Reactions to the death of Bill Russell: Live updates

If casual sports fans know just one thing about Bill Russell, that’s it right there. The 11 championships in 13 seasons.

As for hardcore New England sports fans who love to wage arguments about a mythical “Mount Rushmore of Boston Sports,” the debate always comes down to Williams, Russell, Bobby Orr, Tom Brady and, now, David Ortiz. But Richard Johnson, the longtime curator of Boston-based Sports Museum, sees it this way:

“There’s a Mount Rushmore, and then there’s Bill Russell. No disrespect to the others, but he gets his own mountain. And it’s for the man, not just the champion.”

Utah Jazz executive Danny Ainge speaks about the life and legacy of Bill Russell.

Bill Russell was Oakland. A proud city that has produced legendary athletes in nearly every sport, few compare to Russell — a product of West Oakland’s McClymonds High.

Russell’s pride in his Oakland roots are a big part of that and that was never more evident than in 2008 when his alma mater went 32-0 and won the California Division I state title. A couple months after the title, Russell came to campus for an intimate visit that I — as the Oakland Tribune’s prep sports reporter who had detailed the storybook season — was allowed to sit in on.

The lessons he shared that day — about sports, education, life, race and so much more — were profound and will always stay with me and I imagine with the rest of the small group that experienced it. His visit was so genuine. He was thrilled to be there and the players seemed to soak in every word.

Whenever I think of Bill Russell, rather than all the champion

Back in 2010 I interviewed Bill Russell for a short Q&A on winning SI’s Sportsman of the Year in 1968. Here’s what he told me on how roles had changed for Black men in the 42 years since he won the award:

“There are a lot more folks in management and decision-making but not as many as there could be,” he told me. “But the media is still mostly all white. The subject of race still dominates a lot and it is still how some people look at each other. If Red (Auerbach) and I had talked about me being a pioneer at that time, I would not have taking the coaching job. He told me it was a Celtics job.”