If you don’t know Bill Russell’s name, you should. On Wednesday, ESPN came out with their top ten all-time greats in the history of the NBA. First, there was Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Then at number four was the iconic Bill Russell. Also, at the five was Lansing’s own Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

Bill Russell was one of the greatest NBA players ever. Born on 1934 in Monroe, Louisiana his family moved to Oakland, California. That’s where it really started for Russell. He played high school basketball with MLB Hall of Famer Frank Robinson. They were pure greatness and won a lot of games.

I just want the younger sports fans reading this to acknowledge who Bill Russell was as an NBA player. Russell, played from 1956 until 1969 with the Boston Celtics. Russell won 11 NBA Crowns with the Celtics. He also earned five MVP awards too. Russell averaged 15.1 PPG and 22.5 RPG; that’s absolute brilliance.

William Felton Russell also coached the Boston Celtics where they won two NBA crowns, Seattle Super Sonics and the Sacramento Kings. His number 6 was retired by the Boston Celtics.

Bill Russell will go down as one of the all-time great players ever. An outstanding college player at the University of San Francisco. Also, a great NBA head coach, an Olympian and just an all-around great contributor to all facets to the game of basketball. If you didn't know his name, I’m sure you'll remember it now. Ask anyone who knows hoop and they will know who Bill Russell is.

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