Basketball fans hoping to buy something …

Basketball fans hoping to buy something from Bill Russell’s memorabilia collection should expect some big-name competition. Hall of Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley say they’re interested in bidding on items that Russell — a civil rights icon and the most decorated champion in team sports history — is selling off. An online auction with 429 lots began last week and will culminate in a live event at the TD Garden on Friday. “I’d like to take some of that stuff off their hands,” O’Neal said on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on Tuesday night. “To be able to have all 11 of those rings, nobody’s outbidding me on that one.”