Agencies-Gaza post
Bill Russell, NBA legend, dies at 88
Bill Russell, a legend of NBA club Boston Celtics, died at the age of 88, according to a family statement posted Sunday on social media.
“Bill Russell, who has the greatest winning instinct in the history of American sport, died peacefully today at the age of 88,” the family statement read.
American Basketball League Commissioner Adam Silver called Russell “the greatest champion of all team sports,” noting that “the awards he received only begin to tell the story of Bill’s enormous impact on our league and the great community around us.”
“Bill stood for something much bigger than a sport: values of equality, respect, and inclusion,” Silver added.
Russell is one of the first black stars to take a very high place in American basketball, winning the league title with the Celtics 11 times, including eight in a row, in addition to winning gold with the U.S. team at the 1956 Olympic Games.
Russell was the first black American to oversee a North American team, coaching the Celtics between 1966 and 1969.
Russell, who has a superior length (2.08 m), was known for his defensive potential, having spent his entire career as a player from 1956 to 1969 in a Celtic shirt.
Russell was known for his struggle for civil rights and equality, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian accolade in the United States from former U.S. President Barack Obama in 2011.
