page_title: Bill Russell
section_title: 1959–66: Eight Straight Championships
hierarchical_section_title: Bill Russell / Boston Celtics / 1959–66: Eight Straight Championships
caption_attribution_description: English: Former Boston Celtics player, Bill Russell, during his first years with the franchise.
context_page_description: William Felton Russell is an American former professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association from 1956 to 1969. A five-time NBA Most Valuable Player and a 12-time All-Star, he was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA championships during his 13-year career. Russell and Henri Richard of the National Hockey League are tied for the record of the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Russell led the San Francisco Dons to two consecutive NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, and he captained the gold-medal winning U.S. national basketball team at the 1956 Summer Olympics.
  Even though Russell never averaged more than 19.0 points per game or shot as much as 47 percent in any season in an offense-friendly era, many regard him to be among the greatest basketball players of all time. He is 6 ft 10 in tall, with a 7 ft 4 in wingspan. His shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' domination of the NBA during his career. Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities.
context_section_description: In the 1959–60 season, the NBA witnessed the debut of legendary 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged a record 37.6 points per game in his rookie year. On November 7, 1959, Russell's Celtics hosted Chamberlain's Warriors, and pundits called the matchup between the best offensive and defensive centers "The Big Collision" and "Battle of the Titans". Both men awed onlookers with "nakedly awesome athleticism", and while Chamberlain outscored Russell 30 to 22, the Celtics won 115–106, and the match was called a "new beginning of basketball." The matchup between Russell and Chamberlain became one of basketball's greatest rivalries. On February 5, 1960, Russell grabbed 51 rebounds in a 124-100 win over the Syracuse Nationals. It was the record for most rebounds in a single game until Chamberlain grabbed 55 rebounds.
  In that season, Russell's Celtics won a record 59 regular season games (including a then-record tying 17 game win streak) and met Chamberlain's Warriors in the Eastern Division Finals. Chamberlain outscored Russell by 81 points in the series, but the Celtics walked off with a 4–2 series win. In the 1960 Finals, the Celtics outlasted the Hawks 4–3 and won their third championship in four years. Russell grabbed an NBA Finals-record 40 rebounds in Game 2, and added 22 points and 35 rebounds in the deciding Game 7, a 122–103 victory for Boston.
  In the 1960–61 season, Russell averaged 16.9 points and 23.9 rebounds per game, leading his team to a regular season mark of 57–22. The Celtics earned another post-season appearance, where they defeated the Syracuse Nationals 4–1 in the Eastern Division Finals. The Celtics made good use of the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers had exhausted St. Louis in a long seven-game Western Conference Finals, and the Celtics convincingly won in five games.
  In the following season, Russell scored a career-high 18.9 points per game, accompanied by 23.6 rebounds per game. While his rival Chamberlain had a record-breaking season of 50.4 points per game and a 100-point game, the Celtics became the first team to win 60 games in a season, and Russell was voted as the NBA's Most Valuable Player. In the post-season, the Celtics met the Philadelphia Warriors with Chamberlain.  Russell did his best to slow down the 50-points-per-game scoring Warriors center; in the pivotal Game 7, Russell managed to hold Chamberlain to only 22 points (28 below his season average) while scoring 19 himself. The game was tied with two seconds left when Sam Jones sank a clutch shot that won the Celtics the series.
  In the 1962 NBA Finals, the Celtics met the Los Angeles Lakers with star forward Elgin Baylor and star guard Jerry West. The teams split the first six games. In Game 6, Russell recorded 19 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists as the Celtics won 119-105. Game 7 was tied one second before the end of regular time when Lakers guard Rod Hundley faked a shot and instead passed out to Frank Selvy, who missed an open eight-foot last-second shot that would have won L.A. the title. Though the game was tied, Russell had the daunting task of defending against Baylor with little frontline help, as the three best Celtics forwards, Loscutoff, Heinsohn and Tom Sanders, had fouled out. In overtime, the fourth forward, Frank Ramsey, fouled out trying to guard Elgin Baylor, so Russell was completely robbed of his usual four-men wing rotation. But Russell and little-used fifth forward Gene Guarilia successfully pressured Baylor into missed shots. Russell finished with a clutch performance, scoring 30 points and tying his own NBA Finals record with 40 rebounds in a 110–107 overtime win.
  The Celtics lost playmaker Bob Cousy to retirement after the 1962–63 season, but they drafted John Havlicek. Once again, the Celtics were powered by Russell, who averaged 16.8 points and 23.6 rebounds per game, won his fourth regular-season MVP title, and earned MVP honors at the 1963 NBA All-Star Game following his 19-point, 24-rebound performance for the East. Russell recorded his first career triple-double afte
caption: Russell circa 1960
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