The NBA’s first dynamic point guard, he channeled that showboating into individual and team success, winning league MVP in 1957, setting the assist record, and earning six championships with the Celtics
FEATURED LISTS
Lucky charms: Ranking the 37 players who won a championship as Bill Russell’s Celtics teammate
Which side are you on?: A history of the NBA in 16 labor disputes
Over the hill and on the court: 31 NBA players who stayed active into their 40s
Going out on top: 17 notable NBA players who retired as champions
index
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- Active NBA player in his 40s
- Appearance in Blue Chips
- As championship winner on Celtics (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963)
- As television broadcaster
- Coaching the Royals
- Earning league MVP in a controversial voting (1957)
- First president of NBA Players Association
- Nicknamed “Houdini of the Hardwood”
- On ’59-’60 Boston Celtics (greatest teams)
- On ’61-’62 Boston Celtics (greatest teams)
- Retired as NBA champion
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FULL archive
Going out on top: 17 notable NBA players who retired as champions
Whether they were a franchise legend closing out a storied career or a ring-chasing mercenary earning a title as a role player, these 17 players retired as NBA champions.
Which side are you on?: A history of the NBA in 16 labor disputes
As much so as the games, players, and teams themselves, the history of basketball is a history of American labor politics
Over the hill and on the court: 31 NBA players who stayed active into their 40s
With LeBron James set to hit the big 4-0 in December, we take a look at the 31 players who previously remained active in the NBA into their 40s
Noms de plume: 75 greatest NBA and ABA player nicknames
From the iconic to the cool to the slightly derisive, we count down the 75 greatest player nicknames in NBA history.
Fraudulent voting: 20 controversial NBA league MVP decisions
As is bound to be the case whenever humans are making objective decisions based on subjective criteria, the NBA MVP winners have not always made sense in retrospect. Sometimes, they don’t even make sense as they’re being awarded. These are the 20 most notable cases.
Challengers to the crown: Eight notable American basketball leagues that competed against the NBA
Though the NBA has been king of pro basketball in America since 1949, these rival leagues have challenged it in some way over the years, to various interesting effects.
Lights! Camera! Shaq-tion!: 21 films that star (or prominently feature) NBA players
Many of the NBA’s biggest stars have attempted to transfer their talents to the silver screen, with results ranging from better to worst. Mostly worst. With LeBron James’ Space Jam 2 reportedly in the can, we take a look back at 21 of the most prominent examples.
Costs of being the boss: 13 Hall of Fame players who struggled as coaches
With their playing career often fueled by singular talent and ruthless competitiveness, these legendary players found those traits to be mostly a deterrent in their subsequent attempts at coaching in the NBA.
Ancient relics: 15 early NBA franchises that folded
While the Knicks, Celtics, Warriors, Lakers, 76ers, Kings, Pistons, and Hawks have been active in the NBA since the late ’40s, these other early franchises weren’t so lucky and closed up shop after a brief lifetime, often as short as just one season.
Lucky charms: Ranking the 37 players who won a championship as Bill Russell’s Celtics teammate
When you win 11 NBA titles in 13 seasons as Bill Russell did, you don’t just earn a lot of hardware for yourself, you also help fill up the trophy cases of plenty of teammates.