Bill Russell's 12 Quotes About Basketball

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Sports/2013/1102/Bill-Russell-12-quotes-about-basketball/Joy-s-role-in-winning



Bill Russell: 12 quotes about basketball
Bill Russell, who led the Celtics to 11 championships playing in the old Boston Garden, has been immortalized with a statue on City Hall Plaza only a few blocks away.

The first of those championships occurred in his rookie season of 1956-57 on the heels of leading his college team, the University of San Francisco, to back-to-back national titles, and the 1956 US Olympic squad to a gold medal in Melbourne, Australia. The old St. Louis Hawks made the 6 ft. 10 in. Russell the second pick in the 1956 draft, behind Sihugo Green, but immediately traded him to the Celtics for Ed Macauley and Cliff Hagan. The deal paid off handsomely, as Boston won its first NBA title in Russell’s rookie season, then began an unmatched run of eight successive championships two years later.

Russell capped off his playing career as the team’s player coach, becoming the first African-American to break into the head coaching ranks in any of the four major North American professional leagues.

Always outspoken and highly quotable, here are 12 thoughts Russell shares in his book, "Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership from the Twentieth Century's Greatest Winner," written with David Falkner in 2001.
- Ross Atkin, Staff writer




Bill Russell wears a Boston Celtics uniform for his first workout with the team shortly after having signed a contract on Dec. 19, 1956. (AP)


1. Joy's role in winning

“To me, the most important part of winning is joy. You can win without joy, but winning that’s joyless is like eating in a four-star restaurant when you’re not hungry. Joy is a current of energy in your body, like chlorophyll or sunlight, that fills you up and makes you naturally want to do your best.”

2. Celtic chemistry

“The Celtic ‘system’ was designed to permit intelligent, winning players to endlessly use their own curiosity and creativity to accomplish results.  That was why each of the players felt such an extraordinary commitment to the team. It was a living, everyday thing, a practice far more than a promise, it was their team.”




Wilt Chamberlain of the Los Angeles Lakers tries to shoot over Bill Russel, but is blocked, during the first period of the NBA Playoffs in Los Angeles May 5, 1969. (AP)


3. Strategy against Wilt Chamberlain

"Because I knew Wilt as I did, I was always seeking to take advantage of his good nature. I did whatever I could to make sure I would never get him angry or fired up. My battle plan with him was always to keep him feeling as comfortable as possible with his own game. If he ever felt pressured or shown up, he would take notice and try that much harder. I was determined to make sure that never happened.”




Bill Russell signs a three-year contract to play with the Boston Celtics at a luncheon in Boston on Aug. 25, 1965. Looking on is Celtic President Jack Waldron (r.) and Coach-General Manager Arnold "Red" Auerbach. (AP)


4. Man of mystery

“From the first day I turned up at practice to the last game I played, I quite deliberately cultivated an air of mystery among my teammates. I liked my teammates a great deal, more than I could ever show them then because I believed, as a matter of choice, that, in remaining unseen, who I was or what I did should never be confused. If ever I was taken for granted, as a player or as a person, my effectiveness as a teammate would have been compromised.”



5. On making inbounds passes

“I loved making passes in from out of bounds because I could see each of my teammates so distinctly in the rush of bodies moving this way and that. … [B]ecause I had acquired enough technique, I could slow those bodies down in my mind’s eye before I released the ball.”




Bill Russell receives the Player of the Year award from NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy during halftime of the league's All-Star Game at the Boston Garden on Jan. 14, 1964. (AP)


6. Defensive work ethic

“On offense, it’s possible to take a break, to stand around a bit, let other players take over. On defense, if you take a break, a good offensive team will burn you. On the other hand, when you and your teammates are all doing the job – and you’re all that good – the great reward is watching the other team slowly suffocate.”



7. Key to snatching rebounds

“A rebounder, or a shot-blocker for that matter, is always at a disadvantage if he tells himself the only way he can succeed is by outjumping the guy next to him. Sometimes he will have to, but most of the time he will not. … Most of my rebounds came from positioning, where I was able to get the ball while in heavy traffic.”





Wilt Chamberlain (r.) of the Los Angeles Lakers uses his wingspan to defend against Bill Russell during the 1969 National Basketball Association championship series. (HPM/AP)


8. Turf battles

“Most guys have a spot they like to start from, and nothing annoys them more than to see you there first, waiting for them. When I played Wilt, he used to get so annoyed when I would get to his spot because it meant he had to move me off his spot to start his game.”



9. Sorry, no autographs

“In the middle of my playing career, I decided to stop signing autographs. In part, my feelings about autographs is based upon my belief that I’d rather meet someone who approaches me respectfully, talk to them for a minute and look them in the eye, rather than participate in the momentary ritual of signing something, never looking at the person I’m signing something for, never getting to know them, and then moving on.”





Bill Russell flies past Syracuse Nationals defender John Kerr during a game at Boston Garden, Feb. 1, 1963. (AP)


10. The importance of listening

When a team is functioning on all cylinders, listening is an essential component of success. A team, whether it’s a sports team, a business, or a family, cannot function effectively unless you and everyone else are prepared to drop the filters that get in the way of effective listening.”





Bill Russell is congratulated by coach Red Auerbach after scoring his 10,000th NBA point in a game against the Baltimore Bullets in Boston Garden on Dec. 12, 1964. (AP)


11. Auerbach's extra dimension

“Red was a mathematician as well as a basketball man, and he drew on that as a coach. … Even in the final minutes of games, the abacus in Red’s mind was clicking away: ‘Okay, we’ve got three minutes, we’re up by ten, that means if we play good defense and don’t throw the ball away, we need three more baskets.’”



12. Retirement "a new season"

“Retiring was my final victory. Not staying a minute too long, or a season too long, let me leave on my own terms. Knowing when to retire is difficult for any athlete or businessperson. You have to give up so much and start another life. But making that decision and sticking to it is one of the most rewarding decisions you will ever make in your life. I encourage people to look at this moment as starting a new season in a different game.”