Celtics legend and 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell died Sunday, his representatives announced in a statement. He was 88 years old.
Russell led the University of San Francisco to two national championships before embarking upon an unparalleled NBA career. The Celtics acquired his rights after the St. Louis Hawks selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 1956 draft, and he led Boston to a run of dominance unmatched in professional sports. Boston won 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons during Russell’s playing career, a stretch that included eight straight from ’59 to ’66. Russell was named the league’s MVP five times in that span.
Russell also was a pioneer for civil rights. His three-year stint as Boston’s player-coach made him the first Black coach in North American professional sports, and the first to win a championship.
“Bill’s understanding of the struggle is what illuminated his life,” Sunday’s statement read. “Bill called out injustice with an unforgiving candor that he intended would disrupt the status quo, and with a powerful example that, though never his humble intention, will forever inspire teamwork, selflessness and thoughtful change.”
Russell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975 and awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. The NBA Finals MVP award is named in his honor.
