Until the ascent of Michael Jordan in the 1980s, Russell was acclaimed by many as the greatest player in the history of the NBA.William Felton Russell was born on February 12, 1934, in Monroe, Louisiana. Consequently, he typically improved his rebounding numbers during the playoffs, and in the 1959 postseason he pulled down 27.7 boards per game.The Celtics reached the NBA Finals for a third straight season and regained the crown with a four-game sweep of the Minneapolis Lakers.
Auerbach could afford to give up Macauley if he was getting Russell, but it was not until Boston agreed to add rookie Cliff Hagan to the mix that Kerner consented to the trade. His game was as much analytical and mental as it was physical.Boston posted the league's best regular-season record that year, finishing atop the Eastern Division at 49-23.
Although it was merely competent on offense, he felt it was the best defensive unit ever. Although he was tough and durable, the slender Russell was not a muscleman or a big banger. The Celtics finally prevailed, 125-123, for their first NBA championship.In only part of a season Russell had added a new element to the Celtics and to professional basketball. A decade after he left Seattle, Russell gave coaching another try, replacing Jerry Reynolds as coach of the Sacramento Kings early in the 1987-88 season. Some suggested that the problem was Russell himself; he was said to be aloof, moody and unable to accept anything but the Celtics' tradition. He had 51 boards in one game, 49 in two others and a dozen consecutive seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds.His many individual accolades were well deserved, but they were only products of Russell's philosophy of team play. The Celtics, rolling inexorably, topped the San Francisco Warriors in the Finals in five games, taking their sixth consecutive title, something no team in any sport at the major league level had accomplished before.It was an era of such sustained achievement, for Russell and for the team, that even spectacular accomplishments seemed almost routine. And because Auerbach wanted to use a territorial selection to nab Holy Cross star Tom Heinsohn, Boston would forfeit its first-round pick altogether. His rebounding prowess derived from positioning, anticipating where the shot would come off of the rim and moving quickly to the ball.
William Felton Russell (born February 12, 1934) is an American former professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. Russell was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1955.Russell averaged 20.7 points and 20.3 rebounds in his three-year varsity career. Russell and Henri Richard of the National Hockey Leagueare tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North America… His family moved cross-country to the San Francisco Bay Area, where Bill attended McClymonds High School in Oakland. In fact, during the five years that Russell was voted league MVP, only twice did he make the All-NBA First Team.
Russell set a Finals record with 29.5 rpg in the series, and he helped launch the greatest championship run in the history of professional sports.
Boston then beat Los Angeles in six games in the NBA Finals.The 1968-69 season was even more gratifying. Bill Russell was the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics' dynasty of the 1960s, an uncanny shotblocker who revolutionized NBA defensive concepts. The Celtics had bolted to a 13-3 start, and when Russell arrived he adapted quickly. The team staggered to a 17-41 record, and Russell departed in midseason.Between coaching stints Russell was most visible as a color commentator on televised basketball games.