![]() ![]() In protest, Russell and his teammates left town without playing. Louis Hawks in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1961, he and Black teammates were refused service at a coffee shop. When the Celtics were set to play an exhibition game against the St. Russell’s pro basketball career stretched over a particularly fraught time in civil rights history. He was pro basketball’s first Black head coach, no small feat at the time in racially divided Boston. Legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach retired in 1966 and turned the keys over to Russell, who led Boston to two more titles as player-coach. Bill Russell grins at announcement that he had been named coach of the Boston Celtics on April 18, 1966. What has been fully chronicled is Russell’s will to win, as he led Boston to NBA titles in 1957, 1959 and every year of the 1960s, except for 1967. The NBA didn’t recognize the blocked shot until 1973-74, so Russell’s prowess here is largely lost to history. He perfected the art of blocking shots, swatting away would-be scorers with brutal efficiency - without fouling and while keeping the ball in play, so one of his teammates could gain possession. Dick Raphael / NBAE via Getty Images fileīut Russell is largely credited with writing the book on modern defense for centers. Bill Russell #6 of the Boston Celtics rebounds against Walt Bellamy #8 of the New York Knicks during a game in1967 at the Boston Garden. Russell’s numbers weren’t as flashy as those of contemporary big man Wilt Chamberlain, who is the only pro basketball player ever to score 100 points in a game and retired with a scoring average of 30.07 points, second only to Michael Jordan’s 30.12. ![]()
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