RUSSELL, BILL

in full William Felton Russell

born Feb. 12, 1934, Monroe, La., U.S.

U.S. basketball player.

The 6-ft 10-in. (2.08-m) centre led the University of San Francisco to two NCAA championships (1955–56). Playing for the Boston Celtics (1956–69), Russell led his team to 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons

the last 2 as coach, having become in 1967 the first black coach of a major professional sports team. Russell's career mark for rebounds (21,620) is second only to that of his great rival Wilt Chamberlain , and he is regarded as one of the finest defensive centres of all time. He was voted most valuable player in the NBA five times. He later coached the Seattle SuperSonics (1973–77) and the Sacramento Kings (1987–88).