“I can still see his vacant eyes, I remember panicking about 1.8 seconds before anyone else” - Bill Simmons recalls terrifying experience with late Bill Russell in 2012

Sports analyst Bill Simmons recently admitted that the highlight of his career was interviewing Bill Russell at the Boston Celtics legend’s house on Mercer Island. The founder of the pop culture website The Ringer spent two days with the 11-time NBA champion absorbing everything Russell had to say.

While it was the biggest moment of his career, it was also one of the most terrifying. On his podcast, Simmons narrated an incident that had him fearing the worst.

“I thought Russell had paused before his next point, quickly realizing that the legend couldn't summon his next breath…I can still see his face, dark and leathered, white beard, whiskers popping from the side like snowflakes. I can still see his vacant eyes, I remember panicking about 1.8 seconds before anyone else started to panic.

“‘Oh my god, we killed Bill Russell.’ Someone frantically pulled over a tall stool and implored him to sit down. Russell asked for a minute. We stood there in silence watching one of the 20th’s greatest athletes struggling just to breathe.”

Weeks before the interview, Russell underwent a heart procedure and was informed not to stand for too long. But Simmons was so “enthralled” by his conversation with Russell that never realized that he kept the five-time MVP standing for 90 minutes.

“Russell made his way up the stairs, slowly, painstakingly, you could feel every step. He found his chair, he sunk into it. The camera crew hustled to turn on the lights and set up and now Russell and I were just looking at each other.

"I was concerned, Russell was staring through me with glassy eyes. He was in another place. Everyone else was either panicking or whispering in hushed tones.”

Luckily for everyone involved, things turned out well.

“And then boom! Bill Russell was fine. He sprang back to life, ‘I’m okay!’ We gabbed for the next 90 minutes like nothing happened.”

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Bill Russell was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in 2011

Bill Russell was honored by Barack Obama with the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom. [Photo: Bleacher Report]

In 2011, former United State President Barack Obama awarded Bill Russell the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The award was given in recognition of Russell’s fight for equality and for inspiring countless Americans with his work on and off the basketball court.

Simmons recalled how Russell’s eyes shone while reminiscing about his time spent with Obama in the White House:

“Russell gave speeches telling his fellow African-Americans to keep their eyes on the prize, to never let anyone define them or keep them down or tell them they couldn’t do something. He wanted them to believe they didn’t have a ceiling that 40, 50 years later, one of them could even be president. It's a point that he made in more than one speech.

“Now it’s 2012 and Bill Russell was holding a photo of him and President Barack Obama. ‘Isn’t that something?’ Yeah, that’s something.”