Bill Russell didn’t fit the mold. He wasn’t a shooter. He wasn’t a scorer. In fact, his 44 percent career field goal percentage makes modern analysts wince. He was a mechanical disaster from the free-throw line, mirroring the struggles of his bitter rival, Wilt Chamberlain. If you looked at the stats sheet in 1980, when the Pro Basketball Writers’ Association of America voted him “the Greatest Player in the History of the NBA,” you’d be confused.
“He was a player who could dominate a game without scoring.”
The voters saw what the box scores missed. They saw the springy legs. They saw the relentless pursuit. Russell high-jumped 6’10” in college. He led the NBA in rebounds per game five times. His defense and shot-blocking were his specialties, keying the Boston Celtics’ vaunted fastbreak. He proved you could own a game without putting up points.
The Late Bloomer from Oakland
Born February 12, 1934, in Monroe, Louisiana, Russell wasn’t a natural athlete. His family moved to Oakland when he was nine. Young Bill was scrawny. Awkward. By age 15, he stood 6’2″ but weighed only 130 pounds of skin and bones. He was a natural right-hander until an uncle convinced him to switch to his left hand. The logic was simple: lefties had an edge in baseball. It likely gave him one in basketball too.
At McClymonds High School in Oakland, he never scored more than 14 points in a game. Nothing suggested he’d become a pro. He took the only scholarship offered, to the University of San Francisco. There, he matured. Physically. Mentally.
He led the Dons to an NCAA-record 55 consecutive victories. Back-to-back national championships in 1955 and 1956. Those teams featured guard K.C. Jones, another future Celtics legend. Russell’s college success translated to a gold-medal effort at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. The pieces were falling into place.
The Draft That Changed Boston
Surprisingly, Russell wasn’t the first pick in the 1956 draft. The Rochester Royals selected Sihugo Green, a guard from Duquesne. The St. Louis Hawks picked second. They traded their position to the Celtics for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan.
History looks at that trade differently now. The Hawks would win the championship in 1958. Hagan had an outstanding career. But the Celtics got the best of the deal. By far.
With the 6’10” Russell at center, Boston became nearly unstoppable. They won 11 championships during his tenure. The first came in 1957, his rookie season. The next year, they lost to the Hawks in the Finals. Russell suffered an ankle injury in Game 3. That hurt. But then came eight championships in succession.
The Chamberlain Rivalry
Russell’s battles with Wilt Chamberlain were legendary. They met 142 times. The stats tell part of the story.
- Russell: 23.7 points, 14.5 rebounds.
- Chamberlain: 28.7 points, 28.7 rebounds.
Wilt dominated statistically. In the 1961-62 season, Wilt averaged 50.4 points. Russell averaged 18.9. Yet, Russell won the MVP award. Back then, players voted for it. He led his team to the championship. That was the difference. Frank Deford called Russell “the very epitome of ability and victory in sport.”
It wasn’t about the points. It was about winning.
The Player-Coach Era
The Celtics lost their crown to Chamberlain and the Sixers in 1967. It was Russell’s first year as player/coach. They reclaimed it in 1968. Then came 1969. A shocking upset of the Lakers.
Game 7. Russell played all 48 minutes. He grabbed 21 rebounds. It was his last game. His knees were wracked by arthritis. He had nothing left to prove. He announced his retirement later that summer at age 35. The Celtics fell to sixth place the following season, 26 games back of the New York Knicks.
The Rebounding King
Russell captured 21,620 rebounds in his career. Second only to Chamberlain’s total. In 10 of his 13 seasons, he averaged more than 20 rebounds.
The numbers get absurd when you look at single games. In 1960, against Syracuse, he grabbed 51. He once had 32 boards in one half. An NBA record. Shot-blocking records weren’t kept until the 1970s, but former referee Earl Strom estimated Russell blocked 8-10 shots a game for most of his career.
Legacy and Beyond
After retirement, Russell dabbled in acting and broadcasting. He coached the Seattle SuperSonics for four seasons and the Sacramento Kings for one. He wrote two autobiographies: Second Wind and Go Up For Glory. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974.
But his greatest moment? It wasn’t the championships. It was the 1962 playoffs.
To win their fourth consecutive title, the Celtics needed a hero. Game 7 of the Finals against the Lakers. Jerry West. Elgin Baylor. Russell was a towering presence. Running. Passing. Crashing the boards. Intimidating.
Frank Selvy missed a jump shot. Russell rebounded it. Preserved a 100-100 tie at the end of regulation. The Celtics escaped with a 110-107 victory in overtime. An emotionally spent Russell cried in the locker room. He had 30 points. 40 rebounds.
No other player has ever had more than 38 rebounds in a Finals game. He set a record for rebounds in a quarter with 19.
He defined what it meant to be great. Not by the points on the board. But by the silence he forced on the opposition.
