Bill Russell

In early 1957, Russell joined the Celtics. Despite its potential—besides being coached by Auerbach, it included Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn—the Celtics team Russell joined had never won an NBA championship. Few in Boston thought they would do so with Russell. Writers complained that the team had given up two proven players for a player who would never make it as a pro. But Russell's defensive play was the piece the Celtics needed to win the NBA title in his first full year with the team. As if to emphasize his importance, when a fractured ankle forced him out of the championship series the following year, the Celtics lost. Beginning in 1959, Boston reeled off eight straight NBA championships, a feat unmatched before or since. So crucial was Russell's role in these victories, his time with Boston has come to be known as the "Bill Russell Era."

Bill Russell

What Russell brought to the Celtics, and to pro basketball in general, was a new emphasis on defense and teamwork. He showed that a player did not have to be a high scorer to dominate the game. In fact, Russell scoffed at individual statistics, such as the scoring title. The only important stat, he said, was winning. By that measure alone Bill Russell was the greatest. When he retired, he had not only his two NCAA titles and the Olympic gold, but eleven NBA championship rings, an unparalleled achievement.

When Red Auerbach decided to retire at the end of the 1965-66, he selected Russell as his replacement. It was a natural choice—he had been a thoughtful, analytical student of the game since his tour with the California All-Stars, and after years in the NBA he knew the other teams inside out. Russell's appointment also marked a landmark in American sports history. It was the first time a black had ever been named to lead a professional team in any major sport. In his three years as playercoach, the Celtics won two more championships.

Russell retired at the end of the 1969 season. To all appearances he was done with pro basketball, which he described as men playing a child's game. Before three years had passed, though, he returned as coach and general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics from 1973 until 1977. He took the Sonics to the playoffs in his second year at the helm, but the team was wracked by dissension that Russell was unable to quell and he resigned. He joined the Sacramento Kings organization, serving first as coach in the 1987-88 season, and then as president of basketball operations through 1989. He was a regular color commentator on basketball broadcasts on NBC and CBS in the 1970s and early 1980s.