35 Burst results for "Bill Russell"
ESPN Daily
"bill russell" Discussed on ESPN Daily
"So Bill Russell sucks that basketball is his where we are in this story, which I did not expect to be discussing, but when does it get better? When does it become clear that wait a minute? Hope is not lost with this kid. Yeah, so the foundation was always there. Like anyone who grows to be 6 foot ten or whatever, you're athletes so you're gonna figure it out eventually. And after his high school career, he started to get a little better. Again, he showed up USF kind of raw and uncoordinated, but they worked with him because he was just this amazing athlete. In fact, he broke the school record for the high jump record that still stands today. And so they kind of molded them, worked with them. Basically just morphing him into shape. And it was an assistant coach Ross the who's credited with helping him to sharpen up his defense in a way that was kind of controversial at the time. Wait, what is controversial to me? What kind of methodologies techniques are we describing here? Yeah, so basically the rule of the day at that time was you don't leave your feet on defense. You can get pumped fakes. You can get fatigue from jumping up and down so much. Sure. And if you block a shot, JaVale McGee, it might just go out of bounds and the team gets them all back anyway. No, this is an old school, right? Like, do not leave your feet on defense. It's something that I imagine. Probably felt a little limiting to the guy who was the highest jumper in school history. Yeah, and it's a philosophy that his head coach at the time, Phil whooper believed in strongly as well. Whooper clashed with Russell all the time. Over Russell's defensive style. In some ways, wolpert was especially in those early years, Russell was leaping to block shots and wilbert was still enough of a traditionalist where he was coaching him not to do that. They did not agree on this philosophy, but I think he eventually learned that, you know, some rules are made to be broken. And in this case, you have a high jump champion who was nearly 7 feet tall and, you know, let him do his thing. Yeah, it turns out, Bill Russell, better than JaVale McGee. Yeah, that's absolutely right. It turns out that bill didn't know what he was talking about. He averaged 19 points in 19 rebounds in his sophomore year. The team finished a second in their conference and a whim 14 game. But it's not just like natural ability. He somehow became a better player. He kind of went on a self work study. He just studied office of players moves, the be a better position to guard it. He used his long arms and leaving abilities to kind of impact offenses and defenses because he can start the fast break if he's blocking shots and stuff like that. So all in all, he was more self taught than anything else and he turned out to be right. All right, Martinez, after the break, Bill Russell sparks those Dons to a historic winning streak. So Mackenzie now we're at the point of the story where Bill Russell is officially good at basketball. And it's 1954 and he's a junior in college and the homeless Dons are feeling a little more confident, right? They've just come off this season before where they were second in the conference, and now what happens? So now to start things off, whooper who was born in Los Angeles, which is a little more racially diverse than the rest of the rest of the country. He does the unthinkable when he starts not only Bill Russell, but also Casey Jones, who would be his teammate with the Boston Celtics, a few years later, and then also how Perry who came in and saying freshman classes Bill Russell. And I mean, it was unheard of to even have one black player at the time. And I was on the roster, not as a starter, and they had three black starters. And it turns out that was a pretty smart move, right? So in his first game against Loyola marymount, he scored a school record 39 points. Mind you going into that season, he wasn't even considered one of the best players in the country, and he almost scored 40 right out the gate. And in the second game of the season, USF actually loses to UCLA and John Wooden, but there is a glass half full here in that this will be the last time that the Dons would lose over the next two years. Right. This is the part where the streak officially begins. Because what happens from here is yeah, it's absurd. Yeah, so they first just pull off tin straight wins, including a rematch with UCLA, where they do read the bruins this time, but it's the defense and Bill Russell. That's driving this. We had the full court press on. And we overplayed everything because if they got by us, they had to deal with Russell. We would get beat and then he would come and block a shot. I don't know how they didn't keep records in on block shots, but he must have had a ton every game. They're more vertical because this man can jump out of the gym. There's more fast brakes, which is kind of brand new to basketball at this time. When he blocked a shot, he blocked it to one of us. Instead of knocking it out of bounds and we get out on the fast break, because he'd never seen that type of play before. Even to us as a teammate, it was fun to watch. Their whole opponents to just 52 points a game like they're just a monster at this point to which they end the season on a 21 game win streak. Wait, so this team, which is a revelation with Bill Russell pushing the break and stopping everybody who dares to attack him at a time when people are again afraid to jump. Like by basketball coaching standards, like they don't really jump in this game yet. So when they get into the tournament, when they get to March Madness, this is the first NCAA tournament for Bill Russell and the Dons in 55. What's that Montage like? It goes pretty well for them. He scores 29 points in the first game. He's a little limited in the second game because he's sick and only scores 13 points, but he follows that up with 29 points in 24 points. And then in championship game against LaSalle, who are the defending champions, he scores 23 points and grabbed 25 rebounds. And who knows how many blocks because they just weren't counted at the time. That's right. Also, we should know that one of the things that Bill Russell did better than anybody else, not actually kept as a statistic at this time in terms of how ahead of the game ahead of the curve he was in so many different ways. Yeah, according to the NCAA, Bill Russell never recorded a block in his entire life. I'd be so mad. And so in the season on the 25 game winning streak, they obviously are the national champions and Russell just through this one season almost changes
ESPN Daily
"bill russell" Discussed on ESPN Daily
"When Bill Russell passed away on July 31st of last year, I wasn't exactly sure how we as a show would ever be able to summarize everything he met. The scope of his life is almost paralyzing fast. I mean, Russell's name adorns the Finals MVP award. He was the first black head coach in NBA history. He was this fixture and not just in our history books in which he shaped the evolution of race relations in America, but also in the present tense. Giving Charles Barkley the finger on camera. And an NBA awards show that one year. Among professional basketball players, I'm not sure that anybody was respected more than Bill Russell. But today, and Martin Johnson takes us inside the chapter of Russell's life that I did not know nearly enough about. And it's the chapter that predates and explains his unparalleled NBA career. I'm Pablo Torre. It's Tuesday. February 21st. And this is ESPN daily. For the ones who get it done, Granger offers high quality supplies and solutions for every industry, as well as access to product specialists who have the knowledge and experience to answer your toughest questions. Plus their commitment to being your safety partner can help you keep your facilities safe and your people safer. So call click ranger dot com or just stop by. Some more tension, I know that Bill Russell was born in 1934, but what was it actually like to be him as a little kid? How did that shape everything we would go on to understand them? Yeah, he was born in 1934 in Louisiana and for those who aren't history bus that was during the time of the Jim Crow south. Even the county that he was born in had 35 lynchings in his history. Like that's what this man was born into. His father was a sharecropper, which is really a euphemism for no longer a slave. He actually paid for his work. And he was taught by his parents two things. One being at white people were not, in fact, better than him. But then also white supremacy and white oppression were never acceptable. So I talked to doctor aram good Susie in a history professor at the university of Memphis and author of king of the court, Bill Russell, and the basketball revolution, and he told me he really developed his ideas about how to be as a person, very much so from his parents. His father, Charlie Russell, really gave him a model of manhood, so to speak. He was a man who knew how to draw a line between himself and the indignities that Jim Crow could put upon an African American man in the south in the 1930s. He did what he had to do to survive, but he also knew how to push back against white oppression when it was sort of dignity was at stake when his personality was at stake. And these were a lot of the stories that Bill heard as a child. That really influenced the kind of person that he would become. And so that is who Bill Russell was raised to be, right? And he carried those lessons over some thousands of miles away when his family landed in west Oakland in 1943 as one of the 6 million black people who left the south during that time to search for better opportunities in the western and north. And the Great Migration, by the way, is, I think, literally just an entire college course unto itself, but I do want to understand it insofar as the russells leave rural Louisiana and this is again, as you said, the 40s and they land in the bay. And that sounds on the surface, very different. But how would you describe what it was actually like at that time? Yeah, so this is around the time of World War II. There's a lot of manufacturing jobs going on. So this is where they end up landing. There's a lot of iron and steel factories, transportation, and surface area jobs. So there's a need for people that just need for jobs to be worked. This leads to drastic change in a demographics of Oakland. As we can tell in 2023, when black people start showing up, white people get out of the way. So the high school he went to mcclements was primarily white when he moved there with his family, but over time it became a majority black school. And to this day is a majority black school. So it was bill's kind of as a racial utopia, being the west, the north anywhere but the south, but as anyone will come to learn, racism is more or less everywhere. So he really didn't escape it all that much. But where Russell landed in terms of school was in San Francisco, as you said, across the bridge. And what was that community like for him specifically? Yeah, so like you said, you went across the bay bridge to San Francisco at the university of San Francisco, which was a little bit more racially liberal than more parts of the country, but I wanted kind of a firsthand recollection of what it was like. So we tracked down the last living starter from Russell's final year as a college basketball player at USF, his name's Mike farmer. He grew up in the east bay, so he's from the area. He went to Richmond high school, and he talked to me about how diverse the city was and how diverse really the program was. I've visited a lot. I went to Stanford. I went down to USC, and I went over and I watched USF play against Santa Clara. And I just liked the way they played. I like the black infusion because of Richmond high. I was the only white player on the team. So that was very comfortable for me. Yeah, now I have questions about the university of San Francisco as this institution because I mostly know it because Bill Russell went there, but what was it like before he showed up? Not great, Pablo. The basketball team just wasn't that good, and it really wasn't all that finance. They didn't have a home gym to play or practice in. In fact, they had to practice at the local high school. We had to practice at saint ignatius high school. And we had to fit in with their freshman JV software JV and varsity teams. They were nicknamed the homeless Dons because of the lack of practice facility and a home arena. Wait, so the homeless Dons and that is, I think the saddest team nickname I've ever heard. The homeless Don's welcome in the greatest winner in all of sports. As I understand him today, how immediate was the impact when a young Bill Russell showed up? How good was a young Bill Russell? Oh, he was cheeks. He was not good at all. A former basketball system for the team said that Russell could barely make a layup. They called him gangly, on coordinated, during his first practice, he couldn't walk and squat at the same time. They called him fundamentally unsound. I love the idea that historians like Aaron goody and verified the scouting report too. No Russell was the 16th player on a 15 man JV team at mcclellan's high school. He was still sort of figuring out the game of basketball by the time that he graduated from high school. The most points he ever scored in a game was 14 points. When he was a senior and it was in his very last high school game.
The Lead
"bill russell" Discussed on The Lead
"I'm <Speech_Male> <Speech_Music_Male> <SpeakerChange> <Music> <Silence> <Speech_Music_Male> not <SpeakerChange> back <Speech_Male> to him. And <Music> that was it. <Speech_Music_Male> I've covered <Speech_Music_Male> athletes I've come for <Speech_Male> politicians of, <Speech_Music_Male> you know, I spend <Speech_Music_Male> a lot of time around the owners <Speech_Music_Male> of teams. <Speech_Male> Et cetera, <Speech_Music_Male> very rarely <Speech_Music_Male> am I in all of any <Speech_Music_Male> of any one of those people, <Speech_Male> but Bill Russell <Speech_Male> have never forgotten <Speech_Male> that <Speech_Male> very brief <Speech_Male> interaction <Speech_Male> in the way in <Speech_Music_Male> which he communicated <Speech_Music_Male> his <Speech_Music_Male> gravitas <Speech_Music_Male> <Silence> without <Music> saying anything. <Music> <Music> <SpeakerChange> <Silence> Bill Russell <Speech_Male> didn't just <Speech_Male> stand up <Speech_Music_Male> to racism. <Speech_Male> Bill Russell <Speech_Male> stood up. <Speech_Male> He challenged <Speech_Male> in cajoled <Speech_Male> and confronted <Speech_Male> the racism, <Speech_Male> not only in Boston, <Speech_Music_Male> but across <Speech_Male> the country. Bill <Speech_Male> Russell, the man, <Speech_Male> as someone who stood <Speech_Male> up for the rights and dignity <Speech_Male> of <SpeakerChange> all men. <Speech_Male> When he <Speech_Male> finally <Silence> receives <Speech_Male> that Presidential <Speech_Male> Medal of <Speech_Male> Freedom, <Speech_Male> the highest honor <Speech_Male> that you <Speech_Male> can have bestowed <Speech_Male> upon you by the president <Speech_Male> of the United States. <Speech_Male> That's a very <Speech_Male> significant <SpeakerChange> <Speech_Male> moment. When a restaurant <Speech_Music_Male> refused to serve the black <Speech_Male> Celtics, he <Speech_Male> refused to play in the <Speech_Male> scheduled game. <Speech_Male> <Speech_Male> He endured insults <Speech_Male> and vandalism, <Speech_Male> but he kept <Speech_Male> on focusing on making <Speech_Male> the teammates <SpeakerChange> who he loved. <Speech_Male> <Speech_Male> Better players. <Speech_Male> <Speech_Male> And made <Speech_Male> possible the success <Speech_Male> of so many who would follow. <Speech_Male> <SpeakerChange> Bill Russell <Speech_Male> had been retired <Speech_Music_Male> from basketball <Speech_Music_Male> at that point <Speech_Music_Male> for <Speech_Male> a good <Speech_Male> 40, <Speech_Music_Male> 50 years. <Speech_Music_Male> And <Speech_Music_Male> had <Speech_Male> never been recognized <Speech_Male> for his contributions <Speech_Male> either <Speech_Male> as an athlete <Speech_Male> or as an activist <Speech_Male> or as a humanitarian, <Speech_Male> that it came <Speech_Male> from <Speech_Music_Male> Barack Obama <Speech_Male> made it <Speech_Male> even more <SpeakerChange> <Speech_Male> significant. <Speech_Music_Male> <Music> <SpeakerChange> And then <Speech_Music_Male> he took it <Speech_Music_Male> and used it to make <Speech_Male> it even <Speech_Male> greater point. Bill <Speech_Music_Male> Russell <Speech_Music_Male> himself <Speech_Music_Male> taking a photo <Speech_Male> wearing the <Speech_Male> Presidential Medal of <Speech_Music_Male> Freedom. Kneeling <Speech_Male> in solidarity <Speech_Male> with Colin <Speech_Music_Male> Kaepernick, who <Speech_Music_Male> liked Muhammad <Speech_Music_Male> Ali <Speech_Music_Male> risked and lost <Speech_Music_Male> probably <Speech_Music_Male> the rest of his career <Speech_Music_Male> in he <Speech_Music_Male> expressed <Speech_Music_Male> that solidarity <Speech_Music_Male> in an image <Speech_Music_Male> of himself <Speech_Male> kneeling <Speech_Male> while wearing the <Speech_Music_Male> Presidential Medal of Freedom. <Speech_Music_Male> So he did <Speech_Music_Male> that as a direct <Speech_Music_Male> challenge <Speech_Music_Male> to the rhetoric of <Speech_Music_Male> a former president <Speech_Music_Male> Trump who was <Speech_Music_Male> calling out Colin <Speech_Music_Male> Kaepernick and other athletes <Speech_Music_Male> who kneeled at <Speech_Music_Male> the time and Bill <Speech_Music_Male> Russell was saying, no, <Speech_Music_Male> <Advertisement> no, no. <Speech_Music_Male> <Advertisement> There's a president <Speech_Music_Male> <Advertisement> who was <Speech_Music_Male> <Advertisement> in office immediately <Speech_Male> before you bestowed <Speech_Music_Male> this high honor <Speech_Male> upon me <Speech_Music_Male> as an athlete <Speech_Music_Male> because I stood <Speech_Music_Male> up and challenged power <Speech_Music_Male> and that is <Speech_Music_Male> not what Kaepernick <Speech_Music_Male> is doing is not <Speech_Male> un American. What <Speech_Music_Male> Ali did is <Speech_Male> not an American and <Speech_Male> what I did is <Speech_Music_Male> not un American <Speech_Music_Male> these are the most <Speech_Music_Male> patriotic most <Speech_Music_Male> American things <Speech_Music_Male> that you can do <Speech_Male> and a <Speech_Music_Male> president does not <Speech_Male> have the ability <Speech_Music_Male> and should not be <Speech_Music_Male> attempt to silence <Speech_Music_Male> American citizens <Speech_Male> who are speaking <Speech_Male> truth power in that way. <Speech_Male> <SpeakerChange> <Speech_Music_Male> The hope <Speech_Music_Male>
The Lead
"bill russell" Discussed on The Lead
"In my parents bed. You think about everything that he endured, the things he said about how he was a Celtic, he wasn't a Boston member, and you understand where he's coming from because of everything that he endured to be rejected by the city of Boston. When he was, he should have been the hero of Boston at the time. I never was comfortable playing for themselves because the number one paper was the Boston Herald and they didn't like the idea of having black players. And this is a big part of why when Bill Russell retired, he was done with the city of Boston, and he didn't want the statue and they had to they had to really convince him to get a statue recently. So we're here to celebrate the whole man, not just his records as a Celtics. We're not here to represent just his block shots and all of those different things. And I remember being at the statue ceremony, and he was so old that he collapsed a little bit, like during the proceedings, and he had to sit down and rest and people were kind of freaked out. I don't think he ever had his reckoning where the city truly came face to face with its own past to honor him and the way that they should have until it was a little bit too late, honestly. He's a role model to all Americans. All Americans, and Boston, we owe it to gratitude to him. And if we're honest and apology, to his family, you know, Tommy heinsohn, who was his teammate and was a beloved Celtic who stayed with the organization all the way until he passed a couple years ago. I won't quote him because he cursed it, but he said that it was so absurd that they named a tunnel after Ted Williams when Bill Russell won the most championships of anybody we ever seen. IB Ted Williams deserves his plot it's for sure, but like Bill Russell was the ultimate champion in Boston history. And it was a shame that he didn't get to enjoy that legacy the way that he should have. But what's been great is that you see when he passed, he was an absolute national hero. And he's a huge part of why our country has progressed so much. And so I think what's been great to see is, even if he never quite got the do that he deserved in Boston, he will continue to see his legacy live on across the entire country. My name is Ryan Jones. I'm in the interpretation department at the national civil rights museum, which is the site of the assassination of doctor Martin Luther King Jr.. Sort of understand the world the world in which Bill Russell was coming up in in the early 20th century, the Deep South during this period, leading in between the first and second world wars was grounds for racial terrorism and the country. When I was enthusiastic, my brother kept me away from white people, but she could. And she kept white people away from me because she said, you don't know what they'll do. African Americans are completely disbarred from attending certain schools, all public facilities across the country, and any time African Americans appear to threaten this way of life specifically in the Deep South there would be repercussions and that would range from simple intimidation to beatings and even murders. What happened to the knights of the Ku Klux Klan had this black guy on the Woods beating him and you could hear him screaming and crying for mercy, at least about the way. So many African Americans and they were migrants of the Deep South, but there was this, in a way, the 20th centuries underground railroad were African Americans are leaving the rural south and areas where they had a better life. It was security. It was opportunity. It was protection. You know, you could hold your head up in areas such as Chicago, Gary, Indiana, Detroit, Baltimore. The Midwest, even those that went to California, which is exactly where the family of Bill Russell went as he was coming of age. Nowadays, we call it we migrated from Louisiana to California where I was in third grade. In those days we said we escaped. The role that African American athletes serve during the civil rights struggle was one of embraced in the 1930s and 40s specifically when there are barriers that are beginning to be broken across the line of sport with Jesse Owens wins the gold medal in 1936. Jackie Robinson, desegregate, Major League Baseball in 1947, Earl Lloyd is drafted in 1950 integrating the National Basketball Association. But when Bill were also comes into the league in 1956, I believe, drafted after a stellar career at the university of San Francisco. It is still staunchly segregated and Bill Russell is drafted to it a team that was known for its subtle not so subtle practices of racial discrimination, blatant racism, but yet it does not defer his level of playing in the NBA as he's one of the more successful players in the history of this association.
The Lead
"bill russell" Discussed on The Lead
"My name is Jared Weiss, and I cover the Celtics for the athletic. The most impressive thing about Bill Russell's career on the court, honestly, for me, was the way he innovated. He was almost like Jimi Hendrix at a similar time in the history of his profession in that he came in at kind of right at the modernization of the sport and he was the one that I think truly ushered in that revolution. What will Chamberlain did on the offensive end of the way he dunked the ball, the way that he leaped over everybody, Russell did that on the other side of the floor, and what made Russell so fascinating was that he blocked shots and his coach in college literally told him you're not supposed to leave your feet to block a shot. Like why are you jumping? And Russell was the first person that just went, I don't understand why I wouldn't leave my feet because he was a track and field athlete. He was one of the best high jumpers in the country. I was ranked number two at number three best high jumper in track and field. And the whole world at the time. I ran hurdles and a low jumped, and my vertical was I could get my eyes above the rim. You used to say that he could jump so high. He could kick the net and he could touch the top of the backboard, which watching some of the film and film probably was not an exaggeration. I mean, the guy had an absolutely insane vertical leap. So I was an athlete to learn how to play basketball. And so my skills were unconventional because I was doing things that no one had seen before. And I think made him so special was that when he had this power, this innovative power, he didn't use it to spike the ball out of bounds. Like we see so many people do. And so for him, blocking shots was a pass. There was Russell blocking the shot by west. Russell has a back again. He was looking to tip the ball to a teammate to start a fast break and create the really innovate this uptempo era of basketball. Barnett goes in and Russell flexes. This is a three on two break. Casey Jones goes in and makes it. So as much of an impact as he had on the defensive end of just changing the mindset in the technique and the understanding of how you're supposed to stop and shot in the sport, he also revolutionized the high pace offensive game that really took over the early periods of the sport and the NBA has literally been changing the rules to try to bring that back because we can see that Russell was someone who created an aesthetically ideal version of basketball. Has made three big plays the last three minutes of the game. I grew up in Boston and I was raised by a father who loved the Celtics of Celtics for his great passion. And Bill Russell was my role model as a kid. My father spent more time explaining his legacy on and off the floor. His principles as a man, the way he innovated the game, the way that he thought the game through a lens of teamwork and making the right decision to better the whole. Those are the things that I learned as a child that kind of helped shape who I became as a person as I grew up. And so for me, I've always looked at Bill Russell as kind of like the central thread of the Boston ideology and the Boston identity because Boston for so long had this blue collar mentality, the sense of community, even though that maybe was a little bit misleading because of all the issues Boston has had with race
Fresh Air
"bill russell" Discussed on Fresh Air
"This is fresh air. I'm Dave Davies in for Terry gross. Bill Russell, one of the most iconic players in pro basketball history, died Sunday at the age of 88. Russell was a big man who was the game's first noted shot blocker and his rebounding and passing made him the ultimate team player. He led the Boston Celtics to 8 straight NBA titles, 11 in all in his 13 seasons. He was a 5 time league most valuable player. In 1967, Russell became the NBA's first African American head coach when he replaced Celtics coach red auerbach. Russell served as a player coach for three years. Russell had an uneasy relationship with Boston fans. In 1987, his daughter wrote an essay detailing the racism Russell had faced, including racist vandalism visited upon the family home in 1960. Russell refused to sign autographs, and when his number was retired by the team in 1972, he insisted it be at a private ceremony at the Boston garden. Russell was also active on civil rights issues. He joined the 1963 March on Washington and was in the front row for Martin Luther King's I have a dream speech. He went to Mississippi after civil rights leader medgar Evers was murdered. In 2011, president Barack Obama awarded Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Terry spoke to Bill Russell in 2001 when he published a book called Russell rules, 11 lessons on leadership. Russell began by talking about how the Celtics developed defensive skills among their players. We had in drill that we would put our hands out in front and move them away, left hand goes left and right hand to go right. And see how far you could take them and still see them, both at the same time. And you see, so that if I'm in the right position, using my peripheral vision, about 90% of the time I can see all ten players and two or three referees. Well, let me put this into play for a second. Say, I mean, you led the NBA in rebuilding for several seasons, say you're getting a boil on the rebound and you're using your peripheral vision to see where the rest of your team is. So you can figure out who to tap the ball to. Tell me what's going through your mind. What you're doing physically and mentally. On this rebound? Well, first of all, to get to rebound, I try to get to position before the shots take it. You see, if you watch a player, see, you have to count on players being good. First of all, and one of the things that make you good is consistency. So when I say, for example, I see Jerry West set in Casey up to take a jump shot from the right side. Well, I know most of the time, if he misses where the rebound is going to go, because he's consistent, after count on his greatness, so I start going to where his misses go. Okay, now, when he mentioned I get a rebound, I've collaborated with kuzi, Casey, whoever my point guard is. When the shot is taken, there to go to an open spot. Either on the left side of the right side, which we've talked about before. And so use my peripheral vision as I make sure I got to rebound first. And then I look at the corner of my eye, and if we're at home, I look for white uniform in that spot. Just to white. The color. If we're on the road, I look for the green. And so I'll let them know that I see that green just as the color. I don't have time to focus focus in so that I can see the whole person. And then I just, most of the time before I landed, I would have passed the ball to that uniform. And that would start off fast break. There's only one problem with that though. Yeah. Very much. Because by the time I get to the top of the key from the defense, Casey a coup, they've gotten one of the guys who shot. Could we used to get those shots? When I was having a good rebounding night, they eventually we would be shooting with 6 seconds. And they didn't wait for me. And every player electric shoot. Let's talk a little bit about your approach to blocking your greatest opponent, which was will Chamberlain. He was 5 inches taller than you were. Now you have the ability to jump, how did you use jumping in anything else that you could do to block Chamberlain? Well, one of the things that I learned maybe in high school in college that when people shoot jump shots, for example, are mostly shots now very rarely the people shoot standing still. Without jumping. Now they shoot sometimes they shoot three pointer without jumping, but mostly a jump shot. Well, when you jump to shoot, you can not jump as high as you can. Because if you do, you won't be able to shoot at the end of the at the height. Because the theater shot starts in your feet and flows up to your body and these are your fingertips. They may sound a less Tariq, but it's the truth. And so most guys that are good jumpers will jump as high as they maybe at half as high as they can jump from this shoot offensively. The defensive player is not a nose constraint. He can jump as high as he possibly can because he doesn't have to shoot at the jump. And so when wilt would take his jump his fadeaway jump shot, first of all, his left handed. And so I didn't have to reach across my body to get to his right hand. So I picked up three inches right there. Then I could jump as high as I possibly can. He limited to high can jump. So I pick up another three inches. So now I'm up with the ball. Now, but with him, if I did that too often, that would not be intelligent thing for me to do. Because without his physical talent, he was also very, very smart. And so if you did something to stop him what he wanted to do, he would make adjustments. And you did not want him to make an adjustment.
The Crossover NBA Show with Chris Mannix
"bill russell" Discussed on The Crossover NBA Show with Chris Mannix
"Community and with obviously a very distinct understanding of it. LeBron James just a month ago on his show the shop was asked why he hates Boston fans and he said, quote, because they're racist as fuck, that's why. And he says that they quote say whatever the fuck they want. He says he's been hit with a beer leaving a game there. This doesn't come up very much that bluntly or publicly anymore, right? Like if players talk about this stuff, it's usually in hushed tones. Nobody wants to piss off a place that they might have fans or where they might get traded tomorrow or whatever, that gets rare in today's NBA. But it underscores this twice about it. Well, yes. And notable that LeBron did it in the relative safety of his own show and in the off season. He will get asked about it eventually, of course, when teams reconvene the fall. But it's rare. It's rare that anybody speaks about it this openly, but it underscores that this hasn't gone away. And so I wonder to the extent that what we're talking about Bill Russell and the impact he had in a variety of ways as the city of a really has the community ever really reckoned with this aspect of it. That Bill Russell didn't even feel welcome enough in Boston to stay there after his career that he got as far away as possible that he didn't attend his own Jersey retirements that he skipped a championship parade and all that. Has the city ever really reckoned with it? Do you think that anything has changed over the decades from Russell to the present in which we have LeBron James that still the face of the league saying what he said? Of course but I was going to say about LeBron also owns a piece of Fenway sports group, so he's a business investor in the city of Boston. So let's not forget that piece of it. So yeah, I think that it's different. I think that has the city changed. Well, the money has changed the city. Boston is not the Boston that it was in the 1950s, 60 70s and 80s.
The Crossover NBA Show with Chris Mannix
"bill russell" Discussed on The Crossover NBA Show with Chris Mannix
"More at UMG C EDU slash podcast. Certify to operate by chef. I wonder too how much of that Howard is a failure of us, the royal we, I guess. The media that, you know, a lot of what was written in the last few days about Bill Russell about his life and especially about the things he had to endure, I'm not sure how many NBA fans, especially of younger generations, were aware of everything he had to endure. Almost every story made note of coming home to find his home ransacked and feces spread in various places. I don't know that that has been written about explored disgust in the last 20 years of NBA coverage to the extent that it was in the last few days because now it's important at the end for us to note while Bill Russell wasn't just an incredible player but he's an incredible man and he was a Beacon for social justice and he did it at a time when the consequences and the risks were far, far greater than they are for today's athletes. And so then the details are almost cataloged. But I don't know that an NBA fan reading anything about Bill Russell or about his legacy over the last 20 or 30 years. How much of that would they have seen? I wonder how much of this is our failure? That's right. It's our failure, but also, you know, we have to think about who we are and where we are. It's always makes me, I don't know, I don't know how I feel. I don't know how it makes me feel, but I feel something. When you make the argument, why don't you know about what happened in the 60s or why don't you know what, you know, when you're admonishing this generation. And then I think about it, okay, I'm 53 years old. And when I was in high school, that's the equivalent when I graduated high school. That's the equivalent of looking at me and asking me why I didn't know about things from 1933. You know what I mean? It's just going to make sure we're asking today. If I'm asking today's high school senior, yeah. Exactly. It's the equivalent of saying, well, why didn't you know that? And so, of course, you don't know. I didn't know anything. I mean, now obviously the technology is different because more things have been preserved and you would think. But the actual time gap? Sure. Totally different. You know, the time gap is enormous, a lot of things have changed in 50 years. Most people don't know what happened last Tuesday. Never mind, why don't they know about the early age of the NBA?
The Crossover NBA Show with Chris Mannix
"bill russell" Discussed on The Crossover NBA Show with Chris Mannix
"I mean, you're asking the things you're asking of a Bill Russell. You're not even close to asking of anyone today. Not a single player, not one, not even not LeBron, none of them. So LeBron gets his the front of his house gets spray painted. And they made a federal case out of it. I mean, they told people Bill Russell won, nobody chuck responsibility for it. And he was treated as though, you know, that he was the problem for complaining. And then they're still asking you to go out and perform. And when you're thinking about all the things that this man had to endure from his allies from people who actually liked him, people don't appreciate any of it. And that's why I say that Russell was more revered when he was playing than he did when he retired even though everyone says that numbers are the thing that matter the way that Michael Jordan was like, well, 6 is more than 5. And yet people still tried to denigrate Russell's championships because, oh, the NBA was easy back then if it was easy, how did he win all of them? I mean, let's also think about this is that red Arabic never won a championship as a coach without Bill Russell? I'm cruising everyone a championship without Bill Russell Bill sharman never won a title without Bill Russell. He's the game changer. He's the difference maker. And what I don't understand in terms of the in terms of this reflex to do that is to your point to what end are we doing this? What argument are you trying to make? And especially when we say that numbers are so important, he's got the numbers. He's got the very thing you're asking for. And on top of that, if you go back and look at those games, go back and just hop on basketball reference and look at those games. He's winning one 25 to one 23 and double overtime. I mean, these are competitive competitive games. It's not like you're just walking out there and bolt racing everybody. It's not like USA basketball up until, you know, the 1980s or the 90s, or Dream Team 92, they're playing incredibly close games against players that you see all the time. And yet people are still trying to because I guess because it's in black and white or whatever they're thinking, oh, maybe it really wasn't that good. Or because we haven't seen it, right? Because we didn't see it. There's not much of an available to even see. Yeah, right. I was talking about money about this. And we were talking about how the NBA is a real disservice. Because you didn't see it the way you see it now. I think today's generations because of the technology are in such a better position because no matter what generation. I mean, who knows what's going to come next in the human evolution, but your future generations are going to be able to watch virtually every game, to be honest career. In color, nothing grainy, no, it's not going to be a single clip that they run back and forth 50 times when something happens. You can watch all of his career.
The Crossover NBA Show with Chris Mannix
"bill russell" Discussed on The Crossover NBA Show with Chris Mannix
"Migration, a nice bit of happenstance as I picked up the book that the first thing I found was, in fact, not just a basketball type, but a Bill Russell ty on the week that we are going to be speaking about Bill Russell, of course, who passed away on Sunday. He's right there. So I want to talk about that connection too, but let's start with the great column you wrote for ESPN this week. The headline of which was Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell deserves our reverence understanding and respect and like this, I felt like this summed it up perfectly because there's this assumption I think, especially when we talk about MBA legends, Hall of Famers, that they all must have been appreciated to respect it in their time, right? We don't think twice about whether Michael Jordan or magic or Kobe or Kevin Durant even Steph, who has been, you know, somewhat of a figure of a lot of debate. We don't worry in the contemporaneously, whether they're getting their due. Whether they got as the three words that you had in that headline, reverence understanding respect. But not always the case. And not the case for Bill Russell. To the extent that we've had a long time reflect on him before he died. And unfortunately it often happens that we don't speak about the full breadth of a person until they're gone. Did he get his his the reverence and respect and understanding that he earned at any point in his career or even post career? Well, I would actually like to go backward on this. I would go post career and then go back to career. I think he got more respect when he was playing and he got less respect this time went on. And I think part of the reason I'm going to go to places Howard on the my theory on this point number one is I just feel like there's no other sport like basketball where the actual physical game we were watching is more different than its early roots. Baseball, it's still the same wheel. I mean, the players are different. They're better in some ways. They're more athletic, you know, all those different things are there. Football, same thing. It's a more aerial game when you go out there and watch some of the old guys. It's not the same as watching the NFL. Same is true for hockey, of course. But basketball is the one where jumping Joel folks looks nothing like Kobe Bryant in terms of just the evolution of the game is so great. And what that does is that completely undermines the accomplishments of the older players. You go back and you go and how many times have we heard?
Open Floor: SI's NBA Show
"bill russell" Discussed on Open Floor: SI's NBA Show
"Increasingly precious resource, like the reduction of soil loss by 40% with every acre grown in a world where sustainability matters more than ever, we need all the help we can get, and there's no greater resource than the capable hands of American corn farmers. We're going to move on down and talk about a little bit of other things going around the NBA. Hit some mailbag questions. You know, easy way to kind of segue out of that obviously, but again, Bill Russell, like you said, man, what a life. Please read whatever you can about them. Truly incredible. We're going to get to something else though that's near and dear to your heart that you texted me about. You're like, we got to talk about this. And I don't know how I missed it, frankly. But your Philadelphia 76ers, the cheaters that they are. The rule breakers that they are disgusting should be forced to sit and be for the whole season if you ask me. Tampering with PJ Tucker, that's the allegation they're being investigated for it by the NBA. All I'm going to say is it's real convenient that PJ Tucker had had this deal lined up. James Harden just took the perfect amount of pay cut to fit him under the salary cap, et cetera. The league's now investigating them. The Knicks are also being investigated for potentially tampering. With Jalen Brunson, John, I mean, where do you want to go with this first? You want to go with the sixers, you want to go with how tampering is insane. Your thoughts on this issue as it pertains to your beloved sixers. Well, as my longtime friend, Jim waxman would say, if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying. So kudos to them on this one. So yeah, woj broke this and said that the league is investigating possible tampering and early contact senator on the franchise's summer free agency class of James Harden PJ Tucker and Daniel house. Basically, how do you get hardened to take decline his $47 million option and sign a one plus one deal that cut his salary to $33 million and gave the team more flexibility to sign Tucker and house. Okay, but is it tampering really when it's your guy who's already there, right?
Open Floor: SI's NBA Show
"bill russell" Discussed on Open Floor: SI's NBA Show
"Didn't stop fighting for the things that he knew to be right. Didn't excuse the racism that was prevalent in Boston, the undertones of it. Sometimes the overtones of it. And yet, was this unifying figure. And the way that he bridged that gap, I don't think that I would have had that grace, right? I don't think that if I was somebody who was in his position and came home and found my house vandalized or heard slurs on the street that I could turn the other cheek and go, no, you know, I'm going to keep fighting for these things, but also I can see the good and people who aren't like that. But that was Bill Russell and when he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by president Obama, he said, I hope that this is an indication that I let a good life and man did he. That's really well said John and you nailed it. I mean, yeah, you and I are not going to be able to unpack kind of fully that era of American society and the race relations in Boston and I think you bring up a good point like he did love the city and there are black people in Boston who loved him and there's so many layers to that situation and it was so complicated but you mentioned just the kind of the you know I also don't blame the people who don't have grace but just kind of the integrity which with he dealt with everything that came his way in his life is it's really beautiful and I do want to talk about him as a basketball player for a second. Only in the sense that I just love how much of a competitor he was, like you know just even forget the championships and all those things like we always hear these stories about Michael Jordan or et cetera these people who are kind of these legendary competitors and I think you can put him in that category. I mean there's that clip that you know a lot of people have shared. I remember watching it when it happened but he's on stage at like the NBA awards with all the other centers and he's pointing at all of them. He's like I would kick your ass. Like that's awesome, you know that competitive spirit that he had and there's a clip that I saw again a lot of people have been posting this.
Open Floor: SI's NBA Show
"bill russell" Discussed on Open Floor: SI's NBA Show
"Opposite. From the first to the last and I have, again, such deep respect for people like that who at potential expense to them say this is what I think. This is what needs to change. This is what I believe to be right and wrong. And all to his credit. He's a legend in so many ways and so, so much of it doesn't have anything to do with basketball. Absolutely. And there's so many ways to talk about him and, you know, one thing that really strikes me is, you know, we live obviously in a very kind of like charged moment in society and realizing the ways in which the systemic racism that he fought against, the different ways in which it's manifesting itself now, right? Again, it's maybe not as explicit as some of the things that he dealt with. It doesn't mean it's gone away entirely, but just to think about, again, and I don't want to, it's just tough to think about the fact that there's gonna be so many people who pay tribute to him today who are going to criticize the next round of athletes who take the similar stand that he did. And it goes back to his braveness and just how cool he was and I just think about how all the times I was at an all star weekend or at an event that he was ahead or it's just so cool how much he was around the NBA. You can tell, I can't think of a single player who does not have just the utmost respect for him and what he means to the game and the influence that he still has on players. It's really beautiful and it's just he's such a larger than life figure to me. I think I've told the story on the podcast before. I know it's told to subpoena at least, but I remember leaving Charlotte for all star weekend once and ahead of me in the security line at the airport was Bill Russell. Yeah. I was just so taken aback. I've never, ever, ever, ever been that star struck in my entire life.
Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast
"bill russell" Discussed on Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast
"Get it. You know why? Because he was so regenerist. There's never been another Bill Russell. There have been a lot of wonderful big he was ahead of his time athletically, as he told me and others, he could touch the kick the win. Kick the rim. Yeah, yeah. And he was a quick jumper. There was two kinds of jumpers. Gatherers, you know? Or quick taper offers. He was a quick taper offer. With Afghanistan, will it was a gatherer? You always a quick taper offer? But didn't get that high, but he was a quick taper offer. Larry. Larry was a quick taper offer. Right. Well, among others was not. Anyway, Russell was. And it was an extraordinary ahead of his time athleticism. Robeson, I jumped 6 9 when no technique, you know, in college. Anyway, but he was a genius in knowing the game. That's the thing he was a genius when he really understood the game. And my man. My first year on a beat was 69 70. Year after he and Sam Jones retired. The suffix of floundering at 500 team military. John havoc said to me, we miss him more in offensive defense. By the way. And they win the offense around his passing. Right. They had a thing called the 6th play. Guess what? What was the number? Ask anybody it was there. The 6th play. A variety of options. But it started because the ball went to Bill Russell. And he went from there. Now, you made an excellent point that I must amplify about the house he could have scored. I urge you and anybody that I am proud to say that The Boston Globe, as we speak, has reprinted online the story that I was able to do with Bill Russell in 1999 on the occasion of that ceremony that you alluded to at the Boston garden where we finally got about honoring Bill Russell properly. And I did the preview story. Sitting with Bill Russell at the capitol agreement with Providence wrote Allen for three and a half hours and him telling me every goddamn good story and he gave me his a plus game. And when he was talking about what? Yeah, I could have scored more. And I could have scored more and tried to score 20 points a game. That would have disrupted the flow and continuity of our offense. No question. That wasn't my job. If I had to do that with a lesser team, now he's acknowledging this when a very good team that and he was. And that was able to take care of this other matters.
Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast
"bill russell" Discussed on Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast
"Ryan and Jeff Goodman podcast. NBA, some college, a little bit of everything. You know, what can I say, but it wasn't going to happen here with him. I was okay with it because it wasn't about talent I didn't think. All right, let's get right to it. Welcome to a special edition of the bob Ryan Jeff Goodman Gary tank wheel along for the ride zoom and podcast. We are here to celebrate the life and career of Bill Russell, who passed away at the age of 88 years old. Personally for me, I will just say that in my opinion, he used the greatest winner of all time. And I did have a brief interaction with mister Russell later in life I had a chance to interview him a couple of times and the thing that he always conveyed to me that he was wanted to be known as a man, as opposed to just an athlete. And I think that that says, all you need to know about if you were looking for one just one sentence to sum him up, that would be it. That's all I have to say. Now let's go to bob Ryan and bob, of course, when did you start covering the Celtics and when did you first meet meet Russ? I met Bill Russell after his playing career ended when he was coach of the Seattle SuperSonics. My first year in a beat was 69 70, the year after Bill Russell retired along with Sam Jones. And when he became coach of the sonics and during the course of my travels, I encountered Bill Russell and found him to be a friendly and charming informative and engaging action to say, but interview subject. And I got to know him later on a little better when he was a broadcaster. And as those days in the 80s, as when I would interact a little more in various places with Bill Russell, never consider myself a friend, we can get into this, but how Bill Russell defined friendship. But I was in the circle of acquaintances with whom he was compatible. And it was a very nice place to be. There are two ways to look at Bill Russell and let's start with the off the field first. Bill Russell is a great American. He was given the congressional Medal of Freedom by president Obama. And he deserved that and long before Barack Obama became president of the United States because he's one of the great Americans of the 20th and 21st century. Way above his athletic prowess. Right. Go Russell was a civil rights advocate and an advocate for human dignity and freedom. And the line that I would recommend where I privileged to put the coda on his tombstone, I would put the quote that Bill Russell used frequently, which is my citizenship is not a gift. It is a birth rate. And by that he
AJ Benza: Fame is a Bitch
NBA Great Bill Russell Was Racist Till the End
"Bill Russell, the former NBA Hall of Famer. Now look, I imagine there are some people who are very sad to hear the news that the Boston Celtic great Bill Russell died on Sunday. Not me. Not me. I never liked the guy. And I had it on good authority and I have it on good authority that he was a racist until the end. I know what you're thinking. No, AJ, he was the one at the butt end of races. Okay, yeah, he was, but he did it right back to white people. Now aside from the rumors I heard from old sports Fridays that I used to work alongside of it newsday, which is Long Island's main newspaper and when I worked there, it was the fourth largest circulation of any newspaper in America, so it's no rinky dink paper. Major, major sports writers wrote there. I sat next to and talked to and sat around with some of the best sports writers of our time. And a couple of them told me some stories about Bill Russell that, you know, didn't paint them out to be a nice guy. Okay? They would tell me stories that said as much of what I'm telling you that he was in fact very racist.
AP News Radio
Celtics great Russell, 11-time champ, dies at 88
"I Mike Gracia reporting Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell one of the greatest players in NBA history dies at 88 Bill Russell the greatest winner in NBA history who anchored the Boston Celtics dynasty to 11 championships in 13 years died Sunday He was 88 Russell's family posted the news on social media without disclosing the cause of death After leading the university of San Francisco to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956 and the U.S. to the Olympic gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics Russell joined the Celtics I had never seen the Celtics play when I got here And I played against Heinz in college But I met a couple of occasions And we had an immediate affinity The Celtics were guided by coach and general manager red arbok Russell would win He would make the great play He didn't care whether he went to league in scoring a rebounding or this or that all he wanted to do was be instrumental in winning Russell was a 5 time most valuable player and a 12 time all star Russell was also a leading voice for civil rights He was at the March on Washington in 1963 and at the 50th commemoration of the march We can never accept the status quo until
The Bill Simmons Podcast
"bill russell" Discussed on The Bill Simmons Podcast
"Mind that genius through his 35th birthday. When he is final NBA title and his final game in Los Angeles and game 7 was celebratory balloons hanging over the court that never ever dropped. The greatest winner in sports history learned about those balloons before the opening tip. He felt the anger bellowing inside him. He embraced that darkness one last time. I knew we would win. He told me. I believed him. Remember, every legend reaches the finish line differently. Magic retired because HIV, bird's body broke down, same for west and well, Kobe hung around for two more giant paychecks. Kareem and Oscar stayed one year too long. Hakeem Shaq and Moses kept playing and playing until nobody wanted them anymore. Jordan left it the perfect time, missed the attention, returned to the wizards for two bizarre seasons. Durant still playing so we don't know about him yet. Bill Russell was the only Pantheon guy who actually nailed his exit. And yet for four solid decades, his relationship with the one city he ever played for remained unsettled. How bitter did it get? When the Celtics retired his number in 1972, Bill Russell skipped the ceremony. He no showed it. Who does that? Well, he made the same point again and again, his loyalties lay with his teammates, red rbac, and Walter Brown, that's it. Not the fans. Definitely not the city. He didn't care if he ever went back. Or so he claimed. By the end of our second day together, I got to say, I didn't totally believe him. Deep down, he still cared about all this stuff. Obama, Kobe wilt, Sam Jones, Larry siegfried the trophy case that Boston Herald headline. Every little piece mattered. And maybe he needed the time to. You wouldn't have wanted to be a black basketball star in the 50s and 60s. Idolized for everything on the court, treated like a second class citizen off the court. The first wave of black MBA stars Russell Oscar, Elgin, Kareem, even well, they were unquestionably damaged by the experience by the unforgivable hypocrisy of it all. Even Russell's teammates didn't fully realize how horrible it was. During a sports century episode about Russell in 1999, bob koozie actually broke down during his interview. Believing let Russell down as a friend more than anything. That koozie never fully realized how difficult things were for him. Russell channeled all that pain and resentment into winning. Nobody came through more times, put more thought into it. Gave more of himself to one pursuit. He remembered everyone who helped him. Everyone who doubted him. Everyone who never appreciated him. And the whole experience in Boston and in America too left him sitting on an island 3000 miles away, making one sorry city sweat out mistakes. It could never change. We said our goodbyes, I told Russell that I hoped he would return to Boston one day. And a few months later, we premiered mister Russell's house and banged that theme home. Honestly, I want to viewers to think, man, I hope he forgives Boston someday. A few months later, he actually did. Turns out that 8 foot statue was going up downtown with a Russell showed up or not. The city needed it more than he did. The mayor begged him to return, so did the Celtics owners, Russell's daughter, his friend Charlie, Adam silver. Everyone else Russell trusted in his life. Eventually the great Bill Russell caved, he agreed to come back to Boston. November 1st. 2013. He turned 80 6 years old just last month. Every few months, word starts spreading that he's not feeling that well, that he can't move around anymore. And then every June there he is. Front and center at the finals again. The NBA sends him to the deciding game so he can present the Finals MVP trophy. Remember Russell would have easily won 9 of ten of these if that a word existed in the 50s and 60s. Now it's called the Bill Russell NBA Finals most valuable player award. And in a weird way, that actually turned out better. He wins every year. You know what else I believe? Those few minutes on stage with the new champs might be keeping him around. The recognition and respect, the happy handshakes, the reverence from the best player du jour, who just peaked as a competitor, only suddenly there's Bill Russell. And they just melt like a stick of butter. I think he loves every moment of it. I think it brings him back to the only time he was ever truly happy. I think it's the number one thing that keeps Bill Russell going. When you're the greatest winner of all time, even all these decades later. You still want to be where the winning is.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
"bill russell" Discussed on The Bill Simmons Podcast
"When that was the coolest show on TV and he said how his daughter was actually impressed by him for the first time. That delighted him to no end. 11 NBA rings didn't make his daughter think he was cool. But a couple of SNL sketches did, he laughed and laughed, that famous Russell cackle filling the whole first floor. We talked about a revelation second wind has extraordinarily out of biography that Russell actually scouted the Celtics after joining them in 1956. Russell wanted to play to their strengths and cover their weaknesses. So he studied them during shooting drills and scrimmages. He built a mental filing cabinet that stored everything they could and couldn't do. And then determined how to boost them accordingly. It was his job to make them better. That's what he believed. To my surprise, Russell mentioned the 2012 superstar devouring his book and then stealing that specific concept and even thanking Russell for his help. Naturally I expected the player to be LeBron, Nash, Chris Paul, maybe Kevin Durant. Nope. Kobe Bryant. Really? I said incredulously. And that's how I learned that Bill Russell, basketball's greatest teammate ever, held a soft spot for Kobe Bryant. Someone who battled more coworkers over the years than Chevy Chase. Russell enjoyed Kobe's competitiveness. He loved his work ethic. He appreciated his respect for history. And over everything else, he was absolutely delighted that Kobe borrowed his scouting idea. No other player had ever mentioned it to him. Russell admitted their leadership styles were different. Proudly revealing that he never criticized a teammate publicly or privately. Not once. Not once in 13 years. What was the point? Everyone already knew Russell was their best player. Why undermine their confidence? How is that productive? Russell believed a basketball team only achieves its potential once everyone embraces their roles. The less thinking, the better. For example, early in his career, Russell asked bob cousy to find a specific spot on every rebound, about 25 feet away from the opponent's basket. On the left or right side. So Russell could snare the rebound, whirl around and throw koozie and outlet pass all in one motion. After a few months, koozie found the spot, they didn't think about it anymore. Shot spot rebound release go. The greatest fast break in basketball history was born. But that concept fails unless everyone embraces their role. That's the thing. Everyone has to understand the role. In Boston, koozie ran the break, Heinz and filled the land and crashed the boards. Bill sharman, Sam Jones, John havoc, they all handled the scoring. Casey Jones and satch Sanders, they handled the perimeter defense. Bill Russell Hannah, everything else. And the everything else varied from season to season, it even varied from playoff series to playoff series. Russell assessed with the team needed, and he tailored his game accordingly. That's what made him Bill Russell. All right, so how do you challenge teammates with that undermining them? Kobe was still trying to solve that question 15 years into his career. That's why I reached out to wrestle. But Russell had already given the answers in his autobiography, second wind. There's one enlightening section about Sam Jones. One of the NBA's first grade scoring guards, but someone who absolutely dreaded the burden of being great every night. And that drove wrestle crazy. Eventually he learned to accept that they just weren't wired the same way. Sam didn't puke before every big game. He didn't measure his own happiness solely by the success or failure of his team. But Sam happened to be a phenomenally gifted score. Someone who loved taking and making pressure shots, his laconic demeanor worked against him being a legendary player, but for huge moments, it was actually perfect. You could always go to Sam when it mattered. More often than that, Sam came through. Russell always understood Sam was Sam. He'd never bleed basketball like Jerry West did. He'd never obsess over every play like Oscar Robertson did. You are who you are. Bill Russell left Sam Jones alone. So that was one leadership example. When we were sitting in his kitchen in Seattle Russell told us another story after I asked how the Celtics won Russell's last two titles without having a real point guard. They didn't run the triangle offense, so how'd they do it? Going backwards, Russell became Boston's player coach before the 66 67 season, which ended unhappily. Will it sixers demolish this supposedly aging Celtics in the eastern finals? And even worse, during game 5, the deciding game Philly's crowd chanted. Boston is dead. Boston is dead. Boston is dead. The Chan echoed in Russell's ears all summer. After 8 straight titles, the man was not ready to be buried yet. He also wasn't ready to blow up his team, which goes back to what Pat Riley said in the first book of basketball podcast, right? This is hard. Russell wanted to play his best 5 as much as possible. So we asked Larry siegfried to replace the retiring Casey Jones at point guard. One problem. Siegfried was an point guard. This was like asking Gordon Hayward to replace Kyrie Irving. It did not make a ton of sense in 1967. But Russell wasn't hoping for a koozie impression, just someone to dribble from point a to point B call plays start their offense. That's it. Siegfried resisted. He didn't want the added responsibility nor did he want to chase faster players around. Russell gently insisted. No thanks, Larry siegfried said. While the modern solution would be dealing siegfried away, but the Celtics never traded back then. Why? Our back believed that continuity was their single biggest advantage other than Bill Russell. The Celtics only swung one real trade in Russell's 13 years. Mel counts for Bailey Howell. That's it. Amazing but true. So Russell kept cajoling siegfried, never threatening. I'm just appealing to him as a friend. Siegfried relented, but after a few weeks, he decided he didn't like it. He didn't want to play poor anymore. So did the same dance again. And Russell Warren down again. He made it clear this was siegfried's best chance to play. He didn't threaten him. He just laid out the landscape. He said, we have me have a check, Sam, Bailey. All of us need to play. This is your best way to get minutes, Larry. He broke them. And yeah, the Celtics won those last two titles with a shooting guard, bringing up the ball. So much for Boston being dead. As Russell was telling the siegfried story, I couldn't help but wonder how Kobe would have handled it. My Hall of Fame pyramid has 15 guys who rose above everyone else. Jordan, LeBron, Russell, Kareem, magic and bird, will Duncan, Kobe and west, Oscar, Hakeem, Shaq and Moses, and Durant. You would have loved playing with ten of those guys. The other 5? Maybe not. No gray player was more selfish than wilt. Someone who genuinely believed that the best situation for world Chamberlain doubled as the best situation for world's team. Nobody was moodier or more loose than Kareem, a brilliant recluse who couldn't connect with anyone until magic and Riley came along. Nobody was more demanding than Oscar, the league's smartest player, the Russell, but someone who talked down to teammates polluted their mistakes. Left them walking on eggshells. Of course, Oscar was a picnic compared to Jordan. A withering, over competitive bully at times. And if you couldn't handle it, you simply needed to find another team. Meanwhile, Kobe tried to evolve into a withering over competitive bully at times. If only because his idol once acted that way, Russell was different, his battles were always internal. And they never affected his teammates. That's why he's the greatest teammate ever, but he's also the most self aware player ever too. During our second day in Seattle, I asked him why he ultimately stopped playing and the answer was simple. He didn't
AP News Radio
NBA marks 75 years
"In marking its seventy fifth anniversary the development of the NBA reflects some social changes that have happened since nineteen forty six more from A. B. correspondent Norman hall NBA hall of Famer Wayne Embry who played eleven years starting in the late nineteen fifties says the sixties were dramatic because of racial tensions Celtics legend bill Russell was a social justice activists but Emery says the few black players in the league were at risk when you're on non guaranteed contracts if the ownership then like what you're doing or managed in like what you're doing you're gonna embrace who won an NBA title with Boston in nineteen sixty eight says opportunities for all black pro athletes expanded because the integrated Celtic lineup started racking up championships others were saw that happening and jumped on board Embry joined the front office of the Milwaukee Bucks in nineteen seventy one when he became the league's first black general manager he remains upbeat about the NBA the times are getting better keep getting better each year I Norman hall
The Breakfast Club
Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh Among 16 Inducted Into Basketball Hall of Fame
"Talk about the basketball hall of fame. They celebrated the class of twenty twenty one on saturday. They were sixteen legends. That were inducted into the hall of fame among those people chris. Bosh paul pierce chris webber also bill russell the first black mba head coach Two-time ncw national champion villanova coach jay wright seven-time wnba star in two time olympic gold medalist yolanda griffith seven times. Wnba star and three-time wnba. Most valuable player lauren jackson. Those were among the people who were honored. And here is paul. Here's Talking about the teams passed on him. Coming out of college team. All american projected number two pick and so. I like to thank the clippers new cover grizzlies denver nuggets. Toronto raptors go to stay whereas dallas mavericks sacramento case philadelphia. Seventy sixers and walkie buck knives past. Thank you for passing on adding fuel to my
The Lead
Is the BIG3 Here to Stay?
"While to sean. You recently wrote an in-depth story on the big three as it returns to action. After cancelling the twenty twenty season due to covid nineteen. How did this come onto your radar and before you wrote this story. Did you consider yourself. A big fan. Obviously had heard about the victory. You know anything associated with by going to make the news. And so i've been away for a couple of years but i hadn't really thought about pursuing a story on it just because of come looking for a connecting line to something that was relevant to area here in vegas Just randomly data models. Pr e mails saying of combines than be here in vegas. I mean might as well go check it out. See what it's about. The combine was a our canaan. Basketball academy argued vegas kind of a small local gym right off the strip so little bit away from audit lists glamour walk in and almost like high school gym. That you look to your left is q. Other familiar faces. Little walk. Past is key. I look to my left and bill russell. It's just sitting there casualty in a chair glance. Though there's no way as i was i was frozen. I don't wanna be awkward. So i kept walking and tried to play it off as you move around the gym. They had rap music loud but people mingling and talking and so it's pretty immersive. Experience is kind of looking around legends. Like i said bill. Russell is dr j. in obviously basketball's going on so eventually i look towards according to seeing guys are actually you know trying hard obviously. They're trying to get drafted so they've given a thrall warm. Nba guys that you know you know what made billions of dollars trying just as hard as you know some unknown phases which may see out there and so you realize pretty quickly after be something. That was pretty serious insignificant.
Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network
Boston Celtics legend K.C. Jones has died at age 88
"A legendary. Nba coach and player dies. Just over six weeks in s- basketball hall of famer. Tommy heinsohn passed away. The boston celtics lost another legendary player and coach. Casey jones died christmas day. As the celtics wrote where casey jones went winning was sure to follow from nineteen fifty eight to sixty seven jones wanna near unthinkable eight championships over his nine year playing career all with boston alongside a cast of hall of famers that included bill russell. Who jones wants to. Ncwa titles with san francisco as well as an olympic gold medal in nineteen fifty-six. Casey jones later coached one of the greatest nba teams. Ever the nineteen eighty-six celtics led by hall of famer larry bird he wants titles the celtics head coach and the team in the final four years in a row in the one thousand nine hundred eighty s once asked his secret to success. Casey jones said honesty and effort. Those are the two most important ingredients. Casey jones was eighty
WBZ Afternoon News
Pioneering Black country music legend dies of COVID-19 at 86
"Charley Pride, The son of sharecroppers in Mississippi, who became one of country music's biggest stars, has died from covert 19 Pride was the first black member of the Country Hall of Fame. He released some 60 album selling more than 25 million records throughout his career, and the grief and tributes are pouring in. Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell tweeting out his condolences to Charley Pride's family and friends. Russell telling everyone to please mask up, and fellow country music legend Dolly Parton says she's heartbroken to lose one of her oldest and dearest friends, tweeting quote, Charlie, We will always love you,
Toure Show
Interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
"The game, the structure, the style of the game that you played back to the basket center right trying to get high percentage shots closer to the basket that game has been completely forgotten, and there's very few. There's nobody who plays the center position the way you did with the back to the basket and it's like try to get the highest value shots the furthest away. But three pointers as much as you can does this style interest you disinterested you look down on it. You say you don't know how to play the game properly. Well, you know there, there are different theories about how to play the game but I think getting high percentage shots really makes a lot of sense, but it also has to dovetail with your defensive strategy also. So a great team like the Bill Russell. F- Celtics. Bill was able to to stymie any shots around the hoop and. His team. Would run and get high percentage shots down down court, and that was a winning strategy era. I mean, nobody's playing center. The way you did that is totally gone now. I think. So but that doesn't mean that someone cat had that type of skill and still come in effect the game. In a meaningful way, we talked earlier today. One of the things you said, the eighty five finals against the Celtics was one of your most important moments as a player. One of your crowning moments as a player you were the. MVP that year you guys won the Lakers one but you had to go through the Memorial Day massacre where you guys got crushed by like forty points a game over in the middle of third order and a down moment and I lived in Boston at that moment, it looked like are going to go on to destroy them. How did you come back to win and why do you think of that as one of your crowning moments as a player that series? Well I think that? What happened to me personally in that series was. Once, we made it into the finals I kind of relaxed. and. So I went into that first game thinking that. The worst is over and you know the the worst was yet to happen. So. It kind of woke me up and made me realize that I had to kick my game up a couple of levels in order to. Finish off what we started out to do because we lost. In eighty four to the Celtics and Gabe a game away. And that ended up being the the crucial game. How could you go into? A series against the Celtics who had Larry Bird who series plate you know clearly one of the great players of that time how you Gonna Like Oh, we got this. No. I didn't think that we got this but for me personally, I figured I've done my job where we're in the finals. Things. Think things will be alright and they work. One. Of the one of the chapters, one of the parts of the book that I really thought was really interesting. You talk about athletes and what they must do with how they have role models at the happy aware that they are role models and you say we can't pretend athletes are influencing our children's thinking and behavior. So we must demand higher standards from them like it or not college and Professional Sports. Machines are turning them into role models, and if they aren't willing to accept that responsibility as part of the contract, then they should seek another profession. Strong position. A little bit about why you feel that way when you went through that life right superstar High School Athlete College, Athlete, and you know the way that superstar athletes from a teen age are coddled. They are given you know love for their athletics points for their character. Society is not training them to be role models, but then they become big college players big prosed and we expect them to be role models. Are they even ready for that? I don't know you know for me. Being a black American and in the era that I grew up in all black. realized. That They would be judged by the actions of. Any problem. Black Person. And so. That burden. Was something that that you assumed. Soon, as you've got to do anything in a in a prominent fashion, you assume that burden because you knew that. All black people would be. Judged on whatever it was that you did and he's screwed up A. Set, the race. I mean that's absolutely right and you talk about that I came to realize that the lew alcindor that for the younger folk that was his name forty, fifty years ago the lew alcindor everyone was cheering. Was it really the person they wanted to be they wanted me to be the clean cut example of racial equality the poster boy for anybody from any background regardless of race religion or economic standing could become an American success story to them. I was living proof that racism was a mythological beast like Jack. Elope when when the audience is feeling like that right I assume the media is part of it. How do you? How do you rebel against that? Well. You just have to show them that they're wrong and. That that is not the case, there's a whole lot that has to be done. I into earlier. Right after Dr King was assassinated, I was involved in a demonstration on UCLA's campus and people. Would just standing there. and. It was a silent. stood. There for an hour in silence and some of US had signs and a number of times people came up to me and said, you're getting the opportunity to play in the NBA. What do you demonstrating for and they did not understand how these two things did not relate to each other at all the fact that I, I was getting opportunity to play in the NBA did not mean that what happened to Dr King was a tragedy and a crime and the. Thing to get across to people and the you know I, it's taken awhile you
The Nod
Sports Strike Against Racism
"This summer athletes have taken the lead by using their platforms to stand up against police brutality. The WNBA, has consistently protested throughout the year with numerous players even sitting the season out and on August twenty, six, twenty, twenty, four years after Colin Kaepernick began his anthem protests something historic happened athletes across the board streit and refuse to play today we're discussing reactions to this incredible moment in sports. This is the not. On August Twenty Third Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by police in Kenosha Wisconsin where we're calling this episode on. August twenty seven twenty twenty the day after the Milwaukee Bucks and players from the NBA WNBA NFL. Major League Baseball Major League soccer and tennis champion Naomi Osaka all refused to play or practice in an unprecedented strike in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake the NBA postponed the playoffs for two days. The first time that games have been postponed in this manner since Bill Russell led a strike in one, thousand, nine, hundred, sixty, one after a day of deliberation players in the. NBA. Playoff Games pending further action. You're excited I. Know You're excited for sports to return obviously, this season has been one of a kind and unprecedented in. So many ways I want to know how do you feel now the players are using their platform in this way to be honest I feel this very strange sense of excitement. I need some really tragic kind of set of circumstances but I have been feeling conflicted after NBA Games kind. Came back I had been motivated by occurrences like kyrie irving standing in solidarity with Wnba players saying like Oh actually, I'll pay your salary. If you don't feel like you can play whether it's you know a reaction to corona virus or your desire to protest how support seeing. Lebron Kinda start almost every post game interview with a demand to arrest the cops that killed Brianna. Taylor. That made me really happy Siamese. Floor of the same energy that we have tours. Justice for Briana told, even seeing black lives matter on jerseys and in the court kind of made me feel a little better. I realized yesterday that this was the inspiration really been waiting for but now I'm wondering what comes next of course, how were you reacting to everything? You know I'm not like the world's biggest sports fan I do. I am a fan of black women and so seeing the WNBA protests. Throughout this year, but especially, the summer that felt released significant. Still I've always hesitant to look to athletes during these like highly political moments just because it's not the job that they set out to do. But you know as I started to see people sharing statements aerial Atkins from the Washington mystics we're going to say, well, we need to say and people need to hear that. They don't support us I'm fine with that. At the end of the day I'm GonNa make them good anywhere that I have to it basketball. It's not. Just what it is Chris Weber's telecast if not now when Not doing a pandemic. and. Countless lives being lost if not now when that is me in tears so lucid in that moment and so real and also just seeing how so many other sports leagues join them in protests were. Teased. Happen I mean it just shows. The hate people's heart. The thing is though is that as we were starting to develop this episode today so much has changed already in that the players in the NBA have agreed to return to playing the playoff season. Later, this week I don't think that all the progress is gone but I'm wondering what what happens. Now you know thought that same whiplash like I said, I felt like this was finally the type of inspiration leadership that I've been hoping to see from such a wide body players. Leaks, cross-border. It was truly abused beautiful, and I think now we need to do more I'm hoping that that since this is now on the table, players can put more pressure on owners to. Work with the people they are most connected to some of the richest and most powerful people in this nation are in the speed dial of most NBA owners even just the day if feels effective part of I, think resuming the season was the players putting pressure on the NBA to address the social unrest we've been dealing with all summer in some ways. So they started a foundation that's dedicated to investing in black causes. They're giving hundreds of millions of dollars they've given like you know the players, some approved protest phrases that they can use. They can put black lives matter on the courts and things like that and what I liked about this moment is at the NBA players were like that's what I usually do. And that's actually still not enough. So I'm hoping that we can see continued forward motion in that way something that I enjoy in this moment was seeing the NBA take the WNBA's league they have been holding it down all your curves pressing in. So many ways the thing is, is that WNBA, players, they don't make as much money as NBA players do they have really put their necks out there for social justice speaking up. Protecting black lives in many ways, it seems in some ways that they have more to lose by doing it. You know I am maybe two degrees below cautiously optimistic. That is a lot better than cynical, which is where I was before.
AP News Radio
The Celtics are NBA champs once again on this day in 1960.
"Sixty years ago April ninth nineteen sixty the Boston Celtics win the second of what would be eight straight NBA championships naturally the leader of the seven game battle was bill Russell one of coach read our backs favorite players Russell would win he would make a great play he didn't care whether he led the league in scoring and rebounding what is that all you want to do is be instrumental in winning against the hawks Russell delivered twenty two points and white the glass clean with thirty five rebounds our backs said in nineteen eighty eight that was performances like this one that separated Russell from the other NBA centers of the nineteen sixties no one great put it in those days that would have picked J. Woodhead Russell Russell retired with eleven championships over his thirteen year NBA career I'm Dave Ferrie
AP News Radio
The Celtics are NBA champs once again on this day in 1960.
"Sixty years ago April ninth nineteen sixty the Boston Celtics win the second of what would be eight straight NBA championships naturally the leader of the seven game battle was bill Russell one of coach read our backs favorite players Russell would win he would make a great play he didn't care whether he led the league in scoring and rebounding what is that all you want to do is be instrumental in winning against the hawks Russell delivered twenty two points and white the glass clean with thirty five rebounds our backs said in nineteen eighty eight that was performances like this one that separated Russell from the other NBA centers of the nineteen sixties no one great put it in those days that would have picked J. Woodhead Russell Russell retired with eleven championships over his thirteen year NBA career I'm Dave Ferrie
Toure Show
Malcolm Gladwell: I Am
"Malcom gladwin is a stone cold genius who loves A grade sports argument. I went onto bill. Simmons podcast and I had this totally ludicrous thing that I want to talk about. Which was I was like? Could a basketball team made up of Nigerians? An all time basketball team made up of Nigerians be the greatest basketball time and then I ended it. I amended until as I said all right I have to corollaries one is. I'm going to add west Indians because almost Indians not all mostly I'm Jamaican. Where am I what am I people from? We're from originally like I'm Ibo right most Jamaicans cable so I add the Caribbean and then I said and just refund. That's also add the rest of Southern Africa and then I construct the students. Tony Ridiculous Caribbean so busy. I say out can Africa and the Caribbean put together an all time team. It's better than an african-american team a euro team at a white American team. It's the third one. Maybe not. The answer is yes. We don't have time to do this but I will convince you. I can't convince you to Africa and the Caribbean in basketball. All Time team and also your co you qualify by or Nigeria. Will I started? I start with all of ethnic did not all? I'm only adding. I added Southern Africa. 'cause I WANNA have Steve Nash and Joel Embiid on my team. Wade Steve Nash. Born in Johannesburg. He's Canadian. No my rule is that you. Are you qualify? Virtue of your parents. Place a birth. So get all of Steve. Nash Who Play Thompson. Really? He's Bamyan are are are taking. Tim. Duncan Tim Duncan Hang Hau Kim Elijah Akeem Joel Embiid Yoenis Clay Andre iggy Dow Victor Depot Drink Igwe Dolla. Where's he from Nigeria okay? He's full on your deal and Steve. Nash I got a back court of Nash and Thomson. I got a frontcourt of Dunkin embiid. Jaanus Patrick Ewing forward a okay. Right right right right from the islands. This really is in the island. This team is insane when Patrick's coming off the bench. But how just doesn't matter but Kim Jaanus and but sure but but the other team has Lebron Kobe. Japan Michael I know. Just for starters and Steph curry just restarting Potanin Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. Just just try go ahead. That's the African American teachers. Try Playing Lebron Jordan. Notice what we doing that thing ooh together. Thomas can't come in and Magic Johnson coming in. Can I read this out rushing your your appetite? Engineer Crushes Team Sport Play. You cannot Jordan Jordan and abroad and Kobe on the court at the same time out of your mind. You have all centers you have one forward you have you have guards and a bunch of centers. You got a problem with that because the modern game nobody in the known you already. Janis on Lebron an WHO's covering Jordan who's covering stats got covering step. I got clay and Andrea Diallo. Who in their day or two of the greatest lockdown defenders of the last twenty five years in the NBA? I got a clay and national or two of the pure as shooters and I have argued with the greatest defensive front court in the history of basketball. I Have Yoenis Hekim Akeem Patrick embiid. I mean I have wilt Bill Russell Shack. It's close by. Queen is not close if I had if I was restricted to white Americans. Then maybe may point so I do it as long ludicrous. It's ludicrous ludicrous. And you're right I'm wrong but so what is it that there are people took offense. How on Earth? What is they were like? Oh you know you Kim like first of all all the things to get worked up about in two thousand eighteen in America about race. This is the thing you have said about
This Morning with Gordon Deal
Los Angeles: A Celebration of Life for Kobe and Gianna Bryant
"A Hollywood style the celebration of life for Kobe Bryant's before twenty thousand mourners at staples center in in Los Los Angeles Angeles last last night night the the event event included included heartfelt heartfelt speeches speeches from from greats greats like like Shaquille Shaquille o'neal o'neal Magic Magic Johnson Johnson and and Michael Michael Jordan Jordan in in a a game game about about they they live as it turned Colby nothing in the tank all on the floor also the first public comments from Vanessa Bryant Kobe's wife who delivered powerful eulogies for Kobe and their thirteen year old daughter Chiana I never get to see my baby girl wants I have a father daughter dance with her Daddy dance on the dance floor with me your babies of her own they were among nine who lost their lives that day the Wall Street journal says there have been few events in the history of the NBA the convene to so many basketball luminaries in the same place at the same time the list included bill Russell Kareem Abdul Jabbar Jerry west Tim Duncan Steph curry and dozens
America's Morning News
Trump gives Medal of Freedom to NBA legend Jerry West
"The west the NBA legend and logo you see on the NBA jerseys and merchandise was honored this week with the presidential medal of freedom president trump on Thursday said west honor was richly deserve sighting west basketball career at West Virginia University that led him to the Lakers and an Olympic gold medal but the more than anything else good you're like doing is playing basketball in West Virginia and starting at age six he taught himself on the dirt surfaces of his neighborhoods backyard one eight grain his sister would call him and say it says it's called the mud wallow do you remember that at all during the mud wallow but nothing ever stopped him Jerry later reflected that everything I did I tried to do perfectly not just well **** perfectly and it hasn't changed I don't think too much as it. look at the list of other honorees and was inspired by the names to someone that's right one doesn't Bill Gates philanthropic champions Nelson Mandela Martin Luther king these are Shabazz from all the Simon Wiesenthal and Desmond Tutu legendary leaders Muhammad Ali bill Russell Kareem Abdul Jabbar athlete activist Michael Jordan Tiger Woods Stevie Wonder excellence personified John wooden Frank Robinson Arnold Palmer and vin Scully friends are trying to emulate I swear my name is going to look like a misprint on this list No Way known as Mr clutch west was named an all star every year of his fourteen season career with the Lakers he also helped lead the team to the NBA finals nine times and after retiring as a player you coach the Lakers for three season before moving into the front office where he signed Magic Johnson Kobe Bryant Shaquille o'neal here is responsible for the majority of the fakers titles yet now works for the LA
First Things First
NBA Finals predictions: Title favorite and most likely MVP
"That list is eight names long goes like this LeBron, Michael magic Corinne wilt Dunkin bird, Moses. Wow. Now, Bill, Russell is not, including that he probably should be the trophies now named after him. But it wasn't given his time, but those players are the first second third fourth sixth, seventh ninth and fourteenth by my rankings greatest players ever. And it's gonna be hard to keep Steph curry out of that type of conversation if he adds a fourth championship, and a finals MVP it's the only thing missing you could argue should have won it in two thousand fifteen over he was right there with Kevin Durant last year. But he hasn't gotten one yet. This is his best opportunity, particularly because of how badly the warriors are. Going to need him in these NBA finals with Kevin Durant missing at the very least the first
CBS Sports Radio
Russell Westbrook Triple-Doubles, Thunder Beat Rockets Despite James Harden's 42
"Bill. Russell Westbrook time Wilt Chamberlain. Fifty one year old NBA record with his ninth ninth consecutive triple double helping the thunder rally past the rockets. One seventeen one twelve Westbrook finished with twenty one points, twelve rebounds, and eleven assists. While Paul George Lehto Casey with a season high forty five points as the thunder overcame twenty six point deficit. James harden? Meanwhile, finished with forty two points is twenty nine th straight game with at least
CBS Sports Radio
LeBron James of Los Angeles Lakers says NFL owners have slave mentality
"James went after NFL owners. He was critical of NFL owners during the latest episode of the shop earlier tonight Friday night where he said NFL owners, quote have a slave mentality. In the NFL. They got a bunch of old white men owning teams, and they got the slave mentality. And it's like this is my team you do what the blank, I tell you to do all we get rid of your all. So there's more of that. I'd like to see it in its content. I watched tonight on HBO. I'm not that critical of LeBron because of the show the show's a barber shop, that's what the show's all about with celebrities celebrities hanging out in a barbershop hip. Hop stars actors people they're having fun and his executive producer and partner. Maverick carter. Also Todd Gurley was talking business and rapper ice cube. So I'm not going to sit here and analyze every word that was said in a barbershop where a bunch of guys are talking. But the key question that we need to talk about over the weekend. Because this is a big story. My good friend. Chris Moore who was on before me said that this could be a news dump over the weekend. We might forget it. I disagree because we had the government shutdown. We have bad weather on the east coast. Everyone's traveling for the holidays, we might forget about it. We won't forget about this. Because LeBron James is the most important and biggest name athlete in the country with all due respect to Jordan Tom Brady. Tiger woods. It's lebrons world right now. But I think what you have to ask. And I'll ask it for you. Is what is LeBron trying to get out of this? Why would LeBron James want to pick a fight with Robert Kraft and Jerry Jones right to white guys? Really rich owners number one in one a who do a lot and are very inclusive with African Americans. Robert Kraft, obviously does so much good all the charity work. Did he does Jerry Jones all the countless African American players that he's had who got onto greatness who love him sit in the owner's box. Why would LeBron James do this? I'm trying to figure that out eight five five two one two four two two seven. But I'll tell you why he's doing it because LeBron's branching out of basketball. He's in the real estate business. He's in the movie business. He's in the music business. He wants people to know his feelings on this. But Ken, LeBron sit down and have a deep debate. And a discussion on this topic with Jim Brown Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Bill Russell some of the leaders when it comes to the African American community in sports in our lifetime. I think you can I think what LeBron was trying to do is make a point that. There are no guaranteed contracts in the NFL. But does he. Have to use the term slave
All News, Traffic and Weather
Bill Russell, Twitter and Virginia discussed on All News, Traffic and Weather
"Bill russell is released from a seattle hospital after spending the night brussel thanks fans on twitter for their support he did not say however why he was in the hospital and now back to you our puppy story an inseparable pair of dogs are waiting to be adopted at an animal shelter in richmond virginia jay meet the odd couple of the richmond virginia animal shelter a twelve year old dachshund named oj and a ninety pound pit bull named blue dozer who kind of resembles a bulldozer so this one oj is basically blind and this is kind of oj's guide dog oj has a habit of running into things uk's they sleep together eat together they lay together they walk together i mean they do everything together christie chips peters is director of richmond animal care and control only loves him like.