated for spinal meningitis at St. Louis, so he asked the team to send him there as a favor. They did, and Boston got the second pick in exchange for Macauley and fellow Hall of Famer Cliff Hagan. The deal didn’t exactly blow up in St. Louis. Although they lost the 1957 Finals in Boston, the Hawks came back to win it all in a 1958 rematch with the Celtics. But this would be the last championship they would ever win. Russell won 10 more, including the next eight in a row.
The trade was as important to Russell as it was to the Celtics. “If I had been drafted by St. Louis, I wouldn’t have been in the NBA,” Russell said in an interview with NBATV. “St. Louis was overwhelmingly racist.” Unfortunately, Russell faced racism during his early years in the South and throughout his career in Boston, becoming one of the most socially conscious athletes in American history. He attended Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in person and was one of several black athletes and leaders who attended the 1967 Cleveland Summit in support of Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Russell became the first black coach in American sports history when he replaced Red Auerbach in Boston. He maintained his role as the team’s starting center while coaching the team on its way to the last two championships.
Russell left the Celtics after his playing career ended. He then worked as a television announcer before returning to coach with the Seattle Supersonics. He went four games under .500 in four seasons in Seattle before leaving. He would coach one more season with the Sacramento Kings a decade later, but otherwise stayed out of the public eye for the next few decades, living out of his home in Washington.
But he appeared publicly more regularly in his later years, often being honored for his notable achievements as a player and activist. In 2009, the NBA renamed the Finals MVP award after Russell, and he attended the 2009 Finals to present the trophy to Kobe Bryant in person. He would do it several more times, but doing it for Bryant was especially meaningful given the friendship they had forged. When Bryant died in a helicopter crash in 2020, Russell wrote an emotional post on social media remembering the legend. Bryant may have played for the rival Lakers, but Russell often made himself available to modern players seeking advice.
Many looked up to him, because above all Russell was on the court, he was the best winner in the sport. He only lost two playoff series in his entire career. He never lost a game with the winner. Not in college. Not at the Olympics. Not in the NBA. He won all 21 games he played. Russell came up big when it mattered most, both on and off the court, and he will always be remembered for that.