Possibly the best basketball player to ever play in the NBA has passed away at the age of 88.
Russell played his entire career with the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969. During that 13-year career Russell won an impressive and record 11 championships, the most by any one player in NBA history.
Russell’s stats were equally as impressive. He led the NBA in rebounds per game in five seasons including one year where he pulled in 24.7 per game. He never was a big-time scorer but played well ahead of his time as he averaged 5.8 assists per game one year from the center position and was the tallest and most athletic player on the court at most times.
Russell was one of the most dominant players during his NBA career and made the All Star team every year expect his rookie season.
During his time playing in the NBA he was a coach for the Boston Celtics while playing for them as a player-coach. He won two championships while being a player-coach. Then he went on to coach the Seattle Supersonics as well as the Sacramento Kings.
Russell was still a major influence and mentor to today’s players in the NBA. His presence around the game will certainly be missed.
Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Russell_cropped.jpg
