Bill Russell Dies at Age 88; Hall of Famer Won 11 NBA Titles with Celtics

According to his family, Bill Russell passed away on Sunday. He passed away at the age of88.

TheBillRussell @RealBillRussell

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Russell needed to be hospitalized in May of last year for dehydration after collapsing at a speaking engagement. He recovered quickly in both cases.

Russell was the best when it came to winning titles. He won 11 in his 13 professional seasons with the Boston Celtics, which is the most by any player. He was twice named to the first team of the All-NBA and won five awards. He was a member of the basketball Hall of Fame.

He was one of the most dominant centers of all time, as evidenced by the fact that he averaged over 15 points and 20 rebound per game. One of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time was Russell.

The battle for supremacy on the interior took place during his time. In his career, he averaged 30.1 points per game and 22.9 points per game.

According to basketball writer Bob Ryan, Russell said it was the greatest individual rivalry they had ever seen. I concur with that. Today, I have to laugh. I'll turn on the TV and watch the Knicks play the Lakers, and half the time Patrick isn't even guarding the Lakers. If either of them had ever been told they couldn't guard the other guy, he would have lost that player.

In his battles against Russell, he averaged 28.7 points and 28.7 rebound per game. Russell had the last laugh, winning nine more titles than Chamberlain and holding an 85-57 record in the head-to-head battles.

Russell was aided along the way by many people. During his NBA career with the Boston Celtics, he was grouped with a number of Hall of Famers, including head coach Red Auerbach.

In the 1966-67 season, Russell took over as the team's head coach and won two of his titles in that role. He was the first black coach in the NBA.

Russell was the head coach of the Seattle Supersonics and the Sacramento Kings and they both made the playoffs. He never had the same success as a coach as he did as a player.

During the 70s and 80s, he worked for both ABC and CBS as a basketball commentator, though he was never completely comfortable in the role.

He told the Bee that the most successful television is done in eight-second thoughts and that the things he knows about basketball, motivation and people go deeper than that.

As a civil-rights activist, Russell faced a lot of racism from fans and establishments, as did other African-American players of the time. President Barack Obama gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.

According to John Hareas of NBA.com, Jim Brown said that Bill Russell had the consciousness and intelligence to understand what freedom and equality meant for everyone. He's represented all people, not by color or race or gender, but by their rights.

The difference maker is Bill Russell. They were celebrities and used their fame to try to define equality among mankind. They were very important in that.

One of the greatest Celtics of all time, one of the greatest NBA players of all time, and one of the most successful athletes in US history will be remembered by Russell. He will be remembered as a key figure in American history and the civil rights movement.