Bill Russell: Legend (2023) s01e02 Episode Script

[dramatic music playing]
[crowd chanting indistinctly]
[Wright] span style="style2"Some athletes try to figure out
what role sports fulfills in the world.
Where it fits.
[spectators cheering]
[Wright]span style="style2" Think of it.
span style="style2"You wake up and find yourself
about to run out on the floor
of the Boston Garden
for a championship game
on national television.
[man]span style="style2" Here come the Celtics.
[spectators cheering]
[Wright] span style="style2"Your teammates have
span style="style2"a dazed look in their eyes,
as if they realize
they're about to be run over by a car.
["Nobody Knows" by Pastor T.L. Barrett
& The Youth for Christ Choir]
I used to joke that if you could bottle
all the emotion in a basketball game,
you'd have enough hate to fight a war
and enough joy to prevent one.
[chanting indistinctly]
[Wright]span style="style2" The President
span style="style2"of the United States
has expressed interest
in the outcome of a game.
And while you're trying to rest there
in your own private cocoon
before the action starts,
there's generally a moment
when you find yourself wondering
how it all came together.
[rousing music playing]
[gentle music playing]
[Russell] One of the great thrills
of my career as a Celtic
was when we came out of the locker room.
We had a guy named Weldon Haire,
who did the public address,
and he would say…
[Haire] Here come the world champions,
the Boston Celtics!
[Russell] And every single time
I heard that, I'd get goosebumps.
I absolutely loved that.
[Stoll]span style="style2" By the fall of 1963,
the Boston Celtics had won six NBA titles
but none without Bob Cousy.
It was a challenge to all of us
to win it without Cousy.
Not that we resented his fame
or anything else, but it was,
"Hey, we'd like to be recognized
that we can win this thing,
and we still can win this thing
without Cousy, all right?"
[Russell] We knew how to play together.
I actively, and with thought and planning,
helped make these guys better players.
[Stoll]span style="style2" In the '63-'64 season,
Russell earned career highs
in rebounds and assists,
and despite the absence of Cousy,
the Celtics finished the regular season
with the best record in the NBA.
In the Finals, Boston met the Warriors,
who moved to San Francisco
from Philadelphia the previous year.
With Wilt's Warriors
in the Western Conference,
Chamberlain, for the first time,
stood between Bill Russell
and another ring.
[music fades]
[dramatic music playing]
[Wright]span style="style2" Almost any argument
people wanted to have could be carried on
in the Russell vs. Chamberlain debate.
If we weren't a metaphor for something,
we were at least a symbol of it.
It was fascinating because they were
totally different personalities.
Wilt was a combination of
Magic Johnson and Santa Claus.
Bill Russell, serious, focused,
rugged, disciplined, tough.
The opposite of how
Wilt Chamberlain was perceived.
They always had them
as fierce competitors,
but off the court,
they used to fraternize.
[Karen] Back then, it was
a much more intimate endeavor.
In fact, he used to, sometimes,
when he would go and play in Philly,
stay with Wilt and Wilt's family.
Bill and Wilt's relationship
really was a true bromance.
Wilt would invite him to come over
and have Thanksgiving dinner
with his family, and his mom would cook.
When he'd get ready to leave,
they'd leave together,
and she'd always tell Bill,
"You be nice to my boy Norman."
"Don't you beat him up too bad." [laughs]
I would have never done that,
okay? [chuckles]
If you're my rival, I don't like you.
I don't like you.
I'm gonna try to embarrass you
before you try to embarrass me.
On the court, it's one thing.
Off the court, it's another thing.
When we get in between them lines,
we gonna get to it.
I thought Russell used his intelligence
with Wilt in a very skillful way,
even to the point of being with him
for dinner the night before they played.
Just kind of soften him up,
so when he goes up
and his hands happen to be over the rim,
Wilt doesn't break his arm,
but he just lays it in.
[chuckles] These subtleties are
what was Bill Russell's genius.
I have some close friends of mine
who told me a number of times,
"Wilt, go up there
and break Bill Russell's hand."
"Stop being so nice to these guys.
You can destroy them."
[Sanders] Their relationship
was based on respect.
They always played hard
against each other.
They're friends, but they're competitors.
When you compete,
you compete at the highest level,
no matter who you're playing against.
[dramatic music continues]
[spectators exclaiming]
[somber music playing]
[Wright] span style="style2"I think of all sports
span style="style2"as a mixture of art and war.
It is possible to change
the mixture of art and war
in any sport by changing its sacred rules.
Let's imagine that
in another time, in another world,
the commissioner of the NBA,
to eliminate all violence from basketball
and to reward artistry,
installed a panel of judges
to award points
based on the beauty
of each particular basket scored.
All beautiful plays in basketball
should be appreciated on their own merits.
As a result, players were motivated
only by their love of the art.
[uplifting music playing]
[Wright]span style="style2" With all
span style="style2"its warlike elements removed,
the sport soon became a form of dance.
More of a ballet than a brawl.
When we see Julius "Dr. J" Irving
fly through the air,
his back arched, his arms stretched,
we'd say, "That was a beautiful move,"
in the same way a painting is beautiful.
The form inspires wonder,
and the motion has something to say.
[Stoll]span style="style2" In 1964, Russell greeted
Chamberlain in their first ever NBA Finals
with a near-perfect balance
of art and war.
[thrilling music playing]
[Stoll]span style="style2" He ignited the Celtics
span style="style2"when they needed energy
and guided them when they needed poise.
The Celtics went up three games to one,
and in the last seconds of game five,
Russell delivered a statement
to end the season.
[commentator]span style="style2" The rebound is stuffed in
span style="style2"by big Bill Russell
with ten seconds to go. That clinches it.
Boston fans have already started to carry
Coach Red Auerbach off the court.
[Stoll]span style="style2" The win proved Bill could lead
span style="style2"a championship team without Cousy.
For the Celtics,
it was their sixth straight Finals win,
their seventh since Bill Russell
arrived in Boston,
and Bill's first without the Cous.
Guiding this team of champions
was their larger-than-life coach.
The team Red built was crafted
to work in perfect harmony.
After Cousy left, the starting lineup
consisted of K.C. Jones, Bill Russell,
Tom Heinsohn,
Satch Sanders, and Sam Jones.
But before a game
against St. Louis in December 1964,
Heinsohn was out with a foot injury.
Red Auerbach could have substituted
sixth man John Havlicek.
Instead, he turned
to the more experienced Willie Naulls.
So, you had Bill Russell at center,
Tom Sanders as one forward,
Willie Naulls as the other forward,
Sam and K.C. Jones.
[Bradley] When the Celtics started
five African Americans,
that was a powerful signal.
[Wright]span style="style2" It was a routine ABC equation
for us.
We were only interested in winning.
"This is our best team today.
This is who we're putting on the floor."
Five Black guys on the court at once?
Really? We didn't notice.
He wanted to win,
and you win with the best players.
Auerbach did what he was supposed to do,
not what he was pressured to do
or that he was trying to make a mark.
[Wright] span style="style2"But the writers
pressed for a comment.
We had just made history.
History, like Red would have said,
can kiss my ass in Macy's window.
[Stoll]span style="style2" It's undeniable
span style="style2"that the Celtics broke tradition
with their all-Black starting lineup.
But Bill demanded that first
be put in its proper historical context.
[pensive music playing]
[Wright]span style="style2" There used to be a lot
span style="style2"of emphasis on the first Negro to do this,
the first Negro to do that.
It's unimportant who was
the first and who was the last.
The important thing is how many.
The rest is tokenism.
I don't consider anything I've done
as contributing to society.
I consider professional basketball
as marking time,
the most shallow thing in the world.
Of course, I'm practical.
Where else but in basketball
could I command this salary?
A man does what he has to do.
But the contribution
I'd like to make as a person,
to my kids and little Black kids
all over the world,
is to make life better,
so their ambitions aren't stilted
when they face the world.
To give them the opportunity
to do what they're most skilled at.
I could have a burning ambition
to get my kids a million dollars.
If I gave them that alone,
I'd be giving them nothing.
[pensive music continues]
[Stoll]span style="style2" For some young fans,
Russell and his teammates
provided more than inspiration.
They created a spectacular model
of collaborative action.
[O'Donnell] I'm in a white neighborhood.
A white, segregated, as all of Boston was,
rife with racism.
And little white boys were running
around the basketball court
at age five and six and seven,
trying to throw it up there,
and saying, "I'm K.C. Jones."
"I'm Sam Jones."
"I'm Bill Russell."
When the Celtics came to town,
everybody was there,
hanging from the rafters,
because they always wanted to see,
not only Russell, just a great team.
[cheering]
[Stoll] span style="style2"The Celtics finished
span style="style2"the 1964-'65 season
with a league-best record of 62 and 18.
In the playoffs,
the Celtics faced the Philadelphia 76ers,
who added a familiar face.
[tense music playing]
Wilt's previous team, the Warriors,
dealt with his high salary demands,
and their losing record, by trading him.
Back home, Chamberlain made
the Sixers a viable contender.
The two teams swapped wins
as they faced hostile fans
in each other's hometowns.
[commentator] span style="style2"Chamberlain swings
span style="style2"at an imaginary object.
[spectators exclaim]
[music fades]
[Wright]span style="style2" We were playing
span style="style2"the Philadelphia 76ers
for the Eastern Championships.
It was the seventh and final game.
[dramatic music playing]
[spectators cheering]
[Wright] span style="style2"All through the game,
span style="style2"we made runs forward,
and every time,
Chamberlain and Greer and the rest of them
closed in on us again.
We couldn't shake them.
[Stoll]span style="style2" The Celtics built
span style="style2"a seven-point lead with 1:45 remaining.
Once again, Philly fought back,
and with only a few seconds left,
it looked like Boston would survive
and advance to the NBA Finals.
[Most] span style="style2"Chamberlain
span style="style2"turns and stuffs the ball.
There are five seconds left.
We figured we'd inbound the ball,
and the game would be over.
[Russell] I did not trust anybody else
to take it out but me.
I wanted to take it out 'cause
I'd make sure I could make a good pass.
We have a chance to ice the game,
and Russell is gonna take the ball
out of bounds.
But unbeknownst to him,
he was underneath a wire
that attached to the balcony
that used to stabilize the basket.
[Most]span style="style2" Now, Russell is…
-[spectators exclaim]
-[Most] span style="style2"He loses the ball off the support!
Russell lost the ball off the support!
Boston's only leading by one point.
And the ball goes to Philadelphia
with five seconds left.
Boston only has a one-point lead.
[O'Donnell] I mean, I heard it
on the radio in the car.
And I was too young to drive,
but I'm telling you… [laughs]
…nobody with a car radio on
should have been moving at the time.
[commentator 1]span style="style2" 110 to 109.
span style="style2"Now, the tension is really there.
We go in a huddle. All I could say was,
"Guys, we got to do something." [cackles]
"You gotta bail me out of this."
I was beside myself. I… I was embarrassed.
Russell said, "Hey, will someone
take these goat horns off of me?"
"Because I'm wearing the horns."
[Russell] I don't think that my teammates
had ever heard me say anything like that.
"I screwed up. Get me off the hook."
Other guys would have made excuses,
not Russell.
It exhibited to me humility
and a belief in his teammates.
[commentator 2]span style="style2" This is a bad situation.
span style="style2"This is the ball game.
Five seconds. Philadelphia has the ball
directly under the Celtics basket.
[commentator 1]span style="style2" Greer is going
span style="style2"to throw the ball in.
[Wright] span style="style2"The whole sequence
of all the World Championships
and the Eastern Championships
and the record and everything else
had come down to the final second.
[Havlicek] When the official
hands the ball over,
he has five seconds to put it in play.
I start counting to myself,
one thousand, one,
one thousand, two,
one thousand, three.
I got to "one thousand, four,"
and nothing had happened yet.
Well, at that time,
I was able to, for a very split second,
take a peek.
I saw the ball released.
[Most]span style="style2" Greer is putting
span style="style2"the ball into play.
He gets it out deep,
and Havlicek steals it!
Over to Sam Jones.
Havlicek stole the ball!
It's all over! It's all over!
Johnny Havlicek is being mobbed
by the fans.
It's all over!
Johnny Havlicek stole the ball!
Johnny Most screams,
"Havlicek stole the ball…" [laughs]
…into that radio in a way
that went right through your body.
[cheering]
[Most]span style="style2" Bill Russell wants
span style="style2"to grab Havlicek. He hugs him.
He squeezes John Havlicek.
Havlicek saved this ball game,
believe that!
Johnny Havlicek saved this ball game.
[Russell] I tell Havlicek,
"I made you famous."
"Havlicek stole the ball!
Havlicek stole the ball!"
I said, "If I didn't mess up,
nobody would have heard of you."
[cackles]
[Stoll] span style="style2"Having finally disposed
span style="style2"of the 76ers,
the Celtics moved on
to their perennial rivals in Los Angeles.
Boston made short work of the Lakers,
winning the title in five games.
[dramatic music playing]
[spectators roaring]
[Stoll]span style="style2" It was their eighth championship
span style="style2"since Bill Russell joined the team.
[music fades]
[Stoll] span style="style2"For the public,
span style="style2"the only rivalry that mattered
was the one between Bill Russell
and Wilt Chamberlain.
Bill was open and consistent
about his hopes for Black children
and Black communities.
For Wilt, dominating the game
was rooted in a radical demand
for compensation based on talent.
[upbeat music playing]
Actually, we're out here to make money.
We're playing something we love to do,
but the primary interest
really is how much you can make.
[Abdul-Jabbar] Bill Russell was involved
in the civil rights movement
and encouraging people to effect change.
Wilt, you know, lived very well,
but he didn't really care
about anything else
other than his own comfort and his life.
I mean, Wilt had a racehorse
and, you know, a Rolls-Royce.
[hesitates] He lived very well.
[Russell] He kept getting
these good salaries.
So, "Wait. If money's there for him,
it's gotta be there for me too."
I remember, over the radio or something,
that Wilt had just signed
a contract for $100,000.
[Stoll] span style="style2"It wasn't just a rumor.
Chamberlain had signed
a three-year contract with the 76ers
for a record annual salary of $100,000,
the equivalent of one million today.
[Russell] When we heard this,
I was talking to Red Auerbach.
We're talking about
my contract for the next year.
I said, "Well, that does it.
I know what I want."
He says, "What?"
I said, "I want $100,001."
He just turned white.
"Whiter," I'm sorry.
[cackles]
That's petty in a great way.
That's petty in a great way.
If it's one dollar,
that means I'm better than him.
It just shows you the competitor in him.
That's him. That's him to the core.
You weren't kidding
about that extra buck, were you?
Every little bit helps.
[all laughing]
We'll get you one dollar
for doing the show.
[reporter] Is there
any truth to these rumors
that you're asking for astronomical sums?
Uh, "astronomical,"
that… that sounds high.
[Kenny Smith] He can get you 20 points
on pick-and-rolls and rim runs.
He can block five shots,
and he can get you 20 rebounds.
He's not a $100,000 man.
He's a $500 million player today.
[Russell] I said,
"I just won the MVP in this league."
"I should be the highest paid."
I called my dad on the phone,
and I said, "You won't believe this.
I got this deal."
"You don't have to work anymore."
He says, "Well, son,
I can't quit working."
I said, "Why not?"
He says, "I've been working
this foundry 25 years."
I said, "A foundry, 25--
That's a great reason to quit."
He said, "Oh no."
He said, "Listen, son,
I've given these people
25 of the best years of my life."
"Now, I'll give them
a few of the bad ones."
[all laughing]
That's great.
[chanting indistinctly]
[Stoll] span style="style2"While Russell played a game
span style="style2"of one-upmanship with Chamberlain,
he took a sharper stance
against the economic treatment
of Black people in the United States.
[Lyndon Johnson] There are other answers
that are still to be found.
[somber music playing]
I intend to call a White House conference
of scholars and experts
and outstanding Negro leaders
of both races to fulfill these rights.
Its object will be
to help the American Negro
fulfill the rights,
which after the long time of injustice,
he is finally about to secure.
[Stoll]span style="style2" Bill Russell was one
span style="style2"of 2,400 invited delegates,
including entertainers,
business leaders, and prominent activists.
But in the end, he felt the meeting
produced only empty promises.
Russell believed real change
depended on economic opportunity.
[Wright]span style="style2" What good is education
without jobs?
There prevails a lack of leadership
in helping to create
a more favorable atmosphere
to break down the economic barriers
that the Negro faces
in becoming part of the mainstream
of the American economy.
The blood of this nation
flows through the veins
of commerce and industry.
If the resources of big business
are called upon
by the president of the nation
and mobilized for concerted action,
we will greatly accelerate
the achievement of the goals we seek.
[Stoll]span style="style2" In Boston that spring,
the uproar over school desegregation
boiled over, and Russell joined the fight.
For three years, the city school committee
had dug in its heels on the issue,
and so had its controversial
former chair, Louise Day Hicks.
…stated as his policy
that a racially imbalanced school
is not educationally harmful.
-[attendees scoff]
-[Betty Johnson] Well…
Superintendent Ohrenberger and yourself
do not have children
in a racially imbalanced school,
so you do not know
what the effect is on our children.
[applause]
[solemn music playing]
[Wright] span style="style2"One day, she came to give
a graduation talk
at Roxbury Junior High School.
When the preacher
and a little ad hoc committee of activists
made a fuss, she had him arrested.
Meanwhile, those kids
didn't have their graduation,
so we hosted a special ceremony
for them at a local church,
and I gave the commencement speech.
[Russell] I ask myself, "Where are
the other voices crying out for change?"
And there are small fires
all over the United States,
and there's a fire here in Roxbury.
And nobody's listening.
There's nobody listening.
What the people don't realize is
that a fire that consumes Roxbury
consumes Boston. The fire will spread.
["Turiya and Ramakrishna" playing]
[Wright] span style="style2"To me, Boston itself
span style="style2"was the flea market of racism
in all the varieties, old and new.
The city had
corrupt City Hall crony racists,
brick-throwing "send them
back to Africa" racists,
and in the university area,
phony radical chic racists.
Nevertheless, everybody in Boston
used to speak in favor of Dr. King.
I was mystified.
Perhaps, Dr. King's dream
of a color-blind society based on love
was being misinterpreted by Bostonians.
To them, "color-blind" meant
that Blacks would be invisible,
which would be fine with them
and not much different from reality.
Bill Russell is gonna make it known
that this is what's happening,
and people need to know about it.
Why do we march? Why are we protesting?
What is that actually doing?
People were afraid to speak out.
He knew his platform.
He knew how strong
and powerful his voice was.
Opening doors, opening avenues
for the younger generation.
When we take action
and when we come together and we speak,
people do listen.
[Russell] Big, high-profile athlete,
there was a forum there for me
if I choose to use it.
[music fades]
[Stoll]span style="style2" Russell was never reluctant
span style="style2"to voice his opinions,
but there were plenty of basketball fans
who preferred
that he would just "shut up and play."
[Russell] It developed through my career
that, uh, I really didn't want a lot to do
with the people outside of the Celtics.
I played for the Celtics.
I didn't play for Boston.
[Rhoden] So I think that he was
kind of jarring to a lot of white people,
who just expected you to be genuflecting
because you were there.
Bill Russell did not genuflect.
[tense music playing]
[Stoll] span style="style2"At home in Reading,
he and his family were often treated
as unwelcomed invaders.
I don't think
anyone knew the sort of things
that were going on behind the scenes
to my dad and my parents.
[Stoll]span style="style2" When the Russells returned home
span style="style2"after a weekend trip,
they found that vandals broke in
and ransacked the house.
They come home, and it's… it's…
The place is trashed and everything.
It's crystal clear that it was someone
who objected to, uh,
not just him living in the neighborhood
but him being him.
Wrote all kinds of things on the wall.
You know, racial slurs and threats.
[Wright] span style="style2"Returning to our home
after a vacation, we found it trashed.
"Nigger" was painted on the wall
with excrement,
and the pool table had been ripped up
and covered with beer.
People, uh, smashed his trophies.
They defecated in my parents' bed.
I was shocked. I didn't… I didn't know…
I didn't know how racist the town was.
That Bill and the family had to go
through it, it's heartbreaking.
Just heartbreaking.
[Wright] span style="style2"The local police were unable
to come up with any suspects.
Some argue that my "arrogant attitude"
may have contributed to the home invasion.
[Sanders] When you talk about Russell,
you're talking about a guy
who was already, um, pissed off
all the time, anyway,
about the way Blacks were being treated.
He never did talk
about those things publicly.
That sort of goes back to,
"Well, he's misunderstood."
He could've easily held
a press conference and said,
"These animals broke into my house,
and this is why you people
might think I have a bad attitude."
[tense music continues]
Bill was defined as an angry Black man
because he wasn't going
to let people forget
the reality of life in America.
I mean, people have to admit to the truth
before we can move on.
Every single time he had
an opportunity to play,
he was able to take all of that
and focus and put it into the game.
I had never run across anyone
with such a singular attitude and focus.
[Russell] Always look for an edge.
That's one thing I got from Auerbach.
Do everything you can to turn
the percentages in your favor,
intellectually, emotionally,
and physically.
I did talk a little trash.
[cackles]
Most guys talk trash
just to be talking trash.
Bill Russell was not that type of guy.
Bill did it in a way
that it was going
to directly affect the game.
He's gonna say something
because he knows
that it's gonna get up under your skin.
And sure enough,
it helped the Celtics to win.
[pensive music playing]
[Wright] span style="style2"Part of my responsibility
to the team
was to divert an extra portion
of the opponent's attack on myself.
Sometimes I'd make a speech
out of the jump circle.
"All right, guys,"
I'd say to the other team.
"Ain't no layups out here tonight."
"I ain't gonna bother you with 15-footers
because I don't feel like it tonight,
but I ain't gonna have no layups."
Or I'd lean over to one of the forwards
and say, "If you shoot a layup,
you better bring your salt and pepper
because you'll be eating basketballs."
Of course, I wouldn't say
anything like that
to Oscar Robertson or Jerry West.
There are some guys you don't do that to.
[Robertson] Bill didn't trash-talk
against me or anything like that
when he went into the basket
to make a layup
because it might've backfired on him.
-[upbeat music playing]
-[Bradley] I think my rookie year,
Russell was over here,
and Satch and I were over here.
And Russell looks at Satch
and then looks at me
and then looks at Satch and says…
Can you guard that motherfucker?
Well, that shocked Bradley.
He'd never been
called that before. [cackles]
[Bradley] That thought made me
start thinking, "What did he mean?"
"What is that about?" [laughs]
[Horry] A person with a high intellect
that talks trash, that's the worst.
Because they're thinking about you
and not the game.
[upbeat music continues]
[Sanders] Russ had
that little game within a game.
He goaltended about two shots
a game, on purpose.
Sure, the baskets counted,
but what it did
was send a message to the players,
"Look how close I came
to blocking your shot."
He was a master.
[Most] span style="style2"Out to Baylor, driving the lane.
span style="style2"He lays it up. It's blocked by Russell.
Blocked by Russell.
What a play by Bill Russell!
[Frazier] Russell was definitely arrogant,
an intimidator.
Off the court, he intimidated people
who'd come up to him.
[laughs] He'd just stand like that
and stare at them.
Wouldn't say anything.
He was this interesting mix
of athlete and thinker.
He always could pick a certain move
and visualize it in his head
over and over and over again
before he actually went out and tried it.
He studied the game so diligently.
[George] The idea that you could calculate
the angle of the player coming at you,
know their abilities, how they like to go,
and then also see the rest of the court
to know that, "If I do this, the angle
of trajectory will take it there."
This guy's a mathematician.
[Stoll] span style="style2"Bill's on-court mastery
span style="style2"had always involved math.
Back in college at USF,
along with his Celtics teammate
K.C. Jones,
Bill pioneered alternative ways to think
about the role of angles
and equations in basketball.
[intriguing music playing]
[Wright]span style="style2" We decided that basketball
span style="style2"is basically a game of geometry,
of lines, points, and distances.
I had been daydreaming about solo moves,
but he liked to work out strategies.
K.C. had an original basketball mind,
and he taught me how to scheme
to make things happen,
particularly on defense.
In those days, almost every player
and coach thought of defense
as pure reaction.
K.C. thought differently.
He was always figuring out ways
to make the opponent
take the shot he wanted him to take
from the place he wanted the man to shoot.
He'd let a man have an outside shot
just beyond the perimeter
of his effectiveness,
and instead of harassing the player,
would take off down the court,
figuring I'd get the rebound and throw him
a long pass for an easy basket.
He and I dreamed
dozens of plays like these
and fed into our equations what we knew
about the weaknesses of our opponents.
Gradually, K.C. and I created
a little basketball world of our own.
We were inspired.
Rocket scientists in sneakers.
[music fades]
He always had this regal being
about himself.
I look at pictures of him.
There's one particular picture of him.
It's him standing at half-court
with both hands on his hips,
in a sold-out Boston Garden.
And when I look at that, it was like
a king overlooking his fiefdom.
[Stoll] span style="style2"But as much as Russell
span style="style2"was considered a genius on the court,
fans and sportswriters
often criticized him
for being moody, aloof, and arrogant.
[Russell] I am arrogant. I'll admit that.
But it's in whose definition of arrogant?
If a white athlete
had done the same thing,
they wouldn't call it arrogant.
They'd call it competitive, high-strung.
When you're Bill Russell,
and you live in a country
that ostracizes you,
that only celebrates you
for your athleticism,
"Here's what I'm going to do.
Y'all get me in the arena."
"Outside of the arena,
allow me to live my life."
[Stoll] span style="style2"As proof
span style="style2"of Russell's perceived arrogance,
critics cited his refusal
to sign autographs.
As a player, after 1964,
he never signed them.
[intriguing music playing]
[Wright] span style="style2"I always felt funny
about autographs,
even as a recognized basketball player
in college.
At first, I didn't pay much attention
to the feeling.
I just signed my name
because it was what everyone did.
But in the early 1960s,
I noticed that after a session
of signing 50 or 60 autographs,
I felt strange about it
for two or three days.
[Rose] The public and the media
was really upset.
And took it personal
that he chose not to share
his personal space
and sign autographs.
You can't let the fans own you
or dictate what it is that you do.
[Wright] span style="style2"I cannot imagine the value
span style="style2"of a scribbled name on a piece of paper.
What value can my signature possibly have,
and why should I have to sign it?
I give my money's worth
on the playing court, period.
I am a public property when I play.
I'm a private property
when I'm not playing.
If I want to sign, I will,
but no one has ever forced me
to do anything.
You either buy me
as Bill Russell the man, or you don't.
My signature isn't going
to make any difference.
And the fact that I'm a basketball player
is just an accident.
I love the fact that he was his own man.
He decided he was going
to just play the game and…
and, uh, interact with his teammates.
He was always in control.
That's what I want to say.
He'd rather be in a deep conversation
or maybe shake a gentleman's hand
or a lady's hand.
That's fine.
If you know Bill Russell
don't sign autographs, don't ask him.
He had his own convictions
that he wouldn't change.
I like that about him.
President of the United States,
he wouldn't sign an autograph.
I went up and asked him for his autograph,
and guess what he said?
No.
And I started laughing,
like, "Yeah, that's funny."
"Here you go. Go ahead and sign this."
[laughs] He said no again,
and he meant it.
[Sanders] I was trying to get
all the players who I had played with
to sign their pictures,
so I could have them
as a memento or whatever,
and Russell refused.
[laughs] His statement was,
"Satch, we spend a lot of time together.
We go out together."
"You know I don't sign autographs."
I said, "I'll kill this guy.
You gotta be kidding me, Russ."
These are two
of my non-autographed Bill Russell books,
that I keep right there
between H. Rap Brown and James Baldwin.
I wouldn't have it any other way.
They were personally non-autographed,
uh, for me by, uh, Mr. Bill Russell.
I saw him about three years ago
when he was in town. [chuckles]
He said, "Hey, Satch, what's going on?"
We started talking.
He said, "And I'm still not gonna sign
an autograph!" [laughing]
I think, in a lot of ways,
my dad was ahead of his time.
And I think if you look
at our celebrity-obsessed culture today,
you can recognize the pitfalls
and perils of being a famous person.
I think he was criticized
for not playing along or going along
and being more open,
and he also, unlike some other stars,
I don't think ever needed that.
He was unapologetically himself
at all times,
and if you can't respect that,
then you got something wrong with you.
[Wright] span style="style2"1963 through 1965,
the glow had worn off basketball.
I thought it was a child's game
and said so publicly.
How can I play basketball as a grown man
in the same way I played it as a kid
when there are
so many more important things going on?
I wanted to help change the world,
and I was looking for a way to do it.
The Black revolution was beginning,
and many other tides were turning.
You're a Black man playing this game.
It's riddled with racism, number one.
You still can't go places.
And Black folks are catching hell.
They're getting beaten, being attacked,
and here you are playing basketball
for the Boston Celtics.
I think when you step back,
you probably feel survivor's remorse.
Like, "What am I doing playing
in front of all these white people…
-[clapping]
-…having them cheer for me?"
"And they don't want me
to live in their neighborhood."
You look at a television,
you're seeing this abuse,
and you have a heart
and a sense of consciousness.
You probably feel terrible.
"Whatever I'm doing is not enough."
[Wright] span style="style2"There are two societies
in this country,
and I have to recognize it.
To see life for what it is
and not go stark raving mad.
[Goudsouzian] He gives interviews
Sports Illustrated,
Saturday Evening Post,
that speak to his emerging sense
of disillusion with America.
In these articles,
he questions Martin Luther King's strategy
of nonviolence.
He defends Malcolm X
and the Nation of Islam,
which is anathema
to most white Americans at the time.
He says sports isn't an area
of racial enlightenment.
Sports reflects the larger racist patterns
in American society.
What happens when you're that self-aware
about what you're doing?
What does that do
to your enjoyment of doing it?
[Stoll]span style="style2" As Bill Russell struggled
with his role and responsibility
as a Black public athlete,
his team was
about to face a turning point.
Coach Red Auerbach decided
it was time to step down.
The '65-'66 season
would be his last as coach.
I didn't want to go into the season,
and then if we win it,
say, "Now, I retire."
They'd say,
"Oh, you're just quitting a winner."
I said, "I'll quit at the end of this year
regardless of what happens."
[Stoll]span style="style2" The question that mattered
span style="style2"was who would take Red's place.
Red's first choice
was team captain and star, Bill Russell.
[Auerbach] What better way
to motivate Bill Russell the player
than Bill Russell the coach?
[Russell] I was the first guy he asked,
and I told him I didn't want the job.
[Stoll] span style="style2"If not Bill, then who?
span style="style2"That decision would have to wait.
In the meantime,
there was a season to finish,
and with Red's impending retirement,
a little extra incentive to win.
[exciting music playing]
[Russell] We wanted to make sure,
when Red retired as coach,
that we won the championship
his last year.
We felt that was gonna be
the definition of his career as a coach,
was, "How did he finish?"
[Stoll]span style="style2" Giving Red a championship send-off
span style="style2"would depend on the postseason.
After beating Philadelphia
for the second year in a row
and claiming the Eastern Division title…
[commentator]span style="style2" Boston
span style="style2"has beaten Philadelphia 121 to 117.
[Stoll] span style="style2"…the Celtics faced the Lakers
for the fifth time.
And as often happened, the series
came down to the closing seconds
of a decisive seventh game,
with the Celtics ahead by four.
[Most]span style="style2" Six seconds left, and suddenly,
span style="style2"the Lakers have a chance.
Now it goes to Ellis.
A quick jump shot, Ellis, is good!
Four seconds left,
and the lead is down to two points.
All right, K.C. with the ball,
gets surrounded. One second.
That's it. It's all over!
Havlicek got the pass, and he gets mobbed.
It's all over.
The Boston Celtics…
beat the Los Angeles Lakers 95 to 93.
And this crowd has surged
out onto the floor.
[heroic music playing]
[Russell] Red and I both really wanted
that game so that he could go out winning.
[Stoll]span style="style2" Red planned to stay
span style="style2"with the Celtics as the general manager,
so he had to name his own successor.
He knew Russell needed
a coach who would inspire him
and keep him interested in the game.
Who better than a current
or former Celtic?
[Russell] We both made out a list,
and my first choice was Frank Ramsey.
Frank was retired down in Kentucky,
and Frank could not leave.
We went to about three or four other guys,
and none of them
were suitable to both of us.
And he told me, "I have to hire somebody."
He says, "I'm gonna go look
outside the organization."
[Stoll]span style="style2" In desperation,
Red called Alex Hannum,
the coach of the San Francisco Warriors,
formerly the player-coach
for the St. Louis Hawks,
and an old rival Russell did not care for.
[Russell] I says, "If you hire him, Red,
I'm gonna retire with you."
[tense music playing]
[McSweeny] Sitting with Russell, I said,
"Who's gonna coach when Red retires?"
He said, "Alex Hannum,"
one of Russell's bitterest enemies.
I said, "You can't play for Alex Hannum."
"He's the one guy in the league
you despise."
I said, "Listen, for Christ's sake,
you're going to coach the goddamn team."
"You want to coach it, don't you?" "Yeah."
"So why don't you go tell Red
you'll coach the team."
Now, about 25 minutes later,
I'm sitting in my hotel room,
the phone rings.
And it's Red Auerbach, and he says,
"McSweeny, you son of a bitch."
I said, "Red, what happened?"
Bang, the phone hangs up.
A few minutes later, the door knocks.
It's Russell. He said, "I'm the coach."
[claps]
I thought I was somewhere--
I just hugged him, and I kissed him,
and I just tugged his beard.
And… [exclaiming]
"It's the… It's the most wonderful thing
in the world."
[thrilling music playing]
[reporter]span style="style2" They had Cousy.
span style="style2"They had Auerbach before him,
but they didn't have
the World Championship
until they got Bill Russell,
and now he's the player-coach.
[Russell] I thought
that if I could try coaching,
it would reenergize
my relationship with the game.
It's basically what he should have gotten
based on what he had done.
Here he is, the new coach of the Celtics.
The best to you.
-Thank you.
-[applause]
[reporter] Bill, are you gonna be
a carbon copy of Red Auerbach,
or will you be your own coach?
Nobody could be a carbon copy
of Red Auerbach.
[all laughing]
I'll have to do it my way.
I'm a brick head too.
That's where I'll follow Red.
I'll be a hardhead just like he is.
[somber music playing]
[Stoll] span style="style2"At the Celtics' annual
span style="style2"end-of-season breakup dinner,
Russell signaled
that his role might have changed,
but his feelings and expectations
for his teammates remained the same.
[Wright] span style="style2"I expect a lot
out of this team next season.
I've never been associated with a team
with more heart than this one.
I don't get close to many people,
but you guys made me love you.
You treated me nicer
than I've been treated in my life.
You guys are really my family.
The Celtics are more
than a name or a team.
They are a way of life.
[Stoll] span style="style2"The announcement was momentous
span style="style2"for the Celtics,
for all of sports,
and, really, for the nation.
Russell would be
the first Black head coach
of any professional team in North America.
But the press wasn't quite sure
what to make of it.
[reporter] Can you do the job impartially,
without any racial prejudice in reverse?
Yes.
[tense music playing]
[reporter 2] Now, you are, of course,
the first Negro
to occupy a major coaching position.
Do you feel it puts extra pressure on you?
No, not at all. Other people put
more emphasis on it than I do
because this is just, I think,
a natural thing that I would get the job
or be offered the job.
[George] Russell becoming the coach
of the Celtics, a team that has won
umpteen titles already,
is a major event in American history,
in terms of American sporting history.
[Monroe] I remember when I heard
that Bill Russell was gonna be
the coach of the Celtics.
I was very, very happy about that.
And, you know, we're just talking about
just five years from the quota system.
[Edwards] He became not just the face
of the Celtics.
He became the part of the front office
that is most visible
to the rest of the world.
[Curry] I can't imagine what that's like,
trying to be great at both roles
because they're so different
and require so much energy
and perspective and thought.
So he's a better man than me.
[Stoll]span style="style2" Russell and the Celtics
span style="style2"started the season strong,
winning ten of their first 12 games.
But more than any wins or losses,
one event deeply impacted
Coach Bill Russell.
When the Celtics played
an exhibition game in Louisiana,
Bill's father brought his grandfather
to his first basketball game.
[Wright]span style="style2" Mr. Charlie came
span style="style2"into the dressing room with the old man.
After a few minutes,
panic shot through both of us.
The old man was crying.
I thought he was having a heart attack.
Then we both saw that he was not in pain.
He was staring as if stunned,
transfixed by the sight of Sam Jones
and John Havlicek in the shower nearby.
My two teammates
were busily lathering up and talking,
oblivious to the old man's emotion.
The old man looked up at us
and made a slow pronouncement.
"I never thought I'd live to see the day
when water would run off
of a Black man onto a white man."
He kept shaking his head.
"You know, I can tell
those two men like each other."
[reporter] You're in a position
of taking over for the first time.
A long string of victories.
Do you want to make any predictions?
If we don't have any key injuries,
I think we'll go all the way.
[spectators cheering]
He may have taken on more
than he was ready to at that point.
He's playing an average
of about 45 minutes a game
as well as coaching
and making sure we get
to the spots we had to get to,
that the offense was running right,
and the defense was
where it's supposed to be.
[George] I bet you when
he took on the job, he didn't realize
how much more it would take
out of him to do that.
And it just happened to be that was
the year that Wilt finally got it together
and had a tremendous squad in Philly.
[intense music playing]
[man] Official pregame program, just 35.
The official lineup in the program.
Wilt Chamberlain, read all about it
in the official program lineup.
[Stoll]span style="style2" Over the last two years,
span style="style2"the 76ers had evolved
from a team with promise
into a powerhouse.
["Twist and Shout" playing on speaker]
[Stoll]span style="style2" They boasted
span style="style2"the best record in the NBA,
and Wilt finally found
a team he could bond with.
Rejection's able to hurt you.
[reporter]span style="style2" In the past ten years,
span style="style2"the Celtics have won
nine of ten World Championships.
Last year, the 76ers were
the "almost team" of the NBA.
The past cries out, "Beat Boston."
[dramatic music playing]
[Most]span style="style2" Back out to Greer.
span style="style2"Greer wants to shoot. He does. It's good.
Boy, I tell you,
these two clubs want at each other.
Greer on the left.
He fires. It is no good.
The rebound by Chamberlain.
Lays it in, and he was fouled on the play.
[Stoll]span style="style2" The Sixers dominated the first
span style="style2"three games in the 1967 playoff series.
[spectators cheering]
Wilt, now a veteran,
had adjusted his game,
passing more
and committing to team defense.
[commentator]
span style="style2"Beautiful block, Chamberlain!
Beautiful block, Chamberlain.
[reporter]span style="style2" In his first year
span style="style2"as player-coach in the NBA,
Russell inherited a solid organization,
but it's leaking.
[cheering]
Went to the Garden, and all the ugly fans
and the malicious attitude that they had.
It was not competition.
It was confrontation.
[spectators booing]
[commentator]span style="style2" A fan joins the melee.
[Stoll]span style="style2" The Celtics managed to win
span style="style2"game four in Boston,
only to return to Philly,
where the fans were demanding
the end of the Celtics dynasty.
[intense music playing]
[Most]span style="style2" Walker drives, lays it in.
This has been, I mean,
just a tremendous ball club all year.
To Greer, he's being chased.
He lays it in.
Philadelphia fans were chanting,
"The Celtics are dead.
The Celtics are dead. Finally dead."
[commentator] span style="style2"Bill Russell watches
span style="style2"a dynasty crumble around him.
[fans chanting]
Five, four, three, two, one!
[cheering]
[Wright] span style="style2"Wilt and the Philadelphia 76ers
beat us because they were better.
[melancholy music playing]
They almost ran us off the court,
and I got an instant taste
of the loser syndrome.
Though the Celtics had
run off an unprecedented string
of eight consecutive championships,
the fans in Boston hooted me.
"All washed up, huh?"
"I knew it couldn't last.
You guys don't have it anymore."
I had to blink my eyes.
[Stoll]span style="style2" The Sixers went on to win
span style="style2"the NBA Finals that year,
giving Wilt his first championship.
Meanwhile, in Boston, the postmortems
on the Celtics' bitter defeat
focused on one man.
[Sanders] We had gotten
in the habit of winning,
and as long as we were able
to rely on Russell as the anchor…
[chuckles] …we thought
that we would win 'em all.
Russ, being a man of pride,
was really hurt
over the fact that we did not win.
And he was embarrassed.
He was very quiet, didn't want
to talk about the season at all.
That was the kind of guy he was.
He said, "Hey, we'll see
what happens next year."
In case you haven't noticed
with all of the excitement
of the World Series,
the National Basketball Association
is about to start its season
on Saturday night.
Here at the Boston Garden,
all of the veterans
will be back for the Celts,
and they'll be trying once again
to get that crown back
that the Philadelphia 76ers
took away from them.
I never made a prediction before.
All the years I was here,
they'd say, "How you gonna do?"
I'd say, "I don't know.
I don't have anything to say."
Last year, during the playoffs,
they said, "How you gonna do?"
I said, "We're going to win it,"
and we didn't.
So I'm not going to say
anything else anymore, ever.
[laughing]
[Stoll] span style="style2"Russell faced a dual threat
span style="style2"his second season as coach.
One was to prove he could bring
his team back to the championship
after their loss
to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The other would grow out of a brutal war
that would tear America
and the sports world apart.
[Wright] span style="style2"I developed strong convictions
about Vietnam very early in the war.
It seemed to me
a continuation of the colonial wars
about which, as a Black man
who opposed the colonies in Africa,
I felt sensitive.
In effect, the Vietnamese were saying
they didn't want Occidentals
running their country.
We Americans didn't see it
that way, of course.
As an empire,
we insisted on defining the war
as a matter of communism versus democracy.
The bombs in Vietnam explode at home.
They destroy the dream and possibility
for a decent America.
[chanting] Hey, hey, LBJ,
how many kids did you kill today?
The fucking commies run this place!
[chanting indistinctly]
[Stoll]span style="style2" The war had sparked anger
span style="style2"and bitterness and polarized the nation.
-[man] What do we want?
-[all] Peace.
-[man] When do we get it?
-[all] Now.
[clamoring]
[Stoll] span style="style2"Among those opposed to the fight
was 25-year-old
heavyweight champion Cassius Clay,
who had converted to Islam
and taken the name Muhammad Ali.
Ali argued that his religious
and ethical convictions
prevented him from fighting
and killing people he didn't know.
[Muhammad Ali] I don't think
I should go to Vietnam
and shoot people
that never called me "nigger,"
never lynched me,
never put dogs on me, never raped my mama.
[Stoll]span style="style2" Ali was facing
span style="style2"the loss of his title,
federal prosecution,
a five-year prison sentence,
and a $10,000 fine.
What Muhammad Ali was doing
could bring an end
to his career as a boxer.
He didn't mind losing millions of dollars.
He was certainly very courageous.
He made us proud to be Black athletes
because he was showing me,
through his actions,
what was important.
I don't know too many individual athletes
who would take the kind of course
that he's taking.
This takes a tremendous amount
of willpower and fortitude, etc.
A real belief.
The Cleveland Summit was basically
a response by Black athletes
to the fact that Ali was refusing
to go into the US military.
They wanted to show
their support for their brother.
[Wright] span style="style2"We never went to Cleveland
to persuade Muhammad to join the Army.
We went to offer him our help.
There's nothing that says
the heavyweight champion of the world
must belong to a particular religion
or not be a conscientious objector to war.
We came out of friendship to Muhammad Ali.
And I know that we wanted
to find out from him…
You read the papers, you see
on television, all this kind of stuff.
…what is going on.
He stood up
under many very difficult questions,
and, in essence, gentlemen, convinced us
that it is, basically,
a religious matter with him.
He believes in his religion
and that his stand
is based wholly on that.
The things that he has gone through
has had to make him a very lonely man.
This is the famous picture.
Probably one of the most iconic photos
of the 20th century.
Seeing these Black men, these stars,
step out of their role
as stars for the Cleveland Browns,
or stars for the Celtics,
or stars for the Packers,
come out and say,
"No, we're Black men first."
They felt a sense of accountability
and responsibility
to leveraging their platform, their voice,
their wants and desires for the changes
that need to be made in this country,
and what it means
to be a Black athlete even.
I think what Bill and I had in common
is that we refused to give up
our individuality
and deal with prejudice
and discrimination
and unfair practices.
If you're a star,
and if you say the right things
and act the right way,
you'll make some money.
And if you're gonna be an activist,
you have to give that up.
Bill was a special individual.
He, uh, could be counted on
to challenge things that were not correct.
[Edwards] Bill Russell
captured the essence,
the soul and heart of what Ali was saying.
When a reporter asked Bill,
"What is going to happen to Muhammad Ali?"
Bill's response was,
"I'm not worried about Muhammad Ali."
"He's done something
I haven't even been able to,
to find something I'm so committed to
as a matter of faith,
I'm willing to put my life on the line."
"I'm not worried about Ali.
I'm worried about the rest of us."
[reporter] This is
a CBS News special report.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
civil rights leader
and Nobel Prize winner,
was shot and killed tonight
in Memphis, Tennessee.
He was standing on the balcony of
the Lorraine Hotel, on the second floor,
when a single shot came
from across the street.
It apparently hit him in the neck.
The dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
has not died with him.
America shall not be ruled by the bullet
but only by the ballot
of free and of just men.
I think everybody on every team,
regardless of race or religion
or whatever,
felt a loss.
And it has impact on all of us.
[reporter]span style="style2" Riots broke out
span style="style2"in more than 150 American cities.
A rampage of arson and looting
unmatched in the history of this nation.
[sirens wailing]
[Johnson]span style="style2" It is the fiber and the fabric
span style="style2"of the republic that's being tested.
[somber music playing]
[Stoll]span style="style2" Grief and anger exploded
span style="style2"in cities across the country.
In Philadelphia,
the Celtics were scheduled
to play the first game
of the Eastern Division finals
against the 76ers the following day.
No longer are we going to stand around
and wait while our leaders are killed.
[Wright]span style="style2" I know
span style="style2"I was in a state of shock all day.
I just sat around for four or five hours
before I could speak of anything else.
Then I thought maybe I shouldn't play.
I called Wilt.
Even athletes of the stature,
of the celebrity
of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain
couldn't get the NBA to say,
"In honor of this great man,
we're gonna pause.
We're not gonna play the game."
[Stoll] span style="style2"With the stadium
span style="style2"already filling with fans,
Chamberlain demanded
a vote in the locker room
whether they wanted to play or not.
[Wright] span style="style2"We agreed it wouldn't be good
to call off the game at that late date.
You got 10,000 to 12,000 people,
and to call it off could be trouble.
[Stoll]span style="style2" In the end,
span style="style2"the two teams decided to play.
Fans watched a stoic
but unfocused performance,
even by the two great rivals,
Russell and Chamberlain.
[somber music continues playing]
[whistle blowing]
There's an eerie atmosphere.
There isn't the same sense
of joy and thrill
that's associated with playoff basketball.
[Stoll]span style="style2" The Celtics managed to win
span style="style2"127 to 118.
[Stoll] span style="style2"Four days later,
span style="style2"King was laid to rest in Atlanta.
["If I Can Help Somebody" playing]
King's funeral was attended
by luminaries from politics,
the entertainment industry,
and superstars of the NBA.
Many feared that his dream
had died with him.
[Wright]span style="style2" I had a great deal of respect
for Dr. King.
He was the last buffer, you know.
Stuff I had said ten years ago,
that everybody dismissed
as "an angry Negro talking,"
is coming out today,
and that's what is so sad.
Nothing constructive
ever comes out of violence.
Here's a man that believed in nonviolence,
and someone cuts him down.
It's a real tragedy.
[Stoll]span style="style2" On April 10th,
span style="style2"the day after King's funeral,
the playoff series resumed
at Boston Garden.
[dramatic music playing]
[spectators cheering]
[Stoll]span style="style2" The 76ers outplayed
span style="style2"and outscored their opponents,
and the Celtics lost 115 to 106.
Philadelphia won
the next two games as well.
No team, not even the Celtics,
had ever recovered
from a three-to-one deficit in a series.
The fat lady hasn't sung, yet.
And until the fat lady starts singing,
it's not over.
[dramatic music playing]
[Stoll]span style="style2" The Celtics came roaring back
span style="style2"in game five,
pummeling Philadelphia 122 to 104.
Now, the momentum had shifted,
and the Celtics won
the next game at the Garden.
With relentless blocking
and solid coaching by Russell,
they took the series finale
in Philadelphia
to prove they were still champions.
Russell called it
his most satisfying victory.
The Celtics would go on
to beat the Lakers in the Finals,
Russell's tenth championship,
and his first as head coach.
[reporter] Bill Russell, congratulations
on a great game and season.
[Russell] Thank you.
Did operating as the coach and player
take any more out of you this season
than in past seasons?
I don't think so.
[players chatting indistinctly]
[reporter] Do you think
the new Black athlete
can collectively bring about
any social or political change?
I can say things that I did…
I said over the years,
it's because I had a position of power,
and that I was very good.
But conversely, that made me
have more to lose,
in the sense
of what they were talking about.
But it was nothing to lose to me
because if I don't have my manhood,
I don't have anything.
Athletes are products rather than people.
["Use Me" by Bill Withers playing]
I've been constantly harassed.
I've been in solitary confinement
for approximately three months now.
-What are you?
-[all] Black Panthers!
Nothing's more important
than stopping fascism,
because fascism will stop us all.
Talkin' 'bout you usin' people ♪
It all depends on what you do ♪
It ain't too bad
The way you're usin' me ♪
'Cause I sure am usin' you to do… ♪
[Russell] I tell you,
I really feel totally inadequate.
Because after I've seen
what the people are going through,
that my contribution is very, very minute.
[Sanders] Russ had threatened
to retire the last three, four years.
[laughs] I said,
"Russ, you can't retire, man."
I said, "We need you to keep playing
so that we can keep winning championships
and keep those championship checks
coming in, okay?"
"We can't win without you."
[Stoll]span style="style2" On March 15th 1969,
during a game
against the Baltimore Bullets,
the Celtics tied the score
in the final seconds.
After gaining possession,
Coach Russell called a timeout.
[Wright]span style="style2" I was yelling, "We got them
span style="style2"by the gym shoes! Let's kill 'em!"
Suddenly, I burst out laughing,
and I couldn't stop.
The players thought I was crazy.
I was saying, "This is really something."
"Here I am, a grown man
running around seminude
in front of thousands of people,
playing a game
and yelling about killing people."
[unsettling music playing]
[Wright]span style="style2" I looked at my teammates as if
span style="style2"I had really said something profound.
They looked back blankly
as if I hadn't said anything.
We threw the ball away,
and the Bullets won.
In all my years of laughs
in pro basketball,
I had never mocked the game itself.
[melancholy music playing]
You can't give out what a game requires
if you start focusing
on its ridiculous aspects.
I already knew that there are
no final victories in sports.
The games just keep going,
and the only final victory
you can have is to walk away
from that last game intact.
I told myself, and no one else,
that I was playing my last season.
[Stoll]span style="style2" It was a brutal season
span style="style2"for the Celtics,
who, in the eyes
of the rest of the league,
seemed to be losing their edge.
[Wright]span style="style2" The spells of inspired basketball
span style="style2"became less frequent.
I knew that sometimes this happened
because I was coaching as well as playing,
but a lot of it
was that I just couldn't keep up.
[Frazier] Russell was obviously
in his twilight.
Sam Jones, Satch Sanders
were up in age, you know.
We used to call them geriatric. [laughs]
When you start the game, these guys
got bandages all over their knees.
They look like they're from the '40s.
They got
the old black high-top sneakers on.
You're actually feeling sorry for them.
I'm at a stage in my career
where each season is punishment.
[Ryan] The Celtics finished fourth
in the Eastern Division that year.
It was supposed to be over.
No one expected them to win.
[Stoll] span style="style2"Despite their lackluster
span style="style2"performance and the dire predictions,
Boston made it
to the Eastern Division semifinals
to face the 76ers.
The Celtics overwhelmed Philadelphia.
Now, they would face the Knicks
for the division title.
Philadelphia, we just knew
we could beat Philadelphia.
We knew that.
New York, we had a problem.
[dramatic music playing]
Everything just clicked perfectly
for the Knicks.
They had a hardworking but skilled leader
at center in Willis Reed.
They had the cerebral forward
Bill Bradley.
They had the dynamic guard
with Walt Frazier.
At the start of the season,
we were talking championship.
So now, here we are in the locker room,
saying, "Hey, man, this is it.
This is what we talked about."
"This is why we play, so let's do it."
And we thought we could win.
[Russell] The Knicks, they thought
they had us that year
'cause they won six of seven games
that we played in the regular season.
Willis Reed was the backbone
of their defense.
He was helping everybody out.
And so I started changing
our offense each game.
When they'd adjust to the low-post game,
then I would go to the high-post offense.
By doing that, I changed
the flow of the defense.
But everything considered,
we were just a better team.
[laughing]
They didn't want to hear that.
[music fades]
[Stoll] span style="style2"Russell's game-to-game
span style="style2"adjustments worked.
The Knicks went down in defeat.
Now, an 11th championship was in sight.
[cheering]
[Stoll] span style="style2"The Celtics would face the Lakers
span style="style2"in the NBA Finals for the seventh time.
[tense music playing]
Coach, you just got Wilt Chamberlain.
How many people
did you make mad doing that?
No, I think I made a lot of people happy.
I know I made all the coaches
in the Eastern Division happy
because they think
they have a better chance.
[reporter] You have
what amounts to a triple threat,
with three big players over there.
-What do you think you'll do this season?
-I know one thing. We'd better win.
If we don't, then I won't have a job.
I've always felt
that I wanted to play on a team
with guys like Jerry West and Elgin Baylor
and the other stalwart players
on the Lakers.
I feel very, very happy
that I am being traded.
I'm being traded to a team that I believe
may stand a chance to go down
on the record as one of the best teams
in basketball ever.
[music fades]
[Stoll]span style="style2" The Lakers had never beat
span style="style2"the Celtics in the Finals,
but in 1969, with Chamberlain
joining West and Baylor,
the team featured
the NBA's original Big Three.
We were a better team, period. Period.
Boston was not worthy
to be in the same league with us.
It was a team that was pulling straws.
[announcer] Number 13, from Kansas,
Wilt Chamberlain!
[spectators roaring]
[dramatic music playing]
[reporter] Everybody keeps talking about,
"The Celtics are so old now."
"They can't win again."
Do you, deep down in your heart,
feel you can do it again?
Yes.
[commentator]span style="style2" This is
span style="style2"for the World Championship of basketball,
ladies and gentlemen.
It's all on the line.
[dramatic music continues]
[Stoll]span style="style2" As Russell and Wilt
span style="style2"battled back and forth,
the game was decided by Jerry West,
who scored 53 points
and led the Lakers to a game one victory.
Jerry West had the best game
of any player that I've ever seen.
He was unstoppable.
[Stoll] The Boston Globespan style="style2" had asked Russell
to write a daily dispatch,
giving readers
his perspective on each game.
As always, he was outspoken and candid.
[Wright]span style="style2" West's scoring was a big factor
in the game,
but it was a two-point game,
and that is a loss.
It wouldn't make any difference
if he got 100 points,
and we won by one or two points.
The win is the important thing.
[Stoll]span style="style2" In game two,
span style="style2"West scored 41 points,
once again leading Los Angeles to victory.
The confident Lakers now had
a commanding two-game lead
on Russell's Celtics.
[Ryan] The Celtics were in trouble.
No team had ever lost the first two games
and come back to win.
[Wright] span style="style2"We allowed an average
span style="style2"of 119 points a game.
We can't afford to give up
that many points every game.
It doesn't matter
who gets the points for the team.
[Stoll]span style="style2" The series moved to Boston
span style="style2"for the next two games,
and the Celtics knew they had to win both
to give themselves a chance
at an 11th title.
They took game three.
But in game four,
the Lakers were ahead by one point
when the Celtics took possession
with seven seconds remaining.
Sam Jones comes flying
around three guys, throwing a pick.
Throws it up.
Bingo.
There's a second left,
but the game is over.
Sloppy, but I'll take it.
Sam, the old man,
came through with the clutch basket.
[Stoll]span style="style2" As the home team won
span style="style2"each of the first four games,
the trend continued when the Lakers
cruised to a game five win in Los Angeles.
[Wright] span style="style2"Some things
are better left unsaid.
So regarding Thursday night's game
with the Lakers,
I have absolutely no comment.
[tense music playing]
[Stoll]span style="style2" Bill's disdain showed up
span style="style2"on his home court the next night,
holding the man who once scored
100 points in a single game
to only eight.
Home court advantage
had predicted the series,
and with Los Angeles
set to host the final game,
the Lakers remained the favorites.
I can't help but wonder, how do you feel
about going into another seventh game,
this time on somebody else's floor?
We've done it before.
["Land of 1000 Dances"
by Wilson Pickett playing]
One, two, three ♪
[reporter]span style="style2" Boston trying
span style="style2"for its 11th championship in 13 years.
A dynasty,
and the Lakers trying to end it.
[Tom Hawkins] The seventh game
on the Lakers' home court,
the Lakers were finally gonna win
that championship
that they had never been able
to gain against the Boston Celtics.
[reporter 2]span style="style2" Jerry West has summed it up.
He said, "We can beat this club."
And he said,
"I may never get another chance."
We thought
that we were gonna have problems.
To be frank with you,
we weren't exactly as confident
as we had been in earlier times.
[reporter 2]span style="style2" This is the big night,
span style="style2"the night the Lakers could take it all.
They could become
the World Champions of basketball.
Jack Kent Cooke had balloons
put in the rafters of the Forum
that were gonna be let go
after the Lakers won.
[music fades]
How could anyone even think
of something so stupid
to put those balloons up there?
Jack Kent Cooke put out
a sheet in all the seats.
When the Lakers win the championship,
the USC band would play,
the balloons in the rafters
would fall down.
Well, I took this back to Russell.
Sam showed me that, and I said,
"Well, it is humanly impossible
for the Lakers to win the game tonight.
The Lakers can't beat us."
If somebody messes with you
or talks about your mama
or pulls on Superman's cape, you know,
or steps on your corns, whatever,
or throws sand in your face,
you get angry,
and anger takes you to another level.
[Most]span style="style2" Russell against Chamberlain.
The ball is tipped
by Russell to Sam Jones.
He gives to Havlicek,
who will drive against Baylor.
Havlicek, 20-foot fallaway is good.
Havlicek with a basket in ten seconds.
Russell's whole strategy
of what we were gonna do in the game,
we said, "We're gonna run them
and run them and run them."
[Most]span style="style2" Sam, down the middle,
span style="style2"shovel shot, good.
Around Siegfried, underneath,
puts it up. Russell blocks it! Great play.
[commentator]span style="style2" The Celtics are very fresh.
span style="style2"The Lakers are standing around more.
They seem to be a little more tired
than the Celtics.
[Stoll] span style="style2"The Celtics ran their way
span style="style2"to a 17-point fourth-quarter lead.
[Most] span style="style2"The Lakers are down by 17 points.
[Stoll]span style="style2" But Jerry West and the Lakers
span style="style2"refused to give up.
His shooting reinvigorated the Forum crowd
and brought the Lakers to within nine.
And all eyes shifted to Wilt.
[Most]span style="style2" Havlicek shoots, 15-footer,
span style="style2"no good. Rebound is up.
Chamberlain's got it. Chamberlain is hurt.
He hurt his right knee.
Chamberlain's at the other end, injured.
He hurt his right knee.
[announcer]span style="style2" Officials' timeout. Injury--
[Most]span style="style2" Chamberlain
span style="style2"may have to leave the game.
Wilt has to leave. Wilt cannot continue.
[Hawkins] Van Breda Kolff was furious.
"That big SOB!"
"How can he come out of the game?"
For my own selfish reasons,
I was offended
the instant Wilt left the game.
I didn't think he was hurt that badly.
And even if he was, I wanted him in there.
We were close, oh, so close
to finishing with a great game.
Wilt's leaving was like finding
a misspelled word
at the end of a cherished book.
[commentator] span style="style2"Mel Counts is going
span style="style2"to come in for Wilt Chamberlain.
Mel Counts came in. He played really well.
[Most]span style="style2" One-bounce dribble,
span style="style2"12-footer by Mel. Good!
[spectators cheering]
[Stoll]span style="style2" With Wilt out,
span style="style2"the Lakers pushed the pace,
taking advantage of the aging Celtics.
[commentator] span style="style2"You can see
span style="style2"the momentum changing here
as the Lakers have a renewed spirit.
[Stoll]span style="style2" And almost evened the score.
[Most] span style="style2"They see the World Championship.
span style="style2"They want it so bad, they can taste it.
The Lakers trail by one.
[Hawkins] So Wilt says to me,
"Tell the man
I'm ready to go back in the game."
[laughs]
Van Breda Kolff,
in all of his hysteria and his madness,
says, "Tell him, go fuck himself."
"We don't need him." And never put
Chamberlain back in the game.
[Most]span style="style2" They've clawed back
span style="style2"but still haven't caught them.
And the Lakers will come back
without Wilt Chamberlain.
We were behind by one point,
with just a little over a minute to play.
I was guarding Havlicek, he had the ball,
was dribbling around,
and I reach behind
and knock the ball away from him,
right into Don Nelson's hands.
Standing on the free-throw line.
Don Nelson grabs the ball
and takes the shot.
Quickly just pushed a shot off.
It hit the back of the rim
and went straight up.
It bounced over the backboard.
It went about 13 feet in the air.
And went into the basket.
[commentator]span style="style2" Erickson…
Knocked away, but Nelson gets it!
[Erickson] The shot
is like a slow-motion dagger.
[commentator] span style="style2"Don Nelson.
That is pure luck. Pure luck.
And it's like some other greater power
didn't want us to win.
[commentator] span style="style2"And the Boston Celtics
have done it again!
Sometimes, I would think
that Jerry was right
in thinking he was cursed
when they played the Celtics.
Some people can get over it.
I never got over that stuff.
I still haven't today.
It's like there's a…
there's a hole in my heart. [exhales]
It probably was
the greatest disappointment
in my life as an athlete,
not to beat them once.
The difference-maker
was always gonna be Bill Russell.
[commentator] span style="style2"Many, many balloons
span style="style2"hang in the rafters,
but they will not be released.
You say, "Well, the Celtic gods
are with them in the Forum."
That's some Boston Garden stuff.
[commentator] span style="style2"And, of course,
span style="style2"you'll have to say
that the Celtics are
the greatest sports dynasty
in the history of professional athletics.
[emotional music playing]
[Russell] My teammates had played so hard
and had held up so marvelously
that I was just so proud
of those guys and myself.
Bill, this must've been
a great win for you.
Exactly.
[man in background] One more time!
One more time!
[sighs]
I know it's hard to say
what's in your mind right now.
It must have been a great win.
This is such a great bunch of guys.
And it's just been so fabulous
the way they played for me.
And it sounds all corny
to start talking like that,
but I told these guys before the game,
"I don't care what happens."
"I wouldn't trade you
for any guys in the world."
[Montville] After the game, I'm looking
at Bill Russell to see when he's alone.
I'm 25 years old, red hair and freckles,
and I'm the whitest guy in North America.
And I go over.
And so I have to go to Bill,
and I say, "Uh, Bill?"
And he kind of looks at me, and I said,
"Is there a chance
that you're gonna retire now?"
And there's like a pause.
And Jim Brown, who's sitting there,
he looks up at me, and he says,
"Retire? The man just won
the World Championship."
"Why would you ask him
if he's gonna retire?"
I'm not sure anybody else did realize
that that was Bill Russell's last game.
He had interests
that were broader than the game,
and I think his curiosity
was kind of moving other places.
When Bill Russell told me
that he was gonna retire from basketball,
I looked at him
because I didn't believe him at first.
But I saw
he was getting emotional about it,
then I started really to believe
he was going to leave.
He ultimately announced his retirement
Sports Illustrated
that paid him $25,000 to do so.
[Wright] span style="style2"I have a year to go
span style="style2"on my contract for the Celtics.
It's one of the most lucrative in sports,
and I was very happy with it.
I had been paid to play, of course, but
I played for a lot of other reasons too.
I played because I was dedicated
to being the best.
I was part of a team,
and I dedicated myself
to making that team the best.
But so far as the game is concerned,
I've lost my competitive urges.
If I went out to play now, the other guys
would know I didn't really care.
That's no way to play.
That's no way to do anything.
All through this past season,
I had the eerie feeling
that I'd been through this before.
Every play, every situation.
Setting a screen, missing a shot.
I'd seen and done it all before.
Everything had become repetition.
This is not the attitude
to bring to still another season.
After… when I heard it,
I said, "Oh my gosh."
Uh, you know, this is…
this is a pretty historic moment
for a guy who could still play
at a championship level,
and for him to say,
"Heck with it, I'm not playing anymore."
[Sanders] The career was done.
He wasn't coming back.
The most outstanding team sport dynasty,
after that game, it was over.
[sentimental music playing]
[Wright] span style="style2"Professional basketball
went out of my life in 1969,
but it had a lot of company.
Everything in life
seemed an encumbrance to me,
including my wife of 13 years,
my three children, my Boston friends,
and my material possessions.
Within a few months of my retirement,
I also left behind my life in Boston
and everything that went with it.
Every breath I took felt a little frosty.
I was venturing into the outside world
after 13 years in a compression chamber.
I thought I owed something,
but I wasn't sure what it was.
In my head,
I had known that basketball
was not meant to protect me,
but I had never had to live without it.
First train to California ♪
There must be something in California ♪
There must be magic everywhere… ♪
[Stoll] span style="style2"Bill Russell packed one suitcase,
span style="style2"got into his Lamborghini,
and drove to Los Angeles.
[Russell] LA, as far as I'm concerned,
that's where the action is.
I can promise you,
nobody will have as much fun as I will.
[Stoll]span style="style2" Another stage,
span style="style2"the entertainment business, beckoned.
I'd like to welcome one of the greatest
basketball players of all time,
Mr. Bill Russell.
-Who wrote that introduction?
-I did.
Well, what do you mean,
"One of the greatest basketball players"?
Oh, excuse me, Bill.
The greatest basketball player
of all time.
[audience applauds]
[Stoll] span style="style2"Bill made a few appearances
span style="style2"on comedy shows and talk shows.
Good, Bill, you keep that up,
they'll put you in a home.
[all laughing]
I'll show you how to do it.
-Yeah, sure.
-All right? Like this.
[upbeat music playing]
Mr. Tillinghast?
Yes, sir?
This is Mr. Tillinghast. Uh…
[Stoll] span style="style2"He hosted
span style="style2"a short-lived talk show of his own.
My name is Bill Russell.
My name is Bill Russell.
My name is Bill Russell.
My name is Bill Russell.
Will the real Bill Russell
please stand up?
[audience applauds]
[Stoll] span style="style2"Russell even tried his hand
span style="style2"at acting… with limited success.
To settle my debt.
[woman screaming]
[Stoll] span style="style2"And he appeared
in a few TV commercials.
[laughing] I can't miss! I can't miss!
By a long distance.
[Stoll]span style="style2" He served as an NBA analyst
span style="style2"for several networks.
You know how it feels
because you've been here before.
Me, I haven't scored a point.
You brought the guys here
that score the points.
So, you're overpaid.
[laughing]
[Stoll] span style="style2"Russell also maintained
span style="style2"a steady schedule of lectures,
sharing his experiences
and philosophies with young people.
Now, to me, really seriously,
education is the foundation you use
to think for yourself.
To be willing to accept responsibility
of being involved in mankind.
I'm Rob Chamberlain. I wondered, how--
-[Russell] What'd you say your name was?
-Rob Chamberlain.
-Chamberlain?!
-[Rob] Yeah.
[audience laughing]
[audience cheering and whistling]
-No relation. No relation.
-I kind of figured you weren't related.
[Stoll] span style="style2"During one talk,
span style="style2"Bill criticized Wilt Chamberlain
for leaving the '69 Finals
after he was injured.
Let me read to you what Bill said.
"I think he copped out in the last series,
in the last game."
"Any injury short of a broken leg
or a broken back
isn't good enough."
[Wright]span style="style2" He took himself out
span style="style2"of that final game when he hurt his knee.
I wouldn't have put him back in either,
even though I think he's great.
I never said Chamberlain
didn't have talent,
but basketball is a team game.
I go by the number of championships.
I play to bring out
the best in my teammates.
Are you gonna tell me you brought out
the best in Baylor and West?
He talks a lot
about what he's going to do.
What it's all about is winning and losing,
and he's done a lot of losing.
He thinks he's a genius, but he's not.
[Stoll]span style="style2" The remark went public,
and the two friends didn't speak
for years after that.
I shouldn't have said that
because he hadn't done anything to me.
But I'm too hardheaded to apologize.
So that's the way it goes.
If somebody says he's hurt,
in my opinion, he's hurt.
You don't leave a moment like that
unless there's something wrong with you.
[reporter] What about now?
Is it ever too late?
I don't even think about it anymore.
It's something that's passed.
Uh, I know I shouldn't have done it.
He knows I shouldn't have done it.
-Would it make a difference?
-Not really.
I'm sure we're both able to live our lives
without that interfering with it too much.
[Stoll]span style="style2" His competitive friendship
span style="style2"with Chamberlain
was just one more thing
Russell left behind,
along with the Celtics
and the city of Boston.
When his number was retired in 1972,
Russell refused a public ceremony.
Only his beloved teammates were present.
In Boston, some of the sportswriters
can get, uh,
well, kind of tricky, you know?
And Bill probably resented
some of the things that happened in Boston
and probably brought it out.
That was one way of doing it.
[Stoll]span style="style2" That wasn't the only time Russell
span style="style2"shunned an individual public honor.
In 1974, he was chosen for induction
into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
[Wright]span style="style2" When my selection was announced,
span style="style2"I issued a statement saying
that, for personal reasons,
I preferred not to be inducted.
So the sportswriters jumped all over me.
Most of these writers assumed
I think the Hall of Fame is racist.
I do, but there's more to it than that.
[reporter] The report was that Russell,
and no one knows
'cause he hasn't said anything yet,
objected because there were
no Black players.
And why is that?
Well, number one, we do have
Black players. Not since 1946.
We would prefer,
if he has a legitimate question,
gripe, reservation,
whatever it is, Bill,
then we would like to know about it. But--
Because, absolutely,
if we are wrong in some way,
we want to change.
On the other hand, we are quite convinced
that we're as open-minded
as society can be,
and maybe more so.
Bill Russell's a real man.
He stood up for what he thought was right.
He was a no-BS type of guy.
[Wright] span style="style2"What it came down to was
that I thought of the Hall of Fame
the same way I thought about autographs
and having my number retired.
In each case, my intention
was to separate myself
from the stars' ideas about fans
and fans' ideas about stars.
[Stoll] span style="style2"By 1973, Bill Russell had moved
from California to Washington state
to be coach and general manager
of the Seattle SuperSonics.
He brought them to the playoffs
for the first time in their history.
[spectators cheering]
A decade later,
he took on another unsuccessful team,
the Sacramento Kings.
Failing to turn the team around,
Russell left after little more
than half a season.
His family worries that, by the 1990s,
as the decade is closing,
as the NBA's starting to develop
sort of an appreciation of its past,
people will forget about Bill Russell.
It's at that point that Russell
reaches back to the public, really,
at the end of the 1990s.
Thirty years after his final game,
Bill Russell and Boston
have finally made up.
And the reluctant celebrity
who first had his number retired in 1972,
without fanfare,
this time let his fans share.
[Ryan] It was at the Boston Garden,
a night of celebration for Bill Russell,
and dignitaries
in the basketball world came.
I'm here tonight
representing all the men my age
who grew up utterly in awe
of Bill Russell, the athlete.
All the men who also learned
from him how to be a man.
If you don't know anything about him,
if you can't stand the brutal truth,
don't talk to Bill Russell.
When I grew up in the '50s and the '60s
and had the opportunity
Go Up for Glory,
my mom was a librarian
and brought it home to me that day,
Bill Russell became my hero for life.
Knowing that we played a small role
on the greatest professional sports
team dynasty that's ever existed…
[audience cheering]
…and you are responsible for that, Russ.
[Goudsouzian] It's those moments
that became key to understanding
the impact of Russell
on this generation of athletes.
On behalf of the Celtic organization,
we'd be very remiss
if we didn't give Bill Russell
a piece of the floor.
Upon this parquet,
you created the championship tradition
of the Boston Celtics.
And he did!
-Bill, my pleasure.
-[audience exclaims]
I was totally embarrassed,
to tell you the truth.
[cackles]
It was enlightening
to have my friends say these things.
One of the things, I think,
that is very important
for every person to know
is that you are not alone in the universe.
You come here alone and you leave alone,
but the rest of the time,
the in-between, you're… you're not alone.
[rousing music playing]
[Stoll]span style="style2" On that magical night,
one more surprise awaited Bill
in the wings of the Boston Garden.
[announcer] Ladies and gentlemen,
Wilt Chamberlain!
[Stoll] span style="style2"The NBA's first icons
span style="style2"had reunited,
and after many years apart,
realized their bond never broke.
My friend Wilt Norman Chamberlain
was far and away
the best player I've ever played against.
Wilt and I could talk…
[cackling]
…and neither one was asking the other
for anything except friendship.
[somber music playing]
[Russell] I, uh… I thank you for this.
It's very humbling.
What I wanted to thank you for
is letting me come into your life.
And the folks that came to the Garden
and the fans, you were part of my life.
[fan] We love you, Bill!
I love you too.
[audience cheering]
[Stoll] span style="style2"Russell's basketball life
span style="style2"was coming full circle,
but there would be
heartbreaking losses ahead.
[reporter] span style="style2"A grim discovery this afternoon
span style="style2"at this mansion in Bel Air, California.
The body of 63-year-old Wilt Chamberlain,
widely considered
one of the greatest players
in the history of basketball.
The authorities say the cause of death,
an apparent heart attack.
[reporter 2] span style="style2"Some of basketball's greatest
span style="style2"came to Los Angeles
to pay their respects
to one of the game's legends.
Former Boston Celtic Bill Russell
remembered his fiercest opponent
on the court.
He sent me through hell so many nights.
[people laughing]
But it was not a rivalry.
It was a competition.
As we got older,
the more we liked each other,
because we knew, basically,
we were joined at the hips.
He and I will be friends through eternity.
What made them both special
was the fact that, even today,
here it is,
we're still talking about both men.
[Edwards] We need
to carry forth that history.
We'll be studying
the legacy of Bill Russell
for years to come.
[Obama] This year's
Medal of Freedom recipients
reveal the best of who we are
and who we aspire to be.
Bill Russell made possible the success
of so many who would follow.
My daughter told me I was gonna get it.
[rousing music playing]
First thing I did was get in my car
and drove down to California
and visited my father's grave.
And, uh…
And told him about it.
And, uh… it made me feel a lot better.
Because, uh, I… basically, I said to him,
"You know…
I have to agree with you
that I did okay."
[laughing]
I hope one day, in the streets of Boston,
children will look up at a statue
built not only to Bill Russell the player
but Bill Russell the man.
[Russell] After I got
the Medal of Freedom, and Obama says,
"Someday, there'll be a statue
in Boston of Bill Russell,"
and I told him
I'd never forgive him for that.
A statue sounds, to me,
a lot like a tombstone.
He says, "It's not so much for you
as it is for the city."
[cheering]
[Russell] "You've made
a tremendous amount of difference
in community and race relations."
[Zirin] One of the most stirring sights
after Colin Kaepernick took a knee
in protest of police violence
and racial inequity,
was the sight of Bill Russell
taking a knee himself
and looking challengingly,
directly into the camera
as if to say, "If you're going after him,
then you're also going after me."
[Jeannine] Bill felt a certain connection
with Colin because, for Bill,
basketball was always about what he did
and not who he was.
His legacy will be Malcolm Jenkins
and Anquan Boldin
and LeBron James
and CP3
and D Wade
and Renee Montgomery
and the women of the WNBA and so forth,
who are stepping up
in this generation and saying,
"We too have a contribution
to make in terms of this struggle."
We have, especially as a collective,
real power to help support change.
You're saying the things that need
to be said. You're taking a stance.
You're letting people know
that what is happening is not okay.
And Bill Russell's whole career was that.
Players in my generation, it's all about,
"What's next? What's next?"
But if you don't understand your history,
you won't know where you're going.
Understanding the power that you do have,
that your voice
and your opinion definitely matter,
and it carries on and off the court.
[West] I love Bill Russell.
He had a soul.
Some people have no soul. He had a soul.
Uh, he was just one of the most unique men
I've ever met in my life.
And I don't say that
because of his success
as a basketball player. He was a leader.
He was an activist
when it wasn't popular to be an activist,
uh, at the expense
of his own career sometimes.
The things I knew about Bill,
when he thought about something
he thought was right,
that's what he's gonna go by.
That's called a stand-up man.
That's the way Bill was
on a consistent basis.
[sentimental music playing]
[Wright] span style="style2"Man can only ultimately be
counted if he thinks he is doing right.
In the end,
I live with the hopes that when I die,
it will be inscribed for me,
"Bill Russell, he was a man."
The Boston Celtics lost
an absolute legend today.
Bill Russell passed away at the age of 88,
but his legacy will live on forever.
[Karen] One of my dad's favorite quotes
is, when he passes away,
he's not sure about heaven.
Heaven could actually be a step down.
Because for him, heaven was playing
for the Boston Celtics.
It's incredible to see
the lasting impact of Bill Russell.
He really wanted to stand up
and let people know
Black people should not accept
the status quo.
And that's in sports,
and that's out of sports.
How much he did for African Americans,
what he stood for as a man,
what he had to endure
to play the game basketball,
and how much he wanted
to make life better for others.
We're still fighting these same battles.
Leaders and giants in society
like Bill Russell
lay that foundation to give us
that confidence that we can do it.
[uplifting music playing]
[Jeannine] The NBA announced
they were gonna retire Bill's number.
[Paul] Nobody else in the NBA
will ever be able to wear number six.
That's the winningest man to ever play
in this league, and it's well-deserved.
Bill Russell had a set of convictions,
not just about the game but about life
and clearly about the country.
I mean, he was a patriot as an American.
And somebody who was never afraid
to speak his mind,
no matter the consequences.
An icon, a legend, and a pioneer.
And he obviously embodies
what being a true champion is all about.
Everyone should give him 5%
of their contract, big guys. Seriously.
If it wasn't for him,
we wouldn't be who we are.
[Walton] Contemplating, the reflection.
What was,
what could have been,
what will be.
Bill Russell,
you've done your job.
The rest is up to us.
[uplifting music continues]
[Wright] span style="style2"I can honestly say
that I have never worked to be liked.
I've only worked to be respected.
What has my life been? Many things.
Many places,
many conquests, many failures,
and a time of fierce loves
and hates and issues.
I have fought in every way I know how.
I've fought because I believed
it was right to fight.
I think that no man
should fear the consequences
because every man must do
what he believes is right.
I have fought for the rights of man,
all men, all races, all religions.
Perhaps I will always march
to the distant drum.
Perhaps I will never catch
the beat of the tune.
But I will try.
[uplifting music continues]
[dramatic music playing]