Tatum, Pierce, C’s stars honor Bill Russell with outpouring of tributes originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics family lost a true icon Sunday when Bill Russell passed away at age 88.
Russell won an incredible 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons with the Celtics, tied for the most of any player in any American professional sport. Russell’s name is synonymous with success, and he leaves behind an unmatched legacy as one of the greatest leaders in sports.
The Celtics honored that legacy in a statement Sunday.
Russell’s passing also prompted an outpouring of tributes from the NBA community, including multiple current and former Celtics players. Boston’s former “Big Three” of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen all gave Russell shout-outs on social media. (You can read Allen’s full post on Instagram here.)
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Current Celtics Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Grant Williams showed love for Russell as well, with Brown also highlighting Russell’s work as a civil rights activist.
Ex-Celtics All-Star Isaiah Thomas, 1981 NBA Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell, Celtics general manager Brad Stevens, Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren and Randy Auerbach (the daughter of legendary Celtics president and head coach Red Auerbach) also shared tributes to Russell.
We should see plenty more odes to Russell in the coming days as the NBA community honors one of its all-time greats.