As the player with the largest number of championships in the history of the NBA, "Lord of the Rings" Bill Russell has won 11 NBA championships, 5 NBA regular season MVP, 12 times selected for the All-Star Game, it can be said that Bill Russell's entire career is star-studded, so that now the NBA Finals MVP trophy is also named after Bill Russell' grandfather, its greatness can be seen, but over the years, there has been a question about Bill Russell, Such a great player, why didn't he enter the NBA Hall of Fame?
In fact, as early as 1975, Russell, who had just retired, was officially awarded the honorary title of Hall of Fame member by the NBA, but russell at that time refused to become a member of the Hall of Fame, and refused to participate in the NBA Hall of Fame ceremony under the pretext of personal health, many people are very puzzled, why this great and can easily rank in the top ten legendary superstars in history, Don't want to be a member of the NBA Hall of Fame?
Until 2019, the 85-year-old Bill Russell was finally willing to accept his own Hall of Fame ring, after NBA legends Alonzo Mourning, Bill Walton and the famous NBA announcer Ann Meyers and others came to Russell's home and finally put on his Hall of Fame ring for Russell, which has been more than 40 years since Russell was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and it has been until today. Russell finally revealed his reluctance to accept a Hall of Fame ring.
It's all because of a player named Chuck Cooper, in 1950, Chuck Cooper was selected by the Celtics with the 14th pick in the first round, which was the first black player in NAB history to be selected through the draft, which was of epoch-making significance, and throughout his career, Chuck Cooper played a total of 409 games. Averaging 6.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, Cooper's personal stats are not impressive, Cooper is an NBA player of the times, so after Russell won the opportunity to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he has refused to become the first black player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
"In 1975, I turned down being the first black player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame because I felt that someone should have been able to get this honor before me, and it was great to see that he was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame." Russell said that although Cooper died in February 1984, the NBA still included Chuck Cooper in the NBA Historical Hall of Fame in 2019, so Russell finally accepted his own Hall of Fame ring after Cooper became a Hall of Famer, and it can only be said that Russell is not only a legendary superstar in the NBA, but also a good player with feelings and righteousness.
Special Editor: Su Daqiang