Tag: Bill Russell

Renowned NBA journalist Jackie MacMullan credits Celtics’ Bill Russell for being ‘fearless’

‘This man was a fearless civil rights activist at a time when our country was really very racially divided,’ said Jackie Mac.

“I would argue (that Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell) was the most important and impactful athletes that ever lived,” offered renowned sports journalist Jackie MacMullan in an interview on ESPN’s “Sports Center” show after news broke of Russell’s death at age 88 this past Sunday.

“Certainly the most impactful basketball player,” she added, a legend in her field in her own right. “I don’t say that he won at every level — which he did — I don’t say that because he won 11 championships in 13 seasons, which will never, ever be duplicated. I say that because in the face of all that, there was so much to lose.”

“This man was a fearless civil rights activist at a time when our country was really very racially divided,” added MacMullan.

The famed sports journalist had plenty more to say about the Celtics legend in the clip embedded above.

Watch it in full to get MacMullan’s perspective on a true legend of our times, both on and off the court.

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Recounting how Havlicek stole the ball – a flashbulb moment in Celtics history

On April 15, 1965, Havlicek made a heroic defensive play during the 1965 Eastern Conference Finals, leading to Johnny Most’s iconic call.

It was on this day — April 15, 1965 — that Havlicek stole the ball. This defining moment of defensive brilliance helped the Celtics secure a Game 7 victory in the Eastern Conference finals at home against the dreaded Philadelphia 76ers. The C’s went on to win the title that year.

It’s the final moments of regulation, and the Sixers are chipping away at a modest fourth-quarter Celtics lead. With just a few seconds left on the clock, superstar Wilt Chamberlain puts home an easy dunk. He’ll finish the game with 30 points and 32 rebounds. Thanks to this basket, the Sixers pull within a point. The C’s are up 110-109.

Boston and Philly have played a very tight series, and here in Game 7, neither team looked able to fully pull away. Still, even with Chamberlain’s dunk, the C’s are a few free throws away from securing a narrow victory.

With only seconds remaining in the game, Boston’s own star big man Bill Russell elects to inbounds the ball. Unlike today, however, the hoop is anchored by a metal frame and four guide wires. Russell clips one of the wires as he tries to pass to a teammate for inevitable free throws. It’s a shocking and unbelievable unforced error. Sixers ball.

Philly gains possession underneath its own basket and has an opportunity to polish off an impossible come-from-behind win against the reigning world champs. The ref hands Hal Greer the ball — that’s when a 25-year-old John Havlicek knew to start counting.

Four seconds passed, and nothing happened. Hondo – who had his back to the basket — understood the Sixers were having trouble inbounding the ball. Havlicek began to turn around, and the rest is history.

Relive the incredible moment above. Come for the Havlicek heroics, stay for the now-iconic Johnny Most call. “Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over! It’s all over”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Boston Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck remembers Bill Russell’s ‘joyous laugh’

Grousbeck reflected on Russell’s infectious laugh and sense of humor in remembering the Celtics giant.

Boston Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck was among the lucky who was able to work with Boston Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell in the years before he passed through their connection via the Celtics organization.

“He was all-in on everything, including laughter and having fun and poking fun and smiling and just enjoying life and trying to make things better,” shared the team governor of his experiences with Russell over the years in an interview with local TV station WCVB Channel 5 Boston that aired in the wake of news of the Celtics great’s passing on this past Sunday.

It is more than understandable to turn to the USF product’s legendary status in the league with his 11 titles, 13 All-Star nods, and 5 MVPs awards. Or his historic activism in the US Civil Rights movements of the 1960s. But Grousbeck’s memory of his person is just as important.

Watch the clip embedded above for the full interview from the Celtics co-governor.

Check out the Celtics Lab podcast on:

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Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Reverend Al Sharpton: Celtics’ Bill Russell took his celebrity status to the causes

The Celtics great pioneered the role of athletes using their platform for greater causes than sport.

Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell touched lives far beyond the basketball court in his 88 years of life, his work as a mentor and civil rights activist literally helping to change the course of US history.

And for that, he is at least as fondly remembered by his peers in that struggle that saw him in the March On Washington at the “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. And by the side of Muhammad Ali with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jim Brown as Ali defied the draft. Now, today, another ally in that struggle, the Reverend Al Sharpton, took some time to memorialize his friend and comrade.

Speaking with MSNBC after learning of Russell’s passing, Sharpton spoke at length about how the Celtics great pioneered the role of athletes using their platform for greater causes than sport.

Check out the Celtics Lab podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Dan Shaughnessy, Terrence Moore discuss Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell’s impact

‘In Boston, he’s at the top of Mount Rushmore,’ says Dan Shaughnessy.

If Boston Globe sports journalist Dan Shaughnessy is known for anything, it is his ability to be critical of Boston sports figures regardless of the context. But when news broke of the passing of Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, the notoriously disputatious Shaughnessy had nothing but praise for the 11-time Celtics champion and pivotal figure in the US Civil Rights movement of the 1960s up to this very day in an appearance on CNN to discuss the legacy of Russell on the league and wider world.

Joined by Forbes writer Terrence Moore, the duo discussed Russell’s life and works far beyond the confines of a hardwood parquet, discussing how as the league’s first Black head coach (and first champion Black head coach at that) pioneered the use of the platform athletic excellence provides has changed so much about the world we live in today.

Watch the clip embedded below to hear their words in full as we all reflect on the loss and life of basketball — and the world’s –great figures of the last century.

Check out the Celtics Lab podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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ESPN’s Michael Wilbon addresses Boston Celtics icon Bill Russell’s impact on American society

A giant among men left us.

While Bill Russell was indeed the greatest winner of all time in any major North American sport with 11 NBA titles to his name among countless other accolades, for many of his fans, that is a secondary achievement in sum. Among those with such a view is ESPN’s Michael Wilbon, who shared his thoughts on Russell’s legacy in a recent interview on “Sports Center” after news broke of the Boston Celtics legend’s passing on Sunday.

“Much of the discussion (of Russell’s life and legacy) will be framed in basketball, and that’s understandable,” offered Wilbon. “That’s how we know him for most people. That’s the only way we know Bill Russell because he’s a very private man.”

“But I’d like to use the word and think the thought of activism even more than pioneering,” he added, referring to Russell’s profound contribution to the US Civil Rights movement.

Watch the clip embedded above to hear all of Wilbon’s words about a true giant among men who left us this weekend.

Check out the Celtics Lab podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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‘Don’t do it if you can’t do it right’ – Revisiting Bill Russell’s iconic legacy

Celebrate Bill Russell and his well-deserved legacy in Boston and beyond with this mini-documentary from the Boston Globe.

Boston Celtics and civil rights legend Bill Russell passed at the age of 88, leaving behind decades of achievement and excellence on and off the court. An 11-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics, few influenced culture and sports in the Hub like Russell.

After winning two NCAA titles with the University of San Francisco, the Celtics actually executed a draft-day trade to land Bill Russell back in 1956. Alongside legendary head coach Red Auerbach, Russell and the Celtics dominated the next decade of NBA basketball. Upon Auerbach’s retirement in 1966, Russell was named his successor, becoming the first black head coach in North American sports.

Following his retirement in 1970, Russell expanded on his lifetime work of civil rights advocacy and achievement. He served as a champion for basketball and social progress alike until his final days.

In 2013, a statue honoring Russell was erected in City Hall Plaza. The Boston Globe produced a brief documentary cataloging the event and the mythical man as the statue was being finalized. Much will be said about Bill Russell in the coming days and weeks, but this is a great place to start celebrating his well-deserved legacy.

Check out the Celtics Lab podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell once jumped OVER a defender to score

And people seriously doubt the athleticism of the NBA in that era?

Amid the ongoing, revived (and bad) argument over whether players in the NBA during the 1960s were as athletic and skilled as modern players in the league, it is often missed that many players in that era were indeed world-class athletes. And Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Bill Russell might have been the most athletic of all of them.

An Olympic track and field star whose specialty (likely to the surprise of very few) was the high jump. And that skill set translated to the Association, which was playing even more of a running game than they do today, with only a handful of players able to leap with the Celtics star for rebounds and to block shots.

But in the absence of evidence, more than a generation of fans may not know just how otherworldly Russell’s leaping capabilities were.

To remedy that, here is a clip of Russell doing something that would make Vin Baker famous years later, with a dunk instead of a finger-roll. Watch the clip embedded above courtesy of the Wilt Chamberlain Archive to see for yourself just how athletic players from that era can be.

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Who is the greatest Boston Celtics player in the Olympics of all time?

We’ll give you a clue — this one goes to 11.

The Boston Celtics certainly have no shortage of candidates to consider when trying to nail down exactly which of the storied ball club’s many stars is the team’s greatest Olympic basketball player of all time. But one name in particular stands above the rest, a towering figure on and off the court, and quite literally.

This player was the choice of Bleacher Report NBA analyst Andy Bailey, who also came to the only logical assessment of the Celtics’ Olympic G.O.A.T. — and of course it is none other than William Felton Russell. Bill Russell was an Olympic-class athlete, and not just in basketball, where he would win gold in 1956.

Russell would have competed as a high jumper had he not been permitted to play for Team USA in basketball, and may well have medaled there too. 

“Throughout his NBA career, Russell was obviously known more (or at least as much) for his defense, but he led the 1956 Olympic team in scoring at 14.1 points,” writes Bailey.

“And his leadership in that tournament proved prognostic. The summer of 1956 was Russell’s last before joining the ranks of the NBA, where he won 11 championships.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics were anything but slow and unskilled — and we have the proof

See what the golden era of the Celtics looked like under the leadership of Bill Russell.

There is a popular misconception that basketball before the modern era was slow, unwatchable, and played by non-athletes with little skill. Perhaps at least some of that was true before the start of the shot clock era in 1954. But by the time the Boston Celtics rose to dominance in the late 1950s, that was anything but the case — and not just with the Celtics.

Boston more than any team in the late ’50s and 1960s popularized a fast-paced, athletic version of the sport that would leave many modern players gasping for air. And that was why the Celtics — particularly Olympic athlete Bill Russell — played such a style.

Eventually, the rest of the league caught on and stole their thunder, as is so often the case. But don’t let those who are speaking out of ignorance tell you the game was soft, slow, or unskilled.

As evidence, we humbly submit this frame-corrected and colorized version of Bill Russell and his Celtics putting the hurt on opponents at high speed.

And with all the flashy passes, deft shots and complex plays you would expect to see today, courtesy of Foobas Sports.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” “Celtics Lab,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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