Boston Celtics great Bill Russell, 11-time NBA champion, dies at 88

[IngridsLittleAngel]

21. This Lakers fan raises her glass in tribute

Last edited Wed Aug 3, 2022, 10:31 AM - Edit history (1)

That was the take of both myself and my dad when the heartbreaking news broke. Both of us are lifelong Lakers fans. Nothing makes us grind our teeth like green and white...

And yet, both of us have always had pure admiration and respect and love for Bill Russell.

Whether it was his tenacity, his will to win, his doing whatever it took to make his team better... There was only one Bill Russell, and holy hell, was he special on the court. When you can dominate a game without scoring a single point... There are few in history that could do so. "Any knucklehead can score...." I heard that once. But when you take over the game without scoring? Now that's amazing.

Even more impressive was his life, his heart, his soul, what he did off the court. A constant voice for justice and human rights. So many people thought it was just "black rights"... But I'll never forget him a number of years ago, being asked "Would a gay player have been welcome on your Celtics?" As he said, as he said Red Auerbach would've said... "Can he play? Then yes, he belongs here."

He inspired me on the court... He inspired me 10,000 times more off the court. I know I am not alone there.

He truly was a big man at 6'10"... Even bigger was his heart and spirit.

When fans of your rival team salute you, you know you're special.

Rest in power, Russ... And know you were loved, even by us Lakers fans. Thank you for being you.