The “greatest winner of all time” has passed away at the age of 88. Bill Russell dominated the NBA with the Boston Celtics like no other team since.
Two times he had been lenient. Otherwise, Bill Russell won every single NBA championship during his active career – eleven in all. Now one of the greatest legends in over 75 years of NBA history, the oft-cited “greatest winner of all time”, has passed away at the age of 88. Russell’s family made the announcement via Twitter on Sunday.
In the late 1950s and almost the entire 1960s, Russell and the Boston Celtics dominated the world’s best basketball league like no team before or since. Around the successful coach Red Auerbach, the Celtics also had a few other stars – but all eleven titles in this era were won only by the centre, who at 2.08 metres was actually a little too small for his position. At least in comparison with his big rival Wilt Chamberlain, with whom he fought numerous duels. Most of the time Russell came out the winner.
The left-hander and great defensive specialist, who played actively in the NBA between 1956 and 1969 – only for Boston – was also awarded the league’s MVP five times. In twelve of his 13 years, Russell became an All-Star. The last two championships, in 1968 and 1969, were finally celebrated as a player-coach by the man who grabbed an average of 22.5 rebounds per game throughout his career (with 15.1 points).
