Bill Russell

William Felton Russell (English: William Felton Russell, February 12, 1934 - July 31, 2022), commonly known as Bill Russell, was a former American NBA professional basketball player, whose main position was center. He played for the Boston Celtics for 13 seasons from 1956 to 1969, leading the Celtics to an unprecedented eight consecutive championships in NBA history (1959-1966) and a total of 11 championships. He was the main leader in creating the Boston Green Dynasty. Russell is widely considered by many commentators to be one of the greatest players in NBA history, with a career shooting percentage of over 40%. He is 6 feet 10 (2.08 meters) tall and has an arm length of 7 feet 4 (2.24 meters). Russell's blocking and defensive abilities are the main reason why the Celtics established a dynasty. In addition, he also inspired his teammates to improve their defensive abilities; his rebounding ability is also remarkable. He has won the NBA rebounding title four times, has more than 1,000 rebounds for more than ten consecutive seasons, and remains second in all-time total rebounds and average rebounds per game. He is also one of only two NBA players who can grab more than 50 rebounds in a game (the other is the famous opponent Wilt Chamberlain). Although he was never the focal point of the Celtics' offense, Russell still scored 14,522 points in his career and provided a lot of effective passing. As the No. 1 center in Celtics history, Russell was selected to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971 and the NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1980. The No. 6 jersey was retired by the Celtics on March 12, 1972; Russell was selected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974, and was selected into the NBA's 50 Greatest Stars in 1996. During the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award was officially renamed the "Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award" to commemorate Russell's 11th NBA championship. In 2011, Barack Obama awarded Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his achievements in the courtroom and in the civil rights movement. On June 16, 2017, it was officially announced that Russell won the first NBA Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2021, he was selected as one of the 75 NBA stars.