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Bill Russell
Bill Russell won 11 NBA Championships (in 13 years) playing for Boston Celtics. He was the first player ever to win the NCAA Title, the NBA title and an Olympic Gold Medal all within a span of 13 months. The NBA Finals MVP Award is named after him. (official name- Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award). Bill Russell showed everyone that a basketball game could be won by playing smart defense. He is widely considered as the greatest defender to have ever played the game of basketball. Yet, his legacy is not limited to just his on-court heroics.
He became the first ever African American to become a Head Coach in a major professional sports league when he became a Player-Coach of the Boston Celtics in 1966. He won the NBA title in 1968 and 1969 to become the first ever African-American Coach to win a major sports league. Bill Russell was the first African-American superstar in the NBA.
Young athletes saw in him exactly what they were looking for. Rusell was a strong proud black athlete who wasn't scared of making public remarks and opposing racism. He was fighting racism like nobody else ever had. Bill was a great teammate on the court but off the court, he was a civil rights hero.
