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 Bill
Russell's legacy: Defense wins
championships. Before Bill Russell
brought his marvelous defensive and
shot blocking skills to basketball,
the game focused primarily on
offense. But Russell initiated a
defensive mentality that remains a
focal part of championship
basketball at every level. Without a
doubt, Russell was the greatest
defensive center in the history of
basketball. Russell cultivated his
skills at the University of San
Francisco, under Hall of Fame Coach
Phil Woolpert. The agile Russell was
a dominant collegian, and teamed
with fellow Hall of Famer K.C. Jones
to make USF one of college
basketball's most exciting and
prosperous teams...>>> Book Bill Russell for Your Event
Russell led the
Dons to 55 consecutive victories and
capped his collegiate years with the
1955 and 1956 NCAA championships. In
1955 and 1956, Russell earned
All-America honors and was named
national Player of the Year in 1956.
Russell delayed his professional
career so he could play in the 1956
Olympic Games in Melbourne,
Australia. Along with his USF
teammate Jones, Russell led the U.S.
to an 8-0 record and the gold medal.
Russell played in 48 of the Boston
Celtics' 72 games as a rookie, and
his presence in the Celtics' lineup
began a dynasty in Boston rivaled in
sports only by John Wooden's UCLA
Bruins and baseball's New York
Yankees. Russell turned Boston into
a powerful machine that overwhelmed
opponents both defensively and
offensively. During Russell's
career, Boston won 11 NBA
championships, including eight
consecutive from 1959 to 1966.
Russell's head-to-head battles with
Wilt Chamberlain in the 1950s and
1960s are legendary...>>> Book Bill Russell for Your Event
In their first
highly anticipated showdown on Nov.
7, 1959, Russell grabbed an amazing
35 rebounds and Boston won 115-106.
Russell's accolades include:
five-time league MVP (1958,1961-63,
1965), 12-time All-Star Game
participant (MVP in 1963), Sports
Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in
1968 and The Sporting News Athlete
of the Decade in 1970.
This defensive wizard, who once
had 51 rebounds in a game against
Syracuse in 1960, led the NBA in
rebounding five times and grabbed
21,620 rebounds (second all-time),
averaged 15.1 ppg and 22.5 rpg for
his career. At the beginning of the
1967 season, the Celtics named
Russell to succeed Red Auerbach as
head coach, making him the first
ever black NBA head coach. Russell
served as player/coach from 1967 to
1969, and led Boston to the 1968 and
1969 NBA titles. Russell was named
to the All-NBA 25th and 35th
Anniversary Teams in 1970 and 1980
and the 50th Team in 1996.
>>> Book Bill Russell for Your Event
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