Barack Obama

Bill Russell, and especially his meaning and relationship with Boston, has never been an easy or comfortable one to summarize.

His 11 NBA titles, all won as a Celtics player and player-coach, are the most of any athlete in the history of American team sports, and yet his relationship with Boston was tortured. He was outspoken about the region’s racism — especially after his first-hand experience with vandals in his North Shore home — and was never particularly moved by the crowd’s cheers. He requested that his No. 6 be retired in a private ceremony.

But news of the Hall of Famer’s death on Sunday at the age of 88 — a statement posted on social media said he died “peacefully” with his wife Jeannine at his side — also marks the passing of Boston’s greatest athlete.

For all of the GOAT/Rushmore talk about Tom Brady, Bobby Orr and David Ortiz, none won on Russell’s level. He went from winning two national titles at the University of San Francisco, to a Gold medal in the 1956 Olympics, to 11 NBA titles in a 13-season span, including 12 Finals appearances.

He was also one of the first professional athletes to join the civil rights movement, taking part in the now-famous Cleveland Summit, when Russell, Jim Brown, a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and others came together in support of Muhammad Ali, whose heavyweight title had just been stripped over his refusal to serve in Vietnam.

Locally, he spoke up on behalf of desegregation in Boston schools. Whether it was the crowd or racial justice, Russell never kept quiet.

“Russ has always been, quote unquote, that kind of guy,” Satch Sanders told the Herald in 2019 of his old teammate. “He had thoughts or something to say, and if you were able to get him to talk, he had plenty to say and plenty of opinions. The strength in those thoughts and opinions also. I would expect him to speak out on those issues. He has always stepped up, not nervous about it at all.”

Boston finally dedicated a statue to Russell — long after one went up in Orr’s honor — on a spot near City Hall in 2013. It had always been said that he didn’t want a statue. But when it was time for the ceremony, his old high school friend, Johnny Mathis, showed up to sing.

But for most Celtics fans it was about the basketball, and though Michael Jordan and LeBron James are now the dominant names when the NBA community turns to that GOAT discussion, there was little debate until Jordan hit stride.

Russell’s most resilient quality, though, was his ability to put teammates before himself.

“He had no problem with helping,” Sanders said on Sunday. “The player who helps other players needs to be talked about. The thing that can’t be replaced is how you fit as a teammate. He had everyone’s back, and that’s what made him so special.”

Russell’s singular talent in college — shot blocking — was identified by Celtics coach Red Auerbach as a game-changing trait, as indeed it would become. Russell’s defense, paired with fellow rookie Tom Heinsohn’s scoring and Bob Cousy’s ball-handling wizardry, was the genesis of the NBA’s greatest run by a single team.

Heinsohn was named rookie of the year in 1957 — Russell joined the team halfway through the season because of his Olympic commitment. Russell, in a story recounted many times by Heinsohn, later suggested that his teammate split the proceeds from his rookie of the year check, his impact over the second half of that championship season considered.

At their best the Celtics won eight straight titles. Though Russell’s greatest rival was Wilt Chamberlain, who only won one title (1967, Philadelphia) while the former was active, he finished with a career average of 22.5 rebounds. He led the league in that category four times, once had 51 in a 1960 game, and 49 on two other occasions.

He only averaged 15.1 points during his playing career, though his impact as one of the greatest team players in the history of the game far outweighed scoring.

“The thing about Russ was that he was the best in terms of getting the most out of his teammates,” said Sanders. “There’s a lot of players who want to do more – score more, for example – but all he wanted to do was block shots, rebound and intimidate people, and he did that better than anyone.”

Russell follows Sam Jones (2021), Heinsohn (2020), K.C. Jones (2020), John Havlicek (2019), Jo Jo White (2018) and Frank Ramsay (2018) as players from those great Celtics teams who have passed away in recent years.

And as all would undoubtedly attest, the greatest of them all went on Sunday.

“Time is gaining ground on a lot of us,” said Sanders, who said he hadn’t talked to Russell in well over a year. “There’s no question he was a distinguished leader in terms of being aware of the world. He never forgot where he came from, and never hesitated to talk about it.”