“You play to win the game,” is the quote by NFL head coach Herm Edwards we are told to remember when looking back at the career of iconic Boston Celtics big man Bill Russell.
A man who transformed the sport on the defensive end of the court, and terrorized a generation of NBA players while winning more than anyone with eight consecutive league titles and 11 total, five NBA Most Valuable Player Awards, back-to-back NCAA titles, Olympic Gold and more. While there are a number of ways you can parse the “Greatest of All Time” debate, and Russell has one of the strongest.
On his 87th birthday, watch the video embedded above produced by Clayton Crowley that makes the case for Russell as G.O.A.T.
And this doesn’t even center the monumental impact the man had — and continues to have — off the court as a civil rights activist and humanitarian, a critical part of the man, and what drove him to be great.
Happy Birthday, Bill. And hopefully many more.
