Bill Russell was an NBA icon who was one of the best basketball players of all time.
He won more NBA titles than any other player and helped the Boston Celtics become one of the league’s most successful clubs.
He died at the age of 88 from his old age.
Was Bill Russell really a coach?
He was a coach after he retired.
Who did Bill Russell coach?
Russell was there to win two championships as the Celtics’ head coach, his tenth and eleventh title rings. He would later coach the Seattle SuperSonics and the Sacramento Kings, inspiring a generation of Black players to follow in his footsteps.
Russell agreed to a seven-year contract with the Kings prior to the 1987-88 season.
Russell was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975, a founding member of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, and a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2007.
He was named to the NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971, the NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1980, one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, one of just four players to win all three awards, and the NBA 75th Anniversary Team in 2021. In his honor, the NBA renamed the NBA Finals MVP Award in 2009.
He was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for the second time in 2021 for his coaching career.
