The sports world lost a pioneering icon on Sunday with the death of 11-time NBA champion and Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell, aged 88.
Universally considered one of the greatest and most important players in the history of the sport, Russell forged an indelible legacy during his 13-year NBA career, winning 11 titles and five MVPs with the Celtics from 1956 to 1969. Off the court, the two-time Naismith Hall of Fame inductee and 2011 Presidential Medal of Freedom winner forever altered the course of sports history in 1966, becoming the first black coach in American sports – a role he served while captaining Boston to two more titles in his last three seasons.
After news of Russell’s death broke Sunday morning, tributes from athletes and personalities around the world paid tribute to the basketball legend and civil rights pioneer:
Diana Taurasi (via Sports Illustrated’s Ben Pickman):
“Bill was one of the first guys that came to a lot of WNBA games before he was popular, before you were on Instagram if you’re going to a WNBA game. He came to games a lot. And obviously with Annie [Meyers Drysdale] and Bill’s relationship, we talked to him quite often when he came to games. He would stay after, so this news is really very sad.
“When you lose people like Bill, he’s a bridge to all the struggle that generation went through to get to this point, so it’s very sad news.
“… When you lose a figure like that. Life is precious. You are here one day and gone the next. If everyone could get a little bit of what Bill Russell has done for a lifetime, we would be a better world.
“… I think that’s what we were talking about. The things he did with Kareem, Jim Brown and pushing everything forward with equality. They were the first to do this when it actually meant giving something up, along with Muhammad Ali. Giving up some of the things they loved to do to improve this country.”
