[20] During World War II, the Second Great Migration began, with large numbers of Black people leaving the South to find jobs in the rest of the U.S.

[20] His father was said to be a "stern, hard man" who initially worked in a paper factory as a janitor, which was what sports journalist John Taylor called a typical "Negro Job"—low-paid and not intellectually challenging.

[5] In his USF years, Russell took advantage of his relative lack of bulk to guard other players than the opposing center: using his quickness and speed, he would double-up on forwards and aggressively challenge their shots.

After USF kept Holy Cross Crusaders star Tom Heinsohn scoreless in an entire half,[39] Sports Illustrated wrote: "If [Russell] ever learns to hit the basket, they're going to have to rewrite the rules.

While Saperstein spoke to Woolpert in a meeting, Globetrotters assistant coach Harry Hanna tried to entertain Russell with jokes, but he was livid after this snub and declined the offer.

Auerbach knew that the Rochester Royals, who owned the first draft pick, already had a strong rebounder in Maurice Stokes, were looking for an outside shooting guard, and were unwilling to pay Russell the $25,000 signing bonus he requested.

[66] The 1956–57 Boston Celtics season saw the debut of a starting lineup made up of five future Hall-of-Famers: center Russell, forwards Heinsohn and Frank Ramsey, and guards Bill Sharman and Bob Cousy.

[68] He also became famous for his shot-blocking skills and pundits called his blocks "Wilsonburgers", referring to the Wilson NBA basketballs he "shoved back into the faces of opposing shooters".

[64] After the Celtics' 108–89 victory, Schayes, who made Johnny Kerr come off the bench because he struggled against Russell in the regular season, quipped: "How much does that guy make a year?

[79] On November 7, 1959, Russell's Celtics hosted Chamberlain's Warriors and pundits called the matchup between the best offensive and defensive centers "The Big Collision" and "Battle of the Titans".

[90] In the Eastern Division championships of the 1962 NBA playoffs, the Celtics met the Philadelphia Warriors led by Chamberlain, who averaged 50 points per game that season, and Russell did his best to slow him down.

[93] As the game was tied, Russell had the daunting task of defending against Baylor with little frontline help: Loscutoff, Heinsohn, and Satch Sanders, the three best Celtics forwards, had fouled out.

[116] Russell acknowledged the first real loss of his career, as he had been injured when the Celtics lost the 1958 NBA Finals, by visiting Chamberlain in the locker room, shaking his hand, and saying: "Great.

National tragedy struck on April 4, day of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. With eight of the ten starting players on Sixers and Celtics being black, both teams were in deep shock and there were calls to cancel the series.

He made a free throw, blocked a shot by Sixers player Chet Walker, grabbed a rebound off a miss by Greer, and passed the ball to teammate Sam Jones, who scored to clinch the win.

"[64] Duiring the 1968–69 NBA season, Russell was shocked by the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, disillusioned by the Vietnam War, and weary from his increasingly stale marriage to his wife Rose; the couple later divorced.

[120] He was 15 pounds overweight, skipped mandatory NBA coach meetings, and was generally lacking energy; after a New York Knicks game, he complained of intense pain and was diagnosed with acute exhaustion.

In the last play, Sam Jones used a triple screen by Bailey Howell, Larry Siegfried, and Havlicek to hit a buzzer beater that equalized the series.

This was in contrast to other Celtics who had to work during the offseason to maintain their standard of living; Tom Heinsohn sold insurance, Gene Guarilia was a professional guitar player, Cousy ran a basketball camp, and Red Auerbach invested in plastics and a Chinese restaurant.

As a child, he witnessed how his parents were victims of racial abuse, and the family eventually moved into government housing projects to escape the daily torrent of bigotry.

When the NBA All-Stars toured the U.S. in the 1958 offseason, white hotel owners in segregated North Carolina denied rooms to Russell and his black teammates, causing him to later write in his 1966 memoir Go Up for Glory: "It stood out, a wall which understanding cannot penetrate.

As part of the 1961 Celtics boycott, he and the other black teammates refused to play in the exhibition game and flew home, drawing a great deal of controversy and publicity.

[63] He was active in the Black Power movement and was among the African-American athletes and the one political leader who came together at the 1967 Cleveland Summit to support Muhammad Ali and his decision to refuse to be drafted.

"[140] In the book, Russell wrote: "Whenever I leave the Celtics locker room, even Heaven wouldn't be good enough because anywhere else is a step down ... With Red [Auerbach] and Walter Brown, I was the freest athlete on the planet.

And so the guy that owned the Celtics [Walter Brown] was [in addition to Auerbach for whom Russell expressed "respect" and "actual love"] another one of the fine, good, and decent human beings that I've ever encountered.

The already hostile atmosphere between Russell and Boston hit its apex when vandals broke into his house in Reading, Massachusetts, covered the walls with racist graffiti, damaged his trophies, and defecated in the beds.

[161] Russell also wrote books, usually written as a joint project with a professional writer, including 1979's Second Wind,[162] and played Judge Roger Ferguson in the Miami Vice episode "The Fix" (aired March 7, 1986).

The game featured Shane Battier, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Maya Moore, Alonzo Mourning, Joakim Noah, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and Obama's friends from high school.

[215][216] In October 2024, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and other officials announced that the city would rename the new North Washington Street Bridge (located near TD Garden) in honor of Russell.

[235][236] In 1966, The New York Times wrote that "Russell's main characteristics are pride, intelligence, an active and appreciative sense of humor, a preoccupation with dignity, a capacity for consideration once his friendship or sympathy has been aroused, and an unwillingness to compromise whatever truths he has accepted.