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Russell, Bill
- 1956 Olympic gold medalist
- Declared “Greatest Player in the History of the NBA” by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America (1980)
- NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time Team (1970), NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team (1980), NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996)
- First African-American coach in the post-depression era (1966) and first African-American to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (1975)
- Has eleven rebound records including most rebounds by a rookie (32), career playoff record for most rebounds (4,104 rebounds in 165 games), Celtic’s all-time leading rebounder and second best rebounder in NBA history with 21,620
- Finished seven games with 40 or more rebounds
- Grabbed a career high 51 rebounds making him one of two players ever to grab more than 50 rebounds in a game
- Won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics in his 13 seasons (1957, 1959-1966, 1968-1969)
- Is a 12-time NBA All-Star (1958-69); 1963 MVP All-Star after 19 points and 24 rebounds
- Scored 14,522 points in his career and averaged 16.2 points per game in 165 playoff games
- Named NBA MVP five times (1958, 1961-63, 1965), All-NBA First Team three time (1959, 1963, 1965), NBA All-Defensive First Team (1969)
- Led University of San Francisco to back-to-back NCAA championships (1955, 1956); NCAA Most Outstanding Player (1955)
- Coached and played for the Celtics in 1966-1969; coached the Seattle Supersonics (1973-77) and the Sacramento Kings (1987-88)
- Retired his jersey, No. 6, by the Boston Celtics
- Refused to sign autographs thinking handshakes meant more
- Started playing basketball at age 9 when his family moved to Oakland, Calif. during World War II
Basketball to Russell was about the team. He wrote: "To me, one of the most beautiful things to see is a group of men coordinating their efforts toward a common goal, alternately subordinating and asserting themselves to achieve real teamwork in action. I tried to do that, we all tried to do that, on the Celtics. I think we succeeded."
On playing basketball: "I played because I enjoyed it," he said, "but there's more to it than that. I played because I was dedicated to being the best. I was part of a team, and I dedicated myself to making that team the best."
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Height: 6’ 10”
Born: 2/12/1934
Hometown: Monroe, La.
Sport: Basketball
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