Before he played under him as a forward with the Sonics, and before he forged a lifetime friendship with the legend, Spencer Haywood remembers meeting Bill Russell after the Celtics played against the Pistons in Detroit.
Russell was basketball’s greatest player at the time, and Haywood’s high school coach, Will Robinson, wanted him to watch the man who, more than anybody in the sport’s history, could dictate the outcome of a game with his defense and rebounding alone.
Haywood was impressed by Russell’s prowess on the court, but what stood out to him more than anything was his style and flair off it: His resplendent clothing, his debonair top hat, and, of course — his goatee.
