Recently, I attended an annual all-employee meeting that a client was having to wrap up the year and celebrate success.

One of the keynote speakers took the stage and declared Michael Jordan the best basketball player ever. When it was my turn to speak, I politely stated that, being from Boston, I disagreed with him.

I’m not saying Jordan wasn’t an athlete for the ages, far from it. And I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve the accolades he gets. But he did play in an era where games were nationally televised and Bill played in an era where the NBA had teams in Rochester and Syracuse New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Nice cities but not exactly media markets where exploits made the national news.

Maybe it’s my age or maybe it’s my parochialism, (look that one up), but I believe the greatest champion in history was Bill Russell and after reading this weblog, I hope you agree.

I have been meaning to write this for several years and finally found the motivation to finish when I stood my ground in front of 500 people at that meeting.

If you are younger than 50, most of Russell’s achievements took place before you were born, so here's a primer on his championship pedigree and my personal take on his leadership DNA.

In high school, he was a defense-first-shot-blocker-and-passer ahead of his time.

His unorthodox style was pretty much ignored by college recruiters, and he did not receive an offer until a recruiter from the University of San Francisco, just across the bay from Oakland, watched him play and sensed that he had an unusual instinct for the game.

Oh, and by the way, his junior and senior years in high school were the years his team, McClymonds High School, won the California State Championship. 

Here are a few highlights of his college career.

He was a player that UCLA legendary coach John Wooden called "the greatest defensive man I've ever seen".

• His team had a string of 55 consecutive victories
• In a single game he had 26-points, 27-rebounds, and 20-blocks
• He and teammate, KC Jones, helped pioneer a play that later became known as the alley-oop.
• He was the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player in 1955, averaging 20.7 points per game and 20.3 rebounds per game.

Oh, and by the way, he led the University of San Francisco to NCAA Basketball championships in 1955 and 1956

But he wasn’t done. Before he started his professional career, he captained the U.S. men's basketball team that competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.

Because he had already signed a professional contract, he had the option to skip the tournament and play a full season for the Boston Celtics, but he was determined to play in the Olympics. 

The U.S. dominated the tournament, winning by an average of 53.5 points per game. And, unusual for him, he led the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game.

And that was enough for the United States to win the gold medal with an undefeated 8-0 Olympic record.

By the time he put on the #6 jersey for the Boston Celtics he had

• Two High School State Championships
• Two NCAA National Championships
• One Olympic Gold Medal in Basketball.

Not bad. That’s five more championships than most 20-something athletes have.

Recently there was a big trade in the NBA which brought back memories of the big ‘Russell’ trade.

He was originally drafted by St. Louis and their owner got one of the Boston star players to finalize a deal.

Rumor had it that the Celtics owner, Walter Brown, who also owned the Ice Capades, promised some ice shows to another owner to persuade him NOT to draft Bill so St. Louis could draft him and trade him to Boston.

With the Celtics, Russell became the heart of the team under legendary coach Red Auerbach. His defensive skills, leadership, and basketball IQ helped transform the Celtics into the most dominant dynasty in NBA history. 

Though his personal statistics were impressive—over 14,000 points, 21,000 rebounds, and 4,000 assists—he often sacrificed personal glory for the success of the team, emphasizing defense, rebounding, and leadership over scoring.

He became the first African American superstar in the NBA, breaking barriers and setting new standards for excellence.

Even if you are stubborn and believe Jordan is the greatest player ever, I believe Russell is, by far, the greatest winner in the history of sports, and every time I visit Boston Garden and see the banners hanging from the rafters is evidence of that. I took this photo last year.

Remember, Russell played for 13 Seasons and won 11 Championships, including a staggering 8 in a row. That's right. 11 of those banners have his fingerprints on them. Think about 8 in a row.

Two of the championships were as a player-coach. Not a typo: a player-coach.

Here are some additional reasons for my belief that go beyond the statistics. 

Champions have leaders, and Bill Russell was a leader.

HE WAS A CHAMPION WHO MADE PLAYERS AROUND HIM BETTER

That applies to Jordan, Tom Brady, Bobby Orr, and others, of course. It is not enough for leaders to grab individual statistics.

After all, business and basketball are team sports. Russell was never the leading scorer, but averaged 20+ rebounds per game for his career. (Last year the rebounding champion in the NBA averaged 13.7 rebounds per game.) 

The other starting four players in his first game, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Tom Heinsohn and Frank Ramsay are all in the Basketball Hall of Fame. In all, twelve of his teammates are in the Hall of Fame. (Four of Jordan’s teammates are in there).

Former NBA player and head coach Don Nelson once said: "There are two types of superstars. One makes himself look good at the expense of the other guys on the floor. But there's another type who makes the players around him look better than they are, and that's the type Russell was.” 

Good leaders make their teammates better.

HE WAS A CHAMPION WHO STOOD BY HIS PRINCIPLES.

Many of the challenges he faced were bigger than you or I could imagine. Race relations in the 50’s and 60’s were very different than today and in college and the pros there were incidents that would have slowed down a weak-minded leader.

You may not know that he turned down the Harlem Globetrotters after being slighted by the founder who spoke to his coach about the offer, and not to him. He felt disrespected.

He was a prominent figure at the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. King delivered his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech. Russell was seated in the front row during the event.

In an era of deep racial discrimination, Russell spoke out against injustice, refused to accept second-class treatment, and boycotted events that did not respect his dignity as a Black man.

He even declined to attend his own jersey retirement ceremony in protest of racism in Boston, even though the Celtics were the first NBA basketball team to draft a black player, the first team to start five black players and the first to hire a black head coach. 

Good leaders don’t compromise on principles.

HE WAS A CHAMPION WHO WAS PERSISTENT

He was cut from his junior high school team: not good enough.

In high school, he was cut from the junior varsity team: not good enough.

Then a coach who saw something in him, put him on the varsity after he was cut from the JV team and worked with him. 

And Bill worked hard and refined or actually began to reinvent defense and shot blocking.

Can you imagine being the guys who cut Bill Russell? Not only was he persistent, but he persistently pursued excellence and continually worked to get better.

Good leaders press on, nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

HE WAS A CHAMPION WHO CHANGED THE GAME

After his junior year in college, due primarily to his shot blocking ability, the width of the key was widened to move him further from the basket.

Once he got playing time, he became known for an unusual style of defense. This was the age of the ‘set shot’ where players planted their feet and did NOT jump when shooting.

Because of his natural jumping ability, he was the first player to jump to make defensive plays and to block shots. He was so into defense that he studied and memorized other players’ moves, like footwork and which foot they moved first, as preparation for playing against them. 

This is so common today it is assumed everyone does it. 

After he graduated, the NCAA added an additional rule called ‘basket interference’ in response to his dominance around the rim.

Good leaders set new standards. 

THE LEGACY

Honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, he remained a symbol of excellence, integrity, and courage until his passing on July 31, 2022.

On August 11, 2022, it was announced that Russell's No. 6 jersey would be retired throughout the National Basketball Association, the first time a jersey had been retired league-wide in NBA history, and joining Jackie Robinson and Wayne Gretzky in the honor among the four major American sports leagues.

In October 2024, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and other officials announced that the city would rename the new North Washington Street Bridge (located near TD Garden) in honor of Russell.

He won a lot of championships, but maybe more significantly:

• He made players around him better.
• He stood by his principles
• He was persistent.
• He changed the game.

What else would you expect from a true champion?