#该系列文章涉及的球员排名是由The Athletic Media, there are discrepancies with the NBA and ESPN rankings.
Author | Jay King
Translate | Clarkson
-
Bill Russell received the NBA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017, and he was the league's first player to receive the award.
The great Celtics from Louisiana took over a heavy trophy from another great center, Karim Abdul Abdul-Jabbar.
Standing behind Russell were the greatest big men in NBA history: Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, DeKembe Mutombo and David Robinson.
On the day of the awards ceremony, the five great players, who have collectively won 13 championship rings in 86 seasons, paid their respects to Bill Russell, the only person in NBA history who has more rings than the number of fingers.
"Bill's talent complements the sport, and although he's center-forward, he has the speed of a point guard." Speaking to reporters at the awards ceremony, Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar said: "He showed how to win the game with defense, to beat the opponent with mind and body. ”
"When it comes to winning, no one can do it like Bill Russell."
After a video showing Russell's many achievements and contributions to the league was played, all the audience members stood up and applauded.
Russell followed Abdul-Abdul-Jabbar to the stage, and with the assistance of Mourning, russell shook hands with all the centre-forwards on the stage.
Russell's first words after taking the microphone were, "Where did you find so many big men?" ”
This sentence caused laughter from everyone present, but Russell's next sentence drove the audience crazy.
After picking up the crutches handed to him by Jabbar, Russell stared at the five centers standing to his right, then indexed "one, two, three, four, five" with his left hand. ”
Russell then raised his left hand to the side of his face, as if he didn't want the people present to hear what he was going to say, and said something that no one dared to refute: "I can still blow you up." ”
The audience burst into laughter, and Russell's famous high-pitched laughter was unusually loud, a voice from legend.
Many see Russell as an icon, not only an NBA champion, but also a civil rights champion.
What is often forgotten is Russell's wit, charisma, and his ability to control an entire room with the simplest jokes.
Not only that, but Russell is also good at telling stories in a witty way.
He had so many followers that every word he said made people admire him — all because of his glorious experiences.
"My admiration for him is indescribable, and I always call him Mr. Russell." Charles Buckley, who ranked twenty-second in The Athletic's 75 biggest stars rankings, said on last December's TNT show.
In fact, Russell inspired not only the great centers who came that day, but also many players.
Bill Walton is one of them, and while he hasn't seen Russell play, he knows the Celtics' star center is unique.
Three thousand miles away, Wharton, who was about nine to ten years old, had just discovered the beauty of basketball.
His parents, Ted and Gloria, didn't care much about sports, but Bill Jr. found the sport fascinating.
Many years before the NBA League Pass was invented, Bill Walton listened to the Lakers' games on the radio.
Although Walton did not have the opportunity to watch the game live, the voice of Lakers legend Chick Hearn still brought the game to life.
Although Russell played in the away jersey, Herne did not skimp on his praise, comparing Russell to a dominant big winner.
Because of this, the boy on the other side of the radio saw Russell's talent.
Wharton said Cheek Herne just did his job, but he did it so well that Bill Jr. fell completely in love with Russell.
Russell isn't the kind of player who has to have the ball in hand, or the one who takes the most shots and scores every night, or who doesn't have to be singled on the inside, he just wants to win.
As Walton understands, Russell isn't just the basketball player who has won the most titles of all time.
He was also a selfless superstar, an indomitable competitor, and a civil rights advocate who eventually won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010.
He was a brave man who was challenged by evil countless times.
He was an idol of a fan idol who pushed basketball forward.
"He's the one who changed basketball." Wharton said this about Russell.
Sitting next to the small radio, Wharton felt inspiration welling up in his body.
With high school still a few years away, Wharton had no idea he would meet Russell and become friends.
Nor did Wharton know that one day he would sit with Russell on a coach trip and discuss their lives, careers and beliefs.
Wharton didn't know that one day he would play for the Celtics and play a very important role in the best team of all time.
It will all come in a few years.
When it all happens, it's all like a dream.
"I'm a red-haired little guy from San Diego, and I just want to experience something special." Wharton said, "I wanted to make my life meaningful and purposeful, and I did." Although I was inspired from three thousand miles away, I felt like I was there all the time. Not only is this life great, it's much better than I can imagine. ”
Wharton first met Bill Russell in college, and his relationship with Russell grew closer during his time playing for the Celtics.
Wharton remembers having a family chat with Russell and attending events together, such as the groundbreaking ceremony of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in 2006.
In 2021, when Russell was inducted into the Hall of Fame again as a coach, he chose Walton as his referrer, and the two had become close friends, so much so that Walton attended Russell's wedding vow renewal ceremony.
Long before that, Wharton saw Russell as part of the NBA's top five.
As a small fan, Wharton reads every article, newspaper, and book about Russell.
Wharton recalls that in 1960, his mother was the town's librarian. One day, she brought back Bill Jr., a record of Bill Russell's memoir, "Fight for Glory."
He said he loved the book so much that he didn't return it to his mother.
"I wrote a check to the town library after I joined the NBA." Wharton said with a smile.
In that era, everyone had to compete with Chamberlain, but Russell did it best.
Throughout his career, Russell led 57 wins and 37 losses in all matches against Chamberlain.
Before these games start, Russell will tell his teammates that he will defend Chamberlain alone and not need any co-defense: "Listen brothers, this is how we win, I will defend Chamberlain, he may play well, but not enough to beat us." 」 Just keep an eye on your opponents and don't let them do anything. ”
Wharton said: "You know, it's not easy for Russell, Chamberlain has all the advantages, he has a lot better athletic ability and physical talent than Russell, but Russell can always beat him in the game. ”
"Chamberlain has incredible power and a physical talent at the level of NBA history," Wharton said. But Russell, who was shorter than him, always beat him, which was awesome for me because I was a little guy at the time. Russell, he always found the key to victory. ”
In 1965, Russell and Red Auerbach celebrate the seventh of what would be eight consecutive NBA titles. (Associated Press)
Bill Russell's accolades are unparalleled, he won 11 championships, which is still an NBA record today.
He has won five MVP awards, second only to Abdul-Jabbar in 6.
Russell was named the NBA rebounding champion five times and averaged 22.5 rebounds per game throughout his career.
He was named an All-Star 12 times in his 13 seasons, only to miss the All-Star Game when he played at the 1956 Olympics in his rookie season.
But that year he won an Olympic gold medal and led the Celtics to their first NBA championship a few months later.
Prior to that, he also led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive championships and a terrible 55-game winning streak while in college.
Red Auerbach, the founder and founder of the Celtic dynasty, wrote in his book "On and Off the Field": "As soon as the game starts, Russell is invincible. ”
Notably, Russell has maintained all-seven of his career games and averaged 18.6 points and 29.3 rebounds per game.
That includes the miracle of 30 points and 40 rebounds in the 1962 Finals against the Lakers.
In this series, Russell played almost all the games.
In the case of three extra-time appearances, each player may have played up to 495 minutes, while Russell ended up playing 488 minutes.
In The Scramble Seven, Russell led the aging Celtics to victory over the young Lakers led by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West.
Before the seventh game, Jack Teweman interviewed Russell in the locker room: "Okay Russell, let's tell you what's going to happen next. ”
When the camera pans to Russell's face, Russell looks into the camera and says, "We're going to win." ”
Jack then asked, "How do you know?" ”
Russell smiled at the camera and said, "Because we've done it before." ”
Russell received two rings as a player and coach for the Celtics at the end of his career.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame not only as a player, but also as a coach.
He was the first black coach in the four major sports in North America and the first black player in the NBA to make the All-Team.
He was twice named to the Varsity First Team, the All-American Team, and twice the College Player of the Year.
He was selected for the NBA's 25th Anniversary Team, 35th Anniversary Team, 50th Anniversary Team and 75th Anniversary Team.
Russell did it all, but he never averaged more than 20 points per game in his entire career.
"He wrote the history of basketball," Wharton said, "but he never seemed to get a basketball." ”
For Wharton, Russell's greatness goes far beyond achievement.
Bill Russell has his own style, and he controls the game in a different way.
He doesn't need to score too many points, but will hit a left-handed hooker when the Celtics need to score from the inside.
He would run around the field and punish those who weren't physically fit enough.
Wharton believes Russell has top-notch conversion skills, and he sometimes deliberately throws the ball cover to his teammates to help the team launch a counterattack.
"Basketball is as beautiful as music," Walton said, "and the game doesn't stop except for pauses and dead balls." The moment defense becomes offense, the moment offense becomes defensive, that's where Bill Russell stands out. He is impeccable in every aspect of the game and his ability to control the timing of the game is top notch. ”
There's an old saying that people shouldn't meet their heroes, but Walton is forever grateful for meeting his own heroes.
"I was the luckiest person in the world," Walton said, recalling his life path: "I chose Russell to be my hero when I was nine years old, and eventually I met that hero." And not only that, I met him, worked together, and even became friends. ”
Growing up in Louisiana, Russell handled very serious racism disputes.
Russell once recorded a story at the Players Forum: One night, the Ku Klux Klan (Editor's Note: refers to three civil society groups in American history that have pursued white supremacist movements and Christian terrorism at different times, and are also representative organizations of racism in the United States. The Ku Klux Klan was first formed in 1865 by veterans of the Confederate Confederate Forces who were defeated in the American Civil War, who discriminated, bullied, and even slaughtered black people) targeted Russell's grandfather, who also knew he was being hunted down.
When they arrived at Russell's grandfather's house, a fierce gunfight took place.
Russell's grandfather kept shooting at the Ku Klux Klan until they left.
Russell is the only black player on the Celtics.
When he first entered the NBA, he suffered the most serious racial discrimination.
Because of his skin color, many restaurants turned him away, and fans who watched the game loudly insulted him.
People even broke into his house and sprayed the N letter (the first letter of a black discriminatory title) onto his wall.
"Before me, the Celtics had a black player, Chuck Cooper. But when I got into the league, I was the only black man on this white team. ”
Here's what Russell wrote for Slam magazine in 2020: "The Celtics are a team of good guys, from Walter Brown to Auerbach to all my teammates. But I'm afraid I can't make that assessment of the fans and the city, where people cursed loudly in indecent language during the game. ”
"I use their unkindness as energy to motivate me and make myself angry, and this angry energy helps me win everything." Russell said: "A few years later, we had a handful of black players on our team and about 15 black players in the league. But I felt like it wasn't enough, and I complained to the league that a lot of teams have stealth quotas and a cap on black players, and luckily those complaints have made a difference. ”
The Celtics also conducted a poll asking how fans should increase attendance. More than 50 percent of fans surveyed believe that as long as there are no black people on the team. I don't think these guys can count as real fans, and their ideas hurt me. For me, I play for the Celtics and do my best for this team and my teammates, but I don't play for these prejudiced fans. ”
Russell did so much that his teammate Bob Cousy, a white man, then later wrote a letter to Russell apologizing for not having more support for him during that time.
"I could have reached out and shared some pain for him," Cush once said in an interview, "but I didn't end up doing that." ”
As Wharton said, Russell was an activist.
He never just talks about it, but he actually does it.
"This man doesn't have the opportunities I have," Wharton said, "and this is a man who has been abused because of the color of his skin, a man who has overcome the evil of racial discrimination." ”
"Bill Russell was, and remains, a benchmark of human power and principle."
(Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)
Prior to Kenny Smith's tenure as host of inside the NBA, he was a well-respected NBA point guard.
Kenny Smith won two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets in the '90s.
Smith was selected by the Kings with the sixth pick in the first round of the 1987 Draft.
During Smith's first NBA season, his head coach was Bill Russell.
Russell coached the Kings in 58 games before being sacked for his poor record of 17 wins and 41 losses in the 1987-1988 season.
Barkley joked that Smith, a rookie, was the main reason Russell was fired, and Smith threw the pot to teammate Reggie Hughes.
It was only a season, not even a full season, but Smith was impressed by Russell's charisma.
As a rookie, Smith was asked to stay with the manager all the time.
"Russell has a rule that the rookie, me, sits next to him every time the team rides in a plane or a car together." Smith said on a TV show last year: "I also had to drive home with him, so I heard all the stories you can imagine and I heard him tell so many great stories. ”
Smith said Russell was his eternal coach and his only coach.
Smith also felt that the Kings veterans had "punished" him by having him sit next to the manager, but instead gave him a precious opportunity.
When Russell's memorial statue was unveiled at Boston's Town Hall Square, Smith told me it was the best moment of his life.
Smith admits that when he first met Russell as a rookie, he was somewhat overwhelmed.
"I didn't really know what to say," Smith recalled, "I didn't know whether to call him 'Coach Russell' or 'Mr. Russell,' plus the assistant coach was Wells Reid, and I was like in heaven." ”
As a rookie, Smith wanted to be a sponge.
He wants to learn as much as he can from these legends, after all, learning from the people who have won the most NBA titles is never a bad thing.
As his rookie season passed, Smith learned more and more.
"Honestly, it was Russell who taught me what teamwork is." Smith said in 2013: "Whether it's win or lose or whatever. ”
Bill Wharton fully understood the breadth of Russell's influence because he had felt it.
In 1985, after the 33-year-old Walton joined the Celtics, the team's legends came to welcome him and helped him quickly integrate into the team.
Cush and Heinthorn serve as training referees, KC Jones coaches the team, and Sam Jones and Saatchi Sanders are always on the team's training ground.
Wharton said that although living in as far away as Seattle, Russell found a way to be in the team "all the time."
"He was very engaged," Wharton recalls, "and we did a lot of classic interviews. Bill and I sat in the locker room and we talked about history, not just the history of basketball, but the history of life. Every time I am with him, I am inspired and healed. I'm more willing to believe that it's worth the effort for tomorrow. ”
Sixteen years after Russell's last game, Wharton said he can still feel Russell's energy flowing throughout the organization.
Even when Russell wasn't on the floor, his style of play has always been contagious to the Celtics.
Because of Russell's presence, the Celtics became a selfless team.
Pass the ball to your teammates in the empty seats and cheer for your teammates.
After many years in the NBA, Walton finally found a comfortable nest in the Celtics.
"When you're part of something special, it changes you," Wharton recalls, "and he changed my life, leaving me with the rest of my life trying to pursue more, trying to recreate it, and it all stemmed from the great spirit of Bill Russell." ”
Russell won only one scholarship, and he played on the varsity team for half a season in high school.
Later in high school, he exploded from five feet ten to six feet eight inches, and Russell was a late-bloomer.
In addition to his basketball prowess, he is also a world-class high jumper.
Russell has top physical qualities, and at his peak, he can touch the top of the rebound with all his strength.
He was the best player in college and he won titles twice, setting a winning streak.
Although some teams rejected him because of the color of his skin, he took on the responsibility of changing the times and moving everything forward.
"It's obviously not an easy task." Wharton said so.
In 2013, at the ceremony at which the Celtic unveiled the statue of Russell, many legends appeared to pay their respects to him.
Including Jim Brown, Julius Owen, Draxler and many more.
As Kenny Smith puts it, the pomp and circumstance of the day was "like seeing your star cards walking around the room."
Russell was initially reluctant to accept the statue, which he thought embarrassed him.
But he eventually agreed, in part because the Celts agreed to fund one of his pro bono programs.
Even with honors that belong only to him, Russell used them to elevate those around him.
Wharton sat in the second row for the ceremony, and as usual, he was honored to be a part of Russell's life.
Wharton said: "I did my best to stay with Russell. In sports, business, life and family, I will help him as much as I can because I know how much he has helped me. He meant everything to me and I owe him so much. ”
Russell was the one who stood at the front.
He was willing to stand in that position and lead the change of the times, and he continued to do so.