Basketball: Five Lessons from BILL RUSSELL: LEGEND

Bill Russell stands as the greatest winner of our time. He wasn't a man built on shameless self-promotion. He came to win, with fourteen championships in fifteen seasons - 2 NCAA, 1 Olympic, 11 NBA titles. 

1. NBA legends share their observations. Great players appreciate how difficult it is to win a championship. When a guy helps win eleven, their eyes get wide. 

2. Yes, Russell was an elite athlete both in basketball and in high jumping. But he had an elite mind and his knowledge of the game, of the geometry of basketball, and of opponents, changed everything. 

3. It's easy to forget that the NBA was the sole dominion of white owners, coaches, and players. Russell and Red Auerbach helped change that...with a big assist from the Ice Capades. 

4. Everyone knows that Russell was a proud, private, and intense man. Not everyone appreciates that he got a fraction of the credit for what he accomplished. In large measure, it wasn't his nature or his character, but his color that prevented that recognition. 

5. The meaning of "WOKE" is literally "aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)." If 'woke' means favoring racial and social justice, then pushing against 'woke' means opposing racial and social justice. LEGEND reminds us that the fight for dignity and for social justice is never easy and never over.

Lagniappe (Something extra). From Reddit: 

It's pretty well known that Bill Russell was 21-0 in winner-take-all-games, but that's incorrect

It's been commonly stated over the years that Russell was 21-0 in winner-take-all games (example). If Russell's team played even with an opponent throughout a series or they both got to the same place in a tournament, Russell's team was ALWAYS going to pull it out in the end.

But where does that 21-0 mark come from?

• At USF, his '55 team was 5-0 in the tourney on the way to the title.

• At USF, his '56 team was 4-0 in the tourney on the way to the title.

• In the '56 Olympics, the US squad was 2-0 when it came to the winner-take-all final 4 for gold after the group stage.

• In the NBA, the Celtics were famously 10-0 in Games 7's throughout his career.

That adds up to 21-0, but it's incomplete.

• In the '66 playoffs, the Celtics won Game 5 in the best-of-5 series with Cincinnati (link), so Russell was actually 22-0 in winner-take-all-games.