The passing of Bill Russell has left an incalculable hole in the world of sports and beyond. A man with grace and courage far greater than his admittedly preposterous basketball resume, Russell was a consummate member of the NBA community.
Russell won elven titles with the Boston Celtics, including two as a player-coach. In doing so, he became the first black man to serve as a head coach in one of the four major North American men’s sports leagues. He ended his career with five MVPs, two NCAA championships, and an Olympic gold medal.
Perhaps more importantly, Bill Russell was a champion for civil rights and justice everywhere he went. This wasn’t always celebrated or understood by the NBA — Russell boycotted his own selection to the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1975, suggesting Chuck Cooper should be the first black inductee instead.
In the years that followed, though, and especially later in life, Russell made amends with the NBA. He served as an incredible ambassador to the game for beyond the hallways of the Boston Garden, an outpouring of tweets and condolences following his death only scratching the surface of what Bill Russell meant to the world.
The NBA and its franchises will no doubt find ways to honor Bill Russell in the season to come. In order to permanently etch his greatness into the everyday fabric of the sport, the NBA should universally retire Bill Russell’s No. 6 jersey.