Basketball legend William “Bill” Russell has died at the age of 89 in Mercer Island, Washington. The 208-centimeter and 98-kilogram center entered the history of the National Basketball Association not only as a superstar, but also as a person who changed the game in many ways.

Russell was a real winner. And this was confirmed on the floor. In his 13 years in the world’s top league with the Boston Celtics, he won 11 league titles, twice as a player-coach.

The center changed basketball by shifting the focus of the game of the best teams in the world from exclusively attacking his own half of the court. He was a powerful athlete, averaging 15.1 points per game throughout his career (and 16.2 in the playoffs) himself, but his trump card was defensive performance. Center “Boston”, without exaggeration, was afraid of the whole league.

Russell changed basketball and tried to change the world around him. Throughout his life, he faced a huge amount of racial abuse, he and his black teammates were booed in the stands, refused to be accepted in hotels and served in restaurants, to which he responded with militant sincerity and intransigence.

After finishing his career, Russell worked as a coach, engaged in social activities, wrote a book, received a doctorate from Harvard, was named by Sports Illustrated the main athlete in American history. In 1956, he won the Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia as a member of the US team.