THE G.O.A.T.

John Harris owned a skating rink in Pittsburgh. In 1940, 他邀请奥运会明星索尼娅·海尼在职业冰球比赛间歇滑冰，以娱乐观众. It became a crowd favorite, and Harris, along with eight other businessmen who owned skating rinks, formed the Ice Capades that same year. 它很快成为有史以来最受欢迎的娱乐概念之一, drawing millions of fans over the subsequent decades.

组成冰团的九位商人之一是沃尔特·布朗, 他自己也曾是冰球运动员，最终入选了冰球名人堂. 布朗拥有波士顿花园球场，他正在为自己的球馆寻找活动. The Ice Capades was a perfect fit. 这也是为什么布朗在1946年创办了一支职业篮球队——波士顿凯尔特人队. 1950年，他聘请了一个斗志旺盛的布鲁克林出生的球员阿诺德·奥尔巴赫(Arnold“Red”Auerbach)担任教练.

毫无疑问，1956年选秀中最令人垂涎的球员是旧金山大学的比尔·拉塞尔, and Auerbach wanted him. 但是凯尔特人在那一年放弃了他们的选秀权，行使了“领土”的选秀权，选择了圣十字队的汤姆·海因索恩. Still, Red wanted Bill Russell. He arranged a trade with the St. 路易斯·霍克斯，用埃德·麦考利和克利夫·哈根换取第二顺位. 麦考利和哈根都有过名人堂生涯，所以这是一个很大的让步. 不过，选秀中的第二顺位不是第一顺位，这是由罗切斯特皇家队持有的.

罗切斯特是一个小市场城市，皇家队难以盈利. The Royals already had a center, but more importantly, 哈莱姆篮球队可能会对拉塞尔展开一场竞购战, 这场战争是皇家队老板李·哈里森认为自己赢不了的. 于是，沃尔特·布朗打电话给哈里森，提出一个建议:如果皇家队不选择比尔·拉塞尔的话, Brown would send the Ice Capades to Rochester for a week. 哈里森接受了邀请，皇家队选择了迪肯的明星后卫西·格林，凯尔特人队得到了比尔·拉塞尔. (N.B.凯尔特人选择了拉塞尔在旧金山的队友K.C. Jones, in the second round, thus getting three future Hall of Famers in one draft, a record that will never likely be duplicated).

Bill Russell was a winner without parallel. He barely played in high school in Oakland, 只拿到了附近旧金山大学的一份奖学金, with a fledging basketball program. 1955年和1956年，他带领唐顿队连续夺得全国冠军. 毕业后加入凯尔特人队期间，拉塞尔带领美国队在墨尔本奥运会上夺得金牌. In his 13 years with the Celtics, he won 11 championships, the most of any individual in any team sport. The last two of those championships was as player-coach.

He was the first Black head coach in any major sport, 就像他重新定义了篮球是如何用一种前所未有的防守恐吓来打篮球一样, his coaching redefined how the country saw Black men. 在许多美国人无法想象一个黑人有能力成为教练的时候，他是一名主教练, much less able to be a coach that won championships.

事实上，职业篮球是由黑人运动员和大多数黑人主教练主导的，这是因为比尔·拉塞尔. He was basketball’s first Black superstar, its first Black head coach, a mentor to most of the great players that followed, from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Magic Johnson to Kobe Bryant. His impact on basketball will never be matched, but in some respects, 他在篮球方面的成功是他的成就中最微不足道的.

He personally endured the indignities of racism. 他的凯尔特人队友可以入住的酒店拒绝了他, his house in Reading, MA was vandalized. He was an outspoken critic of the racism he saw in Boston, 在他生命的后期，他有足够的风度承认这个城市已经取得了进步(尽管还不够). 他被邀请与他的密友林肯博士一起站在林肯纪念堂的台阶上. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his “I Have A Dream” speech in 1963. After Medgar Evans was murdered in Mississippi in 1964, 拉塞尔飞到那里组织综合篮球诊所.

And then, on April 4, 1968, 就在东部决赛对阵费城的前一天，威尔特·张伯伦即将首发, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Bill Russell did not sleep that night, 第二天，凯尔特人召开了一次球队会议，决定他们是否要打揭幕战. 他们投票决定继续进行，并飞往费城，但没有人的心在这里. Russell wanted to be a part of the memorial service for Dr. King in Atlanta, and he, with Chamberlain, 说服NBA推迟系列赛，让他们在亚特兰大比赛.

在那个系列赛中，凯尔特人从1比3落后的情况下逆转过来, the first team ever to do so, 并在六场比赛中击败湖人队，再次获得NBA总冠军. 当然，与马丁·路德·金(Martin Luther King, Jr .)遇刺事件相比，这一事件的重要性就相形见绌了., but goes to the heart of who Bill Russell was. 比尔·罗素知道民权是他那个时代的关键问题, 他运用他所有的智慧和榜样力量来争取正义. 他继续赢得冠军，这使他更加强大.

Bill Russell changed the game of basketball. 他的防守改变了对手的进攻，他的盖帽，他不可思议的22次.5 rebounds per game over a career. He never cared about personal statistics though; success was measured by the number of championships won, and to win championships required a team. Bill Russell made everyone around him better. There’s a lesson for all of us in that.

Bill Russell changed America. 他利用自己的影响力推动民权运动，经常为此付出个人代价. Every Black superstar athlete, every Black head coach follows in his footsteps, 可以毫不夸张地说，通过改变人们对非裔美国人所能取得成就的看法, 比尔·罗素使未来几代黑人成为社会各个领域的领袖.

There will never be anyone like him. Through his influence on his sport, his example of leadership, his passionate fight for civil justice, Bill Russell taught us all how to be better colleagues, better citizens, better people. 对于之前和之后所有伟大的运动员来说，只有一个G.O.A.T., and he passed from our world yesterday.

Bill Russell.  Requiescat in Pace.

Goat image courtesy Michael Palmer

Photo courtesy Associated Press

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