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It has been a year since Bill Russell died but his legacy is still very much intact in the basketball community. The entire NBA honored the 11-time champion by retiring his number 6 across the league.
The Twitter account of Russell is now handled by his family, and his wife, Jeannine Russell, recently used it to relay a message to help in honoring the memory of the NBA legend.
"1yr ago I lost the love of my life my best friend my husband my heart. Please honor him by doing a random act of kindness no matter how big or small this would be something he would love & be proud to be part of," said the tweet.
During his time on earth, Bill Russell was bigger than basketball as his influence went beyond the playing court. For years, the voice of Russell was key in fighting racism.
Russell remained an activist even late in his life. In September 2017, he used his Twitter account to show a picture of taking a knee. It was in solidarity with the U.S. national anthem kneeling protests while wearing his Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Bill Russell is the NBA G.O.A.T.
With all the debate on who is the NBA's greatest player of all time, Bill Russell and his accolades are seldom in the conversation.
A player whose name has been linked to the conversation has been Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But the Lakers legend deferred to Russell as his best player of all time:
"People who didn't see Bill Russell play have no idea. He stifled the whole league for 11 world championships. Michael Jordan had six. There's no comparison. People don't understand what's being compared. That's why they get it wrong."
Aside from winning 11 championships, Russell also was a five-time league MVP, 12-time NBA All-Star and four-time rebounding champion. He also won two championships as an NBA coach while playing for the Boston Celtics.
With the way Russell transformed the game from mediocrity to prominence, he truly deserves to be named among the league's best to ever do it.
