Boston Hero and Sports Legend Bill Russell To Receive an Honorary Degree from UMass Boston

(Boston, MA) Famed basketball legend Bill Russell will receive an honorary degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston at its commencement exercises held on Saturday, June 1 at the Bayside Exposition Center at 10:30 a.m.

Russell is considered the finest defensive basketball player of all time. A key player on the Boston Celtics, he helped his team dominated the National Basketball Association (NBA) league for many years, winning eight straight NBA titles and 11 championships in 13 seasons. He and his teammates were credited with playing a major role in the league’s rise in popularity with fans.

Russell was born in Monroe, Louisana in 1934. His experiences with discrimination as a young child helped make him a powerful advocate for African American rights as an adult. He moved with his family to Oakland, CA, became an all-state basketball player in high school, then attended the University of San Francisco and played on a team that won two national titles. After graduating in 1956, he joined the United States team that won the men’s basketball gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics.

He was selected by the Boston Celtics in 1956 in the first round of the NBA draft and gave the team the dominating center it had previously lacked. The Celtics won the NBA championship in his first season, finished second the next year, and in 1959 began a string of eight consecutive NBA championships. Following “Red” Auerbach’s retirement in 1966, Russell became a player-coach for the Celtics, the first African American head coach in major league professional sports. He won two more championships before he retired in 1969.

He was five times voted the NBA’s most valuable player, was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1974, and was named by Sports Illustrated as the greatest team player of the twentieth century. In his career, he collected more than 21,000 rebounds and scored more than 14,000 points.

After he retired as a player, Russell worked as a television sports announcer and coached the Seattle SuperSonics from 1973 to 1977 and the Sacramento Kings from 1987 to 1988. He served as vice president for the Kings from 1988 to 1989. He has written two books Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership from the 20th Century’s Greatest Winner and Second Wind: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man. He remains a presence on the Boston scene, as an author and restaurant owner. He does some public relations work for the Celtics and lectures on his book on success in business and athletics.

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