Bill Russell dies at 88. 13 time NBA champion

[Westerly Wood]

Bill Russell dies at 88: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, more react to death of Boston Celtics icon

So many in the NBA community are paying tribute to the extraordinary life Russell led

www.cbssports.com

Wow, legend. 2 championships as coach. Incredible! Boston Celtics.

 

[Brad Little]

Bob Ryan (Globe sportswriter) was interviewed during today's Red Sox radio broadcast, mentioned that in 21 elimination games, Bill Russell lost exactly none. Celts got him because supposedly Red Auerbach convinced the Rochester Royals he wasn't worth the $25,000 he wanted to sign. Many who knew him say he was just as good person as he was an athlete.

 

[Stuball48]

Always pulled extra hard for him when he played Wilt

 

[richardp69]

Stand up kinda guy. I really respected that Man.

 

[walrus]

RIP.

walrus

 

[HeyMikey]

RIP. The best of the best. I watched him play at the Garden several times as a yout. The way he dominated the boards was something else indeed.

 

[Westerly Wood]

RIP. The best of the best. I watched him play at the Garden several times as a yout. The way he dominated the boards was something else indeed.

That must have been something else. As a kid growing up off rte 9, I went to see Celtics at garden only once. It was well after the Russell years. It was Hondo’s last game. Pretty cool.

 

[bobouz]

Tremendous respect for the player and the person.

 

[Coop47]

Bob Ryan (Globe sportswriter) was interviewed during today's Red Sox radio broadcast, mentioned that in 21 elimination games, Bill Russell lost exactly none. Celts got him because supposedly Red Auerbach convinced the Rochester Royals he wasn't worth the $25,000 he wanted to sign. Many who knew him say he was just as good person as he was an athlete.

I think this is such a great stat that I wanted to make a minor correction (based on a few different sources) - he was 21-0 in Game 7s, 1-0 in a winner-take-all Game 5 (so, 22-0 in winner take all) and 28-2 in elimination games (one of those 2 losses with a badly sprained ankle). Off the court, he was fearless. Just a giant in every respect.