Bill Russell, the skinny Oakland high schooler who grew into the leader of basketball dynasties in San Francisco and Boston, died Sunday at the age of 88.
His family posted the news on social media, saying Russell died with his wife, Jeannine, by his side. The statement did not give the cause of death.
“Bill’s wife, Jeannine, and his many friends and family thank you for keeping Bill in your prayers. Perhaps you’ll relive one or two of the golden moments he gave us, or recall his trademark laugh as he delighted in explaining the real story behind how those moments unfolded,” the family statement said. “And we hope each of us can find a new way to act or speak up with Bill’s uncompromising, dignified and always constructive commitment to principle. That would be one last, and lasting, win for our beloved #6.”
With Russell at center, the University of San Francisco Dons won 55 consecutive games and back-to-back championships in 1955 and 1956. The 6-foot-11 kid out of McClymonds High then led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships in 13 years, the last two as the first Black head coach in any major U.S. sport.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement that Russell was “the greatest champion in all of team sports.”
A Hall of Famer, five-time Most Valuable Player and 12-time All-Star, Russell in 1980 was voted the greatest player in the NBA history by basketball writers.
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Boston Celtics’ Bill Russell, left, holds a corsage sent to the dressing room as he celebrates with Celtics coach Red Auerbach after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers, 95-93, to win their eighth-straight NBA Championship, in Boston, in this April 29, 1966, photo. (Anonymous, VFAB News) 1969 FILE PHOTO– Los Angeles Lakers’ Wilt Chamberlain tries to shoot over Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics, but is blocked, during the first period of the NBA Playoffs at the forum in Los Angeles, in this May 5, 1969 photo. Chamberlain, one of the most dominant players in the history of basketball and the only one to score 100 points in an NBA game, died Tuesday Oct. 12, 1999. He was 63. (VFAB Photo/File) In this April 9, 1964, Boston Celtics, from left, Bill Russell, coach Red Auerbach, Tommy Heinsohn, Jim Locustoff, and K.C. Jones celebrate in the locker room after clinching their eighth straight Eastern Division playoff title at the Boston Garden in Boston. Tommy Heinsohn, who as a Boston Celtics player, coach and broadcaster was with the team for all 17 of its NBA championships, has died. He was 86. The team confirmed Heinsohn’s death on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. (VFAB Photo, File) (VFAB Photo, File)Bill Russell (6) of the Boston Celtics loops a hook shot over the head of Jim Krebs of the Los Angeles Lakers for two points in their NBA playoff game in Los Angeles, Calif., April 10, 1962. At left is Jerry West of the Lakers , who scored four points in the final three seconds to give them a 117-115 victory. The Lakers now lead the best-of-seven playoff, two games to one. (VFAB Photo/Harold P. Matosian) Oakland, CA February 26. 1955 – Bill Russell shows his parents Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Russell, right, a telegram informing him he made the first string All-American team for Quick and Tempo magazines. (Bill Crouch / Oakland Tribune Staff Archives) Tribune file photo 10/12/99 Tribune SportsWilt Chamberlain scores over Bill Russell in 1964. Bill Russell of the University of San Francisco holds his Most Valuable Player trophies at Madison Square Garden in New York, March 31, 1956. (VFAB Photo/John Lent) Bill Russell, airborne at center, of the University of San Francisco, grabs a rebound in the NCAA championship game in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium, March 19, 1955. Attempting to block a pass by Russell are Tom Gola (15) of LaSalle, at left, and Charles Singley (10), LaSalle guard. In the background is Charles Greenberg. USF won the championship, 77-63. (VFAB Photo/William Straeter) Bill Russell, airborne at center, of the University of San Francisco, grabs a rebound in the NCAA championship game in Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium, March 19, 1955. Attempting to block a pass by Russell are Tom Gola (15) of LaSalle, at left, and Charles Singley (10), LaSalle guard. In the background is Charles Greenberg. USF won the championship, 77-63. (VFAB Photo/William Straeter) Bill Russell, left, with USF coach, Phil Woolpert in 1955 after winning the All-College tournament in Oklahoma City. (Oakland Tribune archive photo) All-America Bill Russell (6) uses his 6’10” frame to his best advantage to dunk the ball through the hoop for two points for the University of San Francisco against Holy Cross in the semi-final game of the ECAC Holiday Festival at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Dec. 18, 1955. Other identifiable players are K.C. Jones (4) and Carl Boldt, right, of San Francisco. Russell went to McClymonds High School in Oakland. (VFAB Photo/Mary Lederhandler) Bill Russell grins at announcement that he had been named coach of the Boston Celtics basketball team, April 18, 1966. (VFAB Photo, File) Former NBA rivals Bill Russell, right, of the Boston Celtics, and Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia 76ers, laugh as they recall their glory days during a tribute to Russell at the FleetCenter in Boston, Wednesday night, May 26, 1999. (VFAB Photo/Elise Amendola) Hall of Fame basketball player Bill Russell, right, speaks to McClymonds High School freshman Fanae Clark while visiting his alma mater, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. Russell, who won 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics, said he rode the bench while playing for Mack. (D. Ross Cameron/Staff) Hall of Famers Bill Russell, left, and Joe Morgan were joined by Judy Pace Flood, the widow of baseball great Curt Flood, at the Oakland Museum of California’s tribute to former McClymonds High School coach George Powles, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2006, in Oakland, Calif. Powles, who died in 1989, was lionized for his mentoring of a group of sports elite that also included baseball Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson. (Photo by D. Ross Cameron) Former Boston Celtics basketball player Bill Russell addresses an audience in Boston, May 18, 2011. Hall of Fame basketball player Bill Russell, left, speaks to students and alumni at McClymonds High School, his alma mater, during a ceremony to dedicate refurbished athletic facilities there, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron/Staff) Hall of Fame basketball player Bill Russell laughs at a story about his time at McClymonds High School during a ceremony there to honor him, Tuesday, March 26, 2013, in Oakland, Calif. Russell, a McClymonds graduate, went on to two NCAA men’s basketball championships at USF and 11 NBA championships with the Boston Celtics. (D. Ross Cameron/Staff) Former NBA players Bill Russell (L) and Earvin “Magic” Johnson Jr. are honored during the 2017 NBA All-Star Game at Smoothie King Center on February 19, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) Celtic great Bill Russell waves to the crowd as the Celtics take on the Bucks at the Garden in the home opener. Newly-crowned NBA champions Stephen Curry, left, and Kevin Durant, right, of the Golden State Warriors and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell, center, pose for a photo with the player’s mothers, Sonya Curry, holding the NBA Championship trophy with her son, and Wanda Durant, clutching the NBA Finals MVP trophy awarded to her son for her performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers to bring the Championship back to Oakland after a one-season hiatus. (Anthony Slater/Bay Area News Group) Golden State Warriors’ Andre Iguodala (9) shakes hands with NBA legend Bill Russell before receiving the the MVP trophy after the Golden State Warriors 105-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6 of the NBA Finals to win the NBA Championship at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday, June 16, 2015. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) In this June 25, 2018, file photo, Bill Russell arrives at the NBA Awards at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif. Russell says he is finally ready to be a Hall of Famer. The 11-time NBA champion, five-time MVP, Olympic gold medalist and two-time NCAA champ said on Twitter on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, that he was presented with his Hall of Fame ring in a private ceremony that comes three decades after he was first selected for the shrine at Springfield, Mass. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/VFAB, File) Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant (35) shakes hands with Bill Russell after winning the Finals MVP trophy after the Warriors 129-120 win for Game 5 of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, June 12, 2017. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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