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A few days ago, the icon Bill Russell died after a full and rich life. His life was difficult because he was the star of a beloved team in a city that was slow to embrace him because of his color and his outspokenness. Nevertheless, he stayed with the Celtics for his entire career and, where he might have flown the coop after retirement, he remained in Boston, continuing to bear with the indignities and fighting the great fight for equity and equality.
It's funny how the arguments about who is the best basketball
player of all time seldom include Russell. Magic, Larry, Michael, Kobe, and LeBron
are always on people’s lips. Some throwback fans will argue for Wilt or Kareem.
But Russell is without question the greatest defensive player that ever stepped
onto the court. At a time when Wilt averaged almost 40 ppg, Russell would shut
him down to 10 or 15. The Russell led Celtics owned the pre-Showtime Lakers and
in fact the whole league, winning eleven championships. Everyone points to Jordan’s
six or however many LeBron James has secured (you lose count due to the peripatetic
nature of his career).
Russell has other accomplishments on the court that his chief competitors
for the GOAT mantle don’t. He has NCAA titles and an Olympic Gold Medal (in the
pre-Dream Time era). He never played for a losing team. Even the LeBron or Kobe
camps, if they know their history, will admit that there has never been as
great a team player as Bill Russell.
Then there is the social activism that Russell embodied. Never one
to steer clear of a struggle, he and his teammates of color were outspokenly
Black in a city that was not known for its racial equity. Where the Red Sox
were slow to bring in Black or Brown players (not the Bruins though. Willy O’ree
was the first black hockey player in the NHL), Walter Brown and Red Auerbach
were never going to let color get in the way of winning. That didn’t mean
acceptance though. Celtic fans and sportswriters were notorious for double
standards and slights, while cheering on the successes of these players. You
can wear green and win the championships, just don’t try to live in my
communities. But Russell stayed. He charmed, he cajoled, he fought where he
needed to, he led. With time, he became an institution. That doesn’t mean necessarily
that he won acceptance for all POC in sports, perhaps, but I think we would not
see a David Ortiz being the most popular Red Sox player of all time without
Bill Russell paving a way.
Finally, towards the end of his life, he began to achieve the
reverence that he had deserved. I was thrilled at my 25th (?)
Harvard reunion to witness him awarded an honorary Doctor of Law. To see him
standing, head high and literally towering over everyone in the Tercentenary
Theater was a glorious moment. Recently, he received the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, a well-deserved national accolade. There is no question that he is
accepted in the pantheon of Boston sports by fans and writers alike, alongside
Orr and Yaz, Flutie and Brady (perhaps). I am happy that at the end of his
life, he recognized the love that his adopted city had for him and that when he
left, I hope he left with his heart at peace.
Argue about the GOAT all you want. It doesn’t matter. Bill Russell
never questioned his self-worth and from my standpoint, that’s exactly the type
of player I would want to build a team around, and a city as well.
