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2011-01-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

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Earl Boykins

2011-01-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

Earl Antoine Boykins (born June 2, 1976)^[2] is an American professional basketball player who is currently playing for the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. Standing at 5 feet, 5 inches in height, he is the second shortest player in NBA history behind Muggsy Bogues, who was 5 feet, 3 inches tall.^[2] His NBA listed weight is 133 pounds. Despite his light weight, he is reportedly able to bench press 315 pounds.
High school
Boykins played high school basketball at Cleveland Central Catholic High School in Cleveland's Slavic Village.

[edit] College

Boykins played college basketball at Eastern Michigan University from 1994 to 1998. He earned All-Mid-American Conference first-team honors in his junior and senior year. Also, during his senior season, Boykins was second in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in scoring, with an average of 26.8 points per game. He holds the career record for total assists (624) at Eastern Michigan University.^[2]

[edit] Pro Career

[edit] NBA

Boykins was never drafted by an NBA team, but he was signed to short-term contracts by various NBA teams. The organization he spent the most time with was the Denver Nuggets, as he played for them from the 2003-04 season to about midway through the 2006-07 season. On November 11, 2004, Boykins scored 32 points in a 117-109 Nuggets' home win over the Detroit Pistons, making him the shortest player in NBA history to score 30 or more points during a game.^[3]

[edit] Italy

Following the 2007–08 NBA season, Boykins was an unrestricted free agent. Instead of signing with an NBA team, he decided to play basketball in Europe, as he signed a one-year, $3.5 million net income contract with Virtus Bologna of the Italian A League.^[4] The one-year deal made Boykins the highest-paid basketball player in the Italian League and included income from Bologna's sponsorship and marketing arms, which is not an option for NBA players because of salary-cap restrictions.^[5]
On December 26, 2008, it was announced by Virtus general manager Claudio Sabatini that Boykins was cut from the club due to behavioral issues after Boykins flew home to the United States in order to see his sick son.^[6]^[7] However, a few days later it was announced that Boykins was staying with the club.^[8]^[9] In June 2009 he was released by Virtus.

[edit] Return to NBA

Boykins signed with the Washington Wizards in November 2009, making his return to the National Basketball Association. Boykins was a much needed addition to the Wizards, after guards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton were suspended for the remainder of the current season after a misdemeanor gun possession charge stemming from a locker room incident. In the December 2, 2009, game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Boykins sank two free throws to clinch the Wizards' victory.
On August 19, 2010, the Bucks signed him to a 1 year deal.^[10]

[edit] Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

[edit] Regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1998–99	New Jersey	5	0	10.2	.476	.200	.000	.8	1.2	.2	.0	4.2
1998–99	Cleveland	17	0	10.0	.345	.154	.667	.8	1.6	.3	.0	2.6
1999–00	Orlando	1	0	8.0	.750	.000	.000	1.0	3.0	.0	.0	6.0
1999–00	Cleveland	25	0	10.1	.473	.400	.783	1.0	1.8	.5	.0	5.3
2000–01	LA Clippers	10	0	14.9	.397	.125	.824	1.1	3.2	.5	.0	6.5
2001–02	LA Clippers	68	2	11.2	.400	.310	.770	.8	2.1	.3	.0	4.1
2002–03	Golden State	68	0	19.4	.429	.377	.865	1.3	3.3	.6	.1	8.8
2003–04	Denver	82	3	22.5	.419	.322	.877	1.7	3.6	.6	.0	10.2
2004–05	Denver	82	5	26.4	.413	.337	.921	1.7	4.5	.9	.2	12.4
2005–06	Denver	60	0	25.7	.410	.346	.874	1.4	3.8	.8	.1	12.6
2006–07	Denver	31	4	28.3	.413	.373	.908	2.0	4.3	.8	.1	15.2
2006–07	Milwaukee	35	19	33.0	.427	.419	.886	2.2	4.5	.9	.0	14.0
2007–08	Charlotte	36	0	16.0	.355	.318	.831	.9	2.7	.4	.0	5.1
2009–10	Washington	67	1	16.7	.427	.317	.865	1.1	2.6	.4	.0	6.6
Career		587	34	20.4	.416	.347	.878	1.4	3.3	.6	.0	9.1

[edit] Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2003–04	Denver	5	0	24.2	.444	.357	.857	2.4	3.8	1.0	.2	13.4
2004–05	Denver	5	1	30.4	.397	.000	.895	1.0	3.8	.8	.2	14.2
2005–06	Denver	5	0	28.0	.322	.211	.765	1.4	4.0	.8	.0	11.0
Career		15	1	27.5	.389	.225	.837	1.6	3.9	.9	.1	12.9

All Time Leaders: Three Point Field Goals Made

2011-01-19T12:41:00.001-08:00

All Time Leaders: Three Point Field Goals Made
Player	3FGA	3FG%	3FGM
1. Reggie Miller	6,486	.395	2,560
2. Ray Allen	6,362	.398	2,533
3. Jason Kidd	4,955	.348	1,724
4. Dale Ellis	4,266	.403	1,719
5. Peja Stojakovic	4,287	.401	1,718
6. Chauncey Billups	4,250	.389	1,654
6. Rashard Lewis	4,228	.391	1,654
8. Jason Terry	4,156	.379	1,576
9. Glen Rice	3,896	.400	1,559
10. Eddie Jones	4,147	.373	1,546
11. Tim Hardaway	4,345	.355	1,542
12. Nick Van Exel	4,278	.357	1,528
13. Steve Nash	3,538	.430	1,523
13. Paul Pierce	4,114	.370	1,523
15. Michael Finley	3,880	.375	1,454
16. Mike Bibby	3,761	.380	1,429
17. Brent Barry	3,442	.405	1,395
18. Antoine Walker	4,264	.325	1,386
19. Vince Carter	3,629	.376	1,364
20. Kobe Bryant	4,011	.339	1,361
21. Dan Majerle	3,798	.358	1,360
22. Jason Richardson	3,561	.373	1,327
23. Mitch Richmond	3,417	.388	1,326
24. Allan Houston	3,247	.402	1,305
25. Terry Porter	3,360	.386	1,297
26. Mookie Blaylock	3,816	.336	1,283
27. Mike Miller	3,109	.404	1,257
28. Vernon Maxwell	3,931	.320	1,256
29. Clifford Robinson	3,515	.356	1,253
30. Jamal Crawford	3,539	.352	1,247

All Time Leaders: Three Point Field Goal Percentage

2011-01-19T12:39:00.001-08:00

All Time Leaders: Three Point Field Goal Percentage
Player	3FGM	3FGA	3FG
1. Steve Kerr	726	1,599	.454
2. Anthony Morrow	272	603	.451
3. Hubert Davis	728	1,651	.441
4. Jason Kapono	449	1,023	.439
5. Drazen Petrovic	255	583	.437
6. Tim Legler	260	603	.431
7. Steve Nash	1,523	3,538	.430
8. Daniel Gibson	411	965	.426
9. B.J. Armstrong	436	1,026	.425
10. Wesley Person	1,150	2,754	.418
11. Matt Bonner	491	1,184	.415
12. Anthony Parker	507	1,230	.412
13. Dana Barros	1,090	2,652	.411
13. Raja Bell	900	2,192	.411
15. Kyle Korver	952	2,323	.410
16. Trent Tucker	575	1,410	.408
17. Wally Szczerbiak	590	1,453	.406
18. Brent Barry	1,395	3,442	.405
19. Mike Miller	1,257	3,109	.404
20. Dale Ellis	1,719	4,266	.403
20. Jeff Hornacek	828	2,055	.403
20. Ben Gordon	898	2,231	.403
23. Mark Price	976	2,428	.402
23. Allan Houston	1,305	3,247	.402
23. Dell Curry	1,245	3,098	.402
23. Michael Dickerson	288	717	.402
23. Channing Frye	259	645	.402
28. Peja Stojakovic	1,718	4,287	.401
29. Glen Rice	1,559	3,896	.400
29. Bobby Simmons	358	895	.400

Three Points Records

2011-01-19T12:31:00.001-08:00

Regular Season Records: Three-Point Field Goals

Through the 2004-2005 season

Most three-point field goals per game, season
9.71 - Phoenix, 2004 (796/82) Fewest three-point field goals per game, season
0.12-Atlanta, 1980-81 (10/82)
0.12 - Los Angeles, 1982-83 (10/82)
Most three-point field goals, game
21 - Toronto vs. Philadelphia, March 13, 2005
Most three-point field goals, both teams, game
31 – Toronto (21) vs. Philadelphia (10), March 13, 2005
Most three-point field goals, one half
12- Dallas at Denver, February 29, 1996
12 - Milwaukee at Portland, January 5, 2001
12 - Houston vs. Milwaukee, December 22, 2001
12 - Sacramento vs. Chicago, November 23, 2003
12 - Seattle vs. Boston, February 22, 2004
12 - Portland at New Orleans, January 14, 2005
12 - Toronto vs. Philadelphia, March 13, 2005
12 - Phoenix vs. L.A. Lakers, April 5, 2005
Most three-point field goals, one quarter
10-Boston at Atlanta, November 17, 2001

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage

Highest three-point field-goal percentage, season
.428-Charlotte, 1996-97 (591/1,382) Lowest three-point field-goal percentage, season
.104-Los Angeles, 1982-83 (10/96)
Most three-point field goals, none missed, game
7-Indiana vs. Atlanta, January 20, 1995
Most three-point field goals, both teams, none missed, game
5-San Antonio (4) at Philadelphia (1), December 19, 1984
Most three-point field-goal attempts, none made, game
15-Houston at Orlando, March 30, 1991
15 - Golden State vs. Indiana, December 6, 1996
15 - Milwaukee vs. Phoenix, January 22, 2002

Three-Point Field-Goal Attempts

Most three-point field-goal attempts per game, season
26.28 – Boston, 2002-03 (2,155/82) Fewest three-point field-goal attempts per game, season
0.91-Atlanta, 1979-80 (75/82)
Most three-point field-goal attempts, game
49-Dallas vs. New Jersey, March 5, 1996
Most three-point field-goal attempts, both teams, game
69 – Portland (37) at Golden State (32), April 15, 2005 64-Houston (33) vs. Dallas (31), April 11, 1995 (2 OT)
64 - Cleveland (40) vs. Portland (24), December 30, 1995 (2 OT)
64 - Houston (37) vs. L.A. Lakers (27), November 12, 1996 (2 OT)
Most three-point field-goal attempts, one half
28-Phoenix at New York, January 29, 1995

Most seasons leading league
2-Darrell Griffith, Utah, 1983-84-1984-85
2 - Larry Bird, Boston, 1985-86-1986-87
2 - Michael Adams, Denver, 1988-89-1989-90
2 - Vernon Maxwell, Houston, 1990-91-1991-92
2 - Dan Majerle, Phoenix, 1992-93-1993-94
2 - Reggie Miller, Indiana, 1992-93, 1996-97
2 - Ray Allen, Milwaukee, 2001-02; Milwaukee-Seattle, 2002-03 Most three-point field goals, career
2,217-Reggie Miller, Indiana, 1987-88-2001-02
Most three-point field goals, season
267-Dennis Scott, Orlando, 1995-96
Most consecutive three-point field goals, no misses, season
13-Brent Price, Washington, January 15-January 19, 1996
13 - Terry Mills, Detroit, December 4-December 7, 1996
Most three-point field goals, game
12 - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers vs. Seattle, January 7, 2003
12 - Donyell Marshall, Toronto vs. Philadelphia, March 13, 2005
11-Dennis Scott, Orlando vs. Atlanta, April 18, 1996
Most consecutive games, three-point field goals made
89-Dana Barros, Philadelphia, Boston, December 23, 1994-January 10, 1996 (58 games in 1994-95; 31 games in 1995-96)
Most three-point field goals, rookie, season
158-Kerry Kittles, New Jersey, 1996-97
Most three-point field goals made, one half
8-Tim Thomas, Milwaukee at. Portland, January 5, 2001
8 - Michael Redd, Milwaukee vs. Houston, February 20, 2002
8 - Ray Allen, Milwaukee vs. Charlotte, April 14, 2002
8 - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers vs. Washington, March 28, 2003
8 - Tracy McGrady, Orlando at Cleveland, January 26, 2004
Most three-point field goals made, one quarter
7-Michael Redd, Milwaukee vs. Charlotte, April 14, 2002

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage

Most seasons leading league
2-Craig Hodges, Milwaukee, 1985-86; Milwaukee, Phoenix, 1987-88 2 - Steve Kerr, Cleveland, 1989-90; Chicago, 1994-95 Highest three-point field-goal percentage, career
(minimum 250 made)
.454-Steve Kerr, Phoenix, 1988-89; Cleveland, 1989-90-1992-93; Orlando, 1992-93; Chicago, 1993-94-1997-98; San Antonio, 1998-99-2000-01; 2002-03; Portland, 2001-02
Highest three-point field-goal percentage, season (qualifiers)
.524-Steve Kerr, Chicago, 1994-95 (89/170)
.5224-Tim Legler, Washington, 1995-96 (128/245)
Most three-point field goals, none missed, game
9 – Latrell Sprewell, New York vs. L.A. Clippers, February 4, 2003
11-Antoine Walker, Boston at Philadelphia, December 17, 2001
Most three-point field-goal attempts, none made, game

Three-Point Field-Goal Attempts

Most seasons leading league
4-Michael Adams, Denver, 1987-88-1990-91 Most three-point field-goal attempts, career
6,486 – Reggie Miller, Indiana, 1987-88 – 2004-05
Most three-point field-goal attempts, season
678-George McCloud, Dallas, 1995-96
Most three-point field-goal attempts, game
21 – Damon Stoudamire, Portland at Golden State, April 15, 2005
20-Michael Adams, Denver at L.A. Clippers, April 12, 1991
20 - George McCloud, Dallas vs. New Jersey, March 5, 1996

2011-01-19T11:48:00.001-08:00

Oscar Palmer Robertson (born November 24, 1938 in Charlotte, Tennessee), nicknamed "The Big O" or O-Train, is a former American NBA player with the Cincinnati Royals and the Milwaukee Bucks.^[1] The 6-foot-5, 220-pound ^[2] Robertson played the shooting guard/point guard position, and was a twelve-time All-Star, eleven-time member of the All-NBA Team, and one-time winner of the MVP award in fourteen professional seasons. He is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season.^[3] He was a key player on the team which brought the Bucks their only NBA championship in the 1970-71 NBA season. His playing career, especially during high school and college, was plagued by racism.^[3]
For his outstanding achievements, Robertson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980, and was voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996.^[4] The United States Basketball Writers Association renamed their college Player of the Year Award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in his honor in 1998, and he was one of five people chosen to represent the inaugural National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame class in 2006.^[5]
Robertson was also an integral part of the Oscar Robertson suit^[6] of 1970. The landmark NBA antitrust suit, named after the then-president of the NBA Players' Association, led to an extensive reform of the league's strict free agency and draft rules and, subsequently, to higher salaries for all players.^[3]
Early years
^{Robertson was born in poverty and grew up in a}^segregated^{housing project in}^Indianapolis^{. In contrast to many other boys who preferred to play}^baseball^{, he was drawn to basketball because it was "a poor kids' game." Because his family could not afford a basketball, he learned how to shoot by tossing tennis balls and rags bound with rubber bands into a peach basket behind his family's home.}^[3]^{Robertson attended}^{Crispus Attucks High School}^{, a segregated all-black school.}

^[^edit^]^{High school career}

^{At Crispus Attucks, Robertson's coach was Ray Crowe, whose emphasis on a fundamentally sound game had a positive effect on Robertson's style of play. In 1954, as a sophomore, he starred on an Attucks team that lost in the semi-state finals (state quarterfinals) to}^{eventual state champions Milan}^{, whose story would later be the basis of the 1986 movie classic Hoosiers. But with Robertson leading the team, Crispus Attucks proceeded to dominate its opposition, going 31–1 in 1955 and winning the first state championship for any all-black school in the nation. The following year the team finished with a perfect 31–0 record and won a second straight state title, becoming the first team in Indiana to secure a perfect season along the way to a state-record 45 straight victories. The state championships won by the all-black school were the first-ever for Indianapolis. However, the celebrations were cut short by the city's leaders. The players were driven outside of town to hold their party because, said Robertson in the Indianapolis Star, "They said the blacks are gonna tear up downtown." Robertson was also named}^{Indiana "Mr. Basketball"}^{in 1956, after scoring 24.0 points per game during his senior season.}^[3]^{After his graduation that year, Robertson enrolled at the}^{University of Cincinnati}
College career
Robertson continued to dominate his opponents while at the University of Cincinnati, recording an incredible scoring average of 33.8 points per game, the third highest in college history. In each of his three years, he won the national scoring title, was named an All-American, and was chosen College Player of the Year, while setting 14 NCAA and 19 school records.^[4] Robertson's stellar play led the University of Cincinnati Bearcats to a 79–9 overall record during his three varsity seasons, including two Final Four appearances. However, a championship eluded Robertson, a phenomenon which would become a repeated occurrence in his later career. When Robertson left college he was the all-time leading NCAA scorer until fellow Hall of Fame player Pete Maravich topped him in 1970.^[3]
Despite his success on the courts, Robertson's college career was soured by racism. He was the University of Cincinnati's fifth black player, preceded by Chester Smith (1932), London Gant (1936), Willard Stargel (1942), and Tom Overton (1951). Road trips to segregated cities were especially difficult, with Robertson often sleeping in college dorms instead of hotels. "I'll never forgive them," he told the Indianapolis Star years later.^[3] Decades after his college days, Robertson's stellar NCAA career was rewarded by the United States Basketball Writers Association when, in 1998, they renamed the trophy awarded to the NCAA Division I Player of the Year the Oscar Robertson Trophy. This honor brought the award full circle for Robertson since he had won the first two awards ever presented.^[7]

[edit] 1960 Olympics

Medal record
Competitor for United States
Men's Basketball
Pan American Games
Gold	1959 Chicago	Team Competition
Olympic Games
Gold	1960 Rome	Team Competition

After college, Robertson co-captained the United States basketball team at the 1960 Summer Olympics with Jerry West. The team, described as the greatest assemblage of amateur basketball talent ever, went undefeated during the competition to win the gold medal. Robertson was a starting forward along with Purdue's Terry Dischinger, but played point guard as well. He was the co-leading scorer with fellow NBA legend Jerry Lucas, as the United States team won its nine games by a dominating margin of 42.4 points per game. Ten of the twelve college players on the American squad later played professionally in the NBA, including future Hall-of-Famers West, Lucas, and Walt Bellamy.^[8]

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Cincinnati Royals

Prior to the 1960–61 NBA season, Robertson made himself eligible for the 1960 NBA Draft. There, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals as a territorial pick. The Royals also gave Robertson a $33,000 signing bonus, a far cry from his childhood days when he was too poor to afford a basketball.^[3] Robertson soon proved worthy of their trust, continuing to dominate his opposition on the professional level. In his rookie season, Robertson finished with incredible all-around stats of 30.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.7 assists (leading the league), almost averaging a triple-double for the entire season. For his spectacular performance, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year, was elected into the All-NBA First Team – which would happen in each of Robertson's first nine years – and made the first of 12 All-Star Game appearances.^[1] In addition, he was named the 1961 NBA All-Star Game MVP following his 23 point, 14 assist, and 9 rebound performance in a West victory. However, the Royals finished with a dismal 33–46 record and stayed in the cellar of the Western Division.
In the 1961–62 season, Robertson wrote NBA history. In that season, he became the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for the entire season, averaging 30.8 points, 11.4 assists and 12.5 rebounds per game.^[1] He also convincingly broke the assists record by Bob Cousy, who had recorded 715 regular season assists two seasons earlier, by logging 899 of them. The Royals earned a playoff berth; however, they were eliminated in the first round by the Detroit Pistons.^[9] In the following season, Robertson further established himself as one of the greatest players of his generation, averaging an impressive 28.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 9.5 assists, narrowly missing out on another triple-double season.^[1] The Royals would charge into the Eastern Division Finals, but then succumb in a grueling seven games series against a great Boston Celtics team led by Bill Russell.^[10]
In the 1963–64 season, the Royals achieved an impressive 55–25 record,^[11] which meant second place in the Eastern Division. Under new coach Jack McMahon, Robertson flourished, and for the first time in his career, he had a decent supporting cast: second scoring option Jack Twyman was now supplemented by blossoming frontcourt players Jerry Lucas and Wayne Embry, and fellow guard Adrian Smith helped Robertson in the backcourt. Robertson had another magnificent season, leading the NBA in free-throw percentage, scoring a career-high 31.4 points per game, and averaging 9.9 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game—just missing another triple-double season.^[1] In fact, the averages for his first five seasons in the NBA are a triple-double again: 30.3 points per game, 10.4 rebounds and 10.6 assists. For his feats, he won the NBA MVP Award and became the only player other than legendary centers Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to win this title from 1960 to 1968.^[3] Robertson also won his second All-Star Game MVP award that year after scoring 26 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and dishing off 8 assists in an East victory. In the postseason, the Royals defeated the Philadelphia 76ers led by Wilt Chamberlain, but then were dominated by the Celtics losing four games to one.^[3]
From a win–loss perspective, however, this season would be Robertson's last successful Royals season. From the 1964–65 season on, things began to turn sour for the franchise. Despite Robertson's stellar play, never failing to record averages of at least 24.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 8.1 assists in the six following years,^[1] the Royals were eliminated in the first round three times in a row from 1965 to 1967, and then even missed the playoffs three consecutive seasons from 1968 to 1970. In the 1969–70 season, the sixth disappointing season in a row, fan support was waning. To attract the public, 41-year old head coach Bob Cousy even made a short-lived comeback. For seven games, the legendary Celtics point guard partnered Robertson in the Royals' backcourt, but they still missed the playoffs.^[3]

[edit] Milwaukee Bucks and the 'Oscar Robertson suit'

Prior to the 1970–71 season, the Royals stunned the basketball world by trading Robertson to the Milwaukee Bucks for Flynn Robinson and Charlie Paulk. Officially, no reasons were named, but many pundits suspected head coach Bob Cousy was jealous of all the attention Robertson was getting.^[3] Robertson himself said: "I think he [Cousy] was wrong and I will never forget it."^[3]
However, the trade proved highly beneficial for the veteran Robertson. After being stuck with an under-performing team for the last six years, he now was paired with the young Lew Alcindor, who would years later become the all-time NBA scoring leader under the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. With Alcindor in the low post and Robertson running the backcourt, the Bucks charged to a league best 66–16 record, including a then-record 20-game win streak, a dominating 12–2 record in the playoffs, and crowned their season with the NBA title by routing the Baltimore Bullets 4–0 in the 1971 NBA Finals. For the first time in his career, Robertson had won a championship on the NCAA or NBA level.^[3]
From a historical perspective, however, Robertson's most important contribution was made not on the court, but rather in court. It was the year of the landmark Oscar Robertson suit, an antitrust suit filed by the NBA's Players Association against the league. As Robertson was the president of the Players Association, the case bore his name. In this suit, the proposed ABA-NBA merger between the NBA and the American Basketball Association was delayed until 1976, and the college draft as well as the free agency clauses were reformed.^[3] Robertson himself stated that the main reason was that clubs basically owned their players: players were forbidden to talk to other clubs once their contract was up, because free agency did not exist back then.^[12] Six years after the suit was filed, the NBA finally reached a settlement, the ABA-NBA merger took place, and the Oscar Robertson suit encouraged signing of more free agents and eventually led to higher salaries for all players.^[3]
On the hardwood, the veteran Robertson still proved he was a valuable player. Paired with Abdul-Jabbar, two more division titles with the Bucks followed in the 1971–72 and 1972–73 season. In Robertson's last season, he helped lead Milwaukee to a league-best 59–23 record and helped them to reach the 1974 NBA Finals. There, Robertson had the chance to end his stellar career with a second ring. The Bucks were matched up against a Boston Celtics team powered by an inspired Dave Cowens, and the Bucks lost in seven games.^[3] As a testament to Robertson's importance to the Bucks, in the season following his retirement the Bucks fell to last place in their division with a 38–44 record in spite of the continued presence of Abdul-Jabbar.^[13]
Robertson was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.

[edit] Post-NBA career

After he retired as an active player, Robertson stayed involved in efforts to improve living conditions in his native Indianapolis, especially concerning fellow African-Americans.^[3] In addition, he worked as a color commentator with Brent Musburger on games televised by CBS during the 1974-75 NBA season.^[14] His trademark expression was "Oh, Brent, did you see that!" in reaction to flashy or spectacular situations such as fast breaks, slam dunks, player collisions, etc.
After his retirement, the Kansas City Kings (the Royals moved there while Robertson was with the Bucks) retired his number 14 jersey; the retirement continues to be honored by the Kings in their current home of Sacramento. The Bucks also retired the number 1 jersey he wore in Milwaukee. Since 1994, a nine-foot bronze statue honors Robertson outside the Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center, the current home of Cincinnati Bearcats basketball.^[4] Robertson attends many of the games there, viewing the Bearcats from a chair at courtside. After many years outside the spotlight, on November 17, 2006, Robertson was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of five, along with John Wooden, Bill Russell, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith, selected to represent the inaugural class.^[5]

[edit] Legacy

Robertson is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history, a triple threat who could score inside, outside and also was a stellar playmaker. His rookie scoring average of 30.5 points per game is the third highest of any rookie in NBA history, and Robertson averaged more than 30 points per game in six of his first seven seasons.^[1] Only two other players in the NBA have had more 30+ point per game seasons in their career. Robertson was the first player to average more than 10 assists per game, doing so at a time when the criteria for assists were more stringent than today.^[3] Furthermore, Robertson is the only guard in NBA history to ever average more than 10 rebounds per game, doing so three times. In addition to his 1964 regular season MVP award, Robertson won three All-Star Game MVPs in his career (in 1961, 1964, and 1969). He has the all-time highest scoring average in the All-Star Game for players participating in four or more games (the league standard for the record) at 20.5 points per game. He ended his career with 26,710 points (25.7 per game, ninth-highest all time), 9,887 assists (9.5 per game) and 7,804 rebounds (7.5 per game).^[1] He led the league in assists six times, and at the time of his retirement, he was the NBA's all-time leader in career assists and free throws made, and was the second all-time leading scorer behind the legendary Wilt Chamberlain.^[3]
Robertson also set yardsticks in versatility. If his first five seasons are strung together, Robertson averaged a triple-double over these 400+ games, averaging an incredible 30.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 10.6 assists.^[15] For his career, Robertson had 181 triple-doubles, a record that has never been approached.^[16] These numbers are even more astonishing if it is taken into account that the three-point shot did not exist when he played, which was introduced by the NBA in the 1979–80 season and benefits sharpshooting backcourt players. In 1967–68, Robertson also became the first of only two players in NBA history to lead the league in both scoring average and assists per game in the same season (also achieved by Nate Archibald). The official scoring and assist titles went to other players that season, however, because the NBA based the titles on point and assist totals (not averages) prior to the 1969–70 season. Robertson did, however, win a total of six NBA assist titles during his career. For his career, Robertson shot a high .485 field goal average and led the league in free-throw percentage twice—in the 1963–64 and 1967–68 seasons.^[1]
Robertson is recognized by the NBA as the first legitimate "big guard", paving the way for other over-sized backcourt players like Magic Johnson.^[3] Furthermore, he is also credited to have invented the head fake and the fadeaway jump shot, a shot which Michael Jordan later became famous for.^[17] For the Cincinnati Royals, now relocated and named the Sacramento Kings, he scored 22,009 points and 7,731 assists, and is all-time leader in both statistics for the combined Royals / Kings teams.^[3]
Robertson was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame on April 28, 1980. He received the "Player of the Century" award by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 2000 and was ranked third on SLAM Magazine's Top 75 NBA Players in 2003, behind fellow NBA legends Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain. Furthermore, in 2006, ESPN named Robertson the second greatest point guard of all time, praising him as the best post-up guard of all time and placing him only behind Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson.^[15]
In 1959, the Player of the Year Award was established to recognize the best college basketball player of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association. Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the award during the NCAA Final Four. In 1998, it was renamed the Oscar Robertson Trophy in honor of the player who won the first two awards because of his outstanding career and his continuing efforts to promote the game of basketball. In 2004, an 18" bronze statue of Robertson was sculpted by world-renowned sculptor Harry Weber.^[7]

[edit] NBA statistics

[edit] Career highs

[edit] 40 point games

77 times in the regular season

[edit] Top assist games

Assists	Opponent	Home/Away	Date
22	Syracuse Nationals	Home	01961-10-29 October 29, 1961
22 (OT)	New York Knicks	Home	01966-03-05 March 5, 1966
21	New York Knicks	Home	01964-02-14 February 14, 1964
20	Los Angeles Lakers	Home	01961-02-19 February 19, 1961
20	Chicago Packers	Neutral	01961-12-11 December 11, 1961
20	San Francisco Warriors	Home	01964-12-28 December 28, 1964
20	New York Knicks	Neutral	01965-02-28 February 28, 1965
20	Phoenix Suns	Away	01969-03-04 March 4, 1969
19	St. Louis Hawks	Home	01961-12-08 December 8, 1961
19	Philadelphia Warriors	Home	01962-01-11 January 11, 1962
19	Chicago Zephyrs	Neutral	01962-12-13 December 13, 1962
19	San Francisco Warriors	Home	01963-01-04 January 4, 1963
19	Baltimore Bullets	Home	01964-01-05 January 5, 1964
19	Detroit Pistons	Neutral	01964-12-01 December 1, 1964
19	Baltimore Bullets	Home	01965-03-18 March 18, 1965
19	Los Angeles Lakers	Away	01966-12-14 December 14, 1966
19	Philadelphia 76ers	Home	01967-12-06 December 6, 1967
19	San Diego Rockets	Neutral	01968-01-18 January 18, 1968

[edit] Regular season

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Points	56	vs. Los Angeles Lakers	01964-12-18 December 18, 1964
Points	50	vs. Philadelphia 76ers	01965-02-06 February 6, 1965
Field goals made
Field goal attempts
Free throws made, none missed	18—18	at St. Louis Hawks	01962-01-30 January 30, 1962
Free throws made, one missed	22—23	vs. Los Angeles Lakers	01964-12-18 December 18, 1964
Free throws made, one missed	22—23	vs. Baltimore Bullets	01966-11-20 November 20, 1966
Free throws made	22	vs. Los Angeles Lakers	01964-12-18 December 18, 1964
Free throws made	22	at Baltimore Bullets	01964-12-27 December 27, 1964
Free throws made	22	vs. Baltimore Bullets	01966-11-20 November 20, 1966
Free throw attempts	26	at Baltimore Bullets	01964-12-27 December 27, 1964
Rebounds
Minutes played

[edit] Playoffs

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Points	43	at Boston Celtics	01963-03-28 March 28, 1963
Points	43	at Boston Celtics	01963-04-10 April 10, 1963
Field goals made	17	at Boston Celtics	01963-03-28 March 28, 1963
Free throws made, one missed	21—22	at Boston Celtics	01963-04-10 April 10, 1963
Free throws made	21	at Boston Celtics	01963-04-10 April 10, 1963
Free throw attempts	22	at Boston Celtics	01963-04-10 April 10, 1963
Assists	18	at Philadelphia 76ers	01964-03-29 March 29, 1964
Assists	16	vs. Philadelphia 76ers	01964-03-22 March 22, 1964
Assists	16	at Los Angeles Lakers	01974-04-02 April 2, 1974
Minutes played	58 (2 OT)	at Boston Celtics	01974-05-10 May 10, 1974

[edit] Personal life

Robertson is the son of Mazell and Bailey Robertson. He has two brothers, Bailey Jr. and Henry. He remembers a tough childhood, plagued by poverty and racism.^[18] Due to his troubled childhood, Robertson was known to be sullen and prone to violent outbreaks. However, after winning the Olympic gold medal, then signing his first big contract with the Royals and marrying his sweetheart Yvonne Crittenden within several months, he blossomed into a calm, content young man. His U.S. Olympic teammate Jerry West remarked amicably how much Robertson had "grown up" in that year.^[17] In the following years, Robertson fathered daughters Shana Yvonne (b. 1962) and Tia Elaine (b. 1964), and led a private life without scandal; when a biography was going to be written about him in the 1990s, Robertson joked that his life had been "dull", and that he had been "married to the same woman for a long time"^[17] In 1997, Robertson donated one of his kidneys to his daughter Tia, who suffered lupus-related kidney failure.^[17] He has been an honorary spokesman for the National Kidney Foundation ever since. In 2003, he published his own biography, The Big O, after his own nickname. Robertson also owns the chemical company Orchem, based in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[19]
Regarding basketball, Robertson has stated that legendary Harlem Globetrotters players Marques Haynes and "clown prince" Goose Tatum were his idols.^[12] Now in his seventies, he refrains from playing basketball, although he still follows it on TV and attends most home games for the University of Cincinnati, his alma mater. He now lists woodworking as his prime hobby.^[12] Robertson adds that he still could average a triple-double season in today's basketball, and that he is highly skeptical that anyone else could do it. On June 9, 2007, Oscar received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Cincinnati for both his philanthropic and entrepreneurial efforts

Bill Russell

2011-01-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

William Felton "Bill" Russell (born February 12, 1934) is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A five-time winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and a twelve-time All-Star, Russell was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA Championships during Russell's thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships (1955, 1956). He also won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U.S. national basketball team.^[1]
Russell is widely considered one of the best players in NBA history. Listed as between 6'9" (2.06 m) and 6'10" (2.08 m), Russell's shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' success. He also inspired his teammates to elevate their own defensive play. Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities. He led the NBA in rebounds four times and tallied 21,620 total rebounds in his career. He is one of just two NBA players (the other being prominent rival Wilt Chamberlain) to have grabbed more than fifty rebounds in a game. Though never the focal point of the Celtics' offense, Russell also scored 14,522 career points and provided effective passing.
Playing in the wake of pioneers like Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Sweetwater Clifton, Russell was the first African American player to achieve superstar status in the NBA. He also served a three-season (1966–69) stint as player-coach for the Celtics, becoming the first African American NBA coach.^[1] Frequent battles with racism left Russell with a long-standing contempt for fans and journalists. When he retired, Russell left Boston with a bitter attitude, although in recent years his relationship with the city has improved.
Russell is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was selected into NBA 25th Anniversary Team in 1971, into NBA 35th Anniversary Team in 1980 and named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996, one of only four players that selected into all three teams. In 2007, he was enshrined in the FIBA Hall of Fame. In 2009, the NBA announced that the NBA Finals MVP trophy would be named the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in honor of Russell.

Early years
Bill Russell was born to Charles and Katie Russell in West Monroe, Louisiana. West Monroe was strictly segregated, and the Russells often struggled with racism.^[3] Once, Russell's father was refused service at a gasoline station until the staff had taken care of all the white customers. When his father attempted to leave and find a different station, the attendant stuck a shotgun in his face, threatening to kill him unless he stayed and waited his turn.^[3] At another time, Russell's mother was walking outside in a fancy dress when a policeman accosted her. He told her to go home and remove the dress, which he described as "white woman’s clothing".^[3] Because large numbers of blacks were moving to Oakland, California during WWII to look for work there, Russell's father moved the family out of Louisiana when Russell was eight years old and settled them in Oakland.^[3] While there the family fell into poverty, and Russell spent his childhood living in a series of project homes.^[3]
Charlie Russell is described as a "stern, hard man" who was initially a janitor in a paper factory (a typical low paid, intellectually unchallenging "Negro Job", as sports journalist John Taylor commented),^[4] but later became a trucker when World War II broke out.^[4] Being closer to his mother Katie than to his father,^[4] Russell received a major emotional blow when she suddenly died when he was 12. His father gave up his trucking job and became a steel worker to be closer to his semi-orphaned children.^[4] Russell has stated that his father became his childhood hero, later followed up by Minneapolis Lakers superstar George “Mr. Basketball” Mikan, whom he met when he was in high school.^[5]
In his early years, Russell struggled to develop his skills as a basketball player. Although Russell was a good runner and jumper and had extremely large hands,^[4] he simply did not understand the game and was cut from the team in junior high school. As a sophomore at McClymonds High School, Russell was almost cut again.^[6] However, coach George Powles saw Russell's raw athletic potential and encouraged him to work on his fundamentals.^[4] Russell, who was used to racist abuse, was delighted by the warm words of his white coach. He worked hard and used the benefits of a growth spurt to become a decent basketballer, but it was not until his junior and senior years that he began to excel.^[6] Russell soon became noted for his unusual style of defense. He later recalled, "To play good defense... it was told back then that you had to stay flatfooted at all times to react quickly. When I started to jump to make defensive plays and to block shots, I was initially corrected, but I stuck with it, and it paid off."^[7]
One of Russell's high school teammates was future Baseball Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson.

[edit] College career

Russell was ignored by college recruiters and did not receive a single letter of interest until Hal DeJulio from the University of San Francisco (USF) watched him in a high school game. DeJulio was not impressed by Russell's meager scoring and "atrocious fundamentals",^[8] but sensed that the young center had an extraordinary instinct for the game, especially in clutch situations.^[8] When DeJulio offered Russell a scholarship, the latter eagerly accepted.^[6] Sports journalist John Taylor described it as a watershed in Russell's life, because Russell realized that basketball was his one chance to escape poverty and racism; as a consequence, Russell swore to make the best of it.^[4]
At USF, Russell became the new starting center for coach Phil Woolpert. Woolpert emphasized defense and deliberate half-court play, concepts that favored defensive standout Russell.^[9] Woolpert was unaffected by issues of skin color. In 1954, he became the first coach of a major college basketball squad to start three African American players: Russell, K.C. Jones and Hal Perry.^[10] In his USF years, Russell used his relative lack of bulk to develop a unique style of defense: instead of purely guarding the opposing center, he used his quickness and speed to play help defense against opposing forwards and aggressively challenge their shots.^[9] Combining the stature and shot-blocking skills of a center with the foot speed of a guard, Russell became the centerpiece of a USF team that soon became a force in college basketball. After USF kept Holy Cross star Tom Heinsohn scoreless in an entire half, Sports Illustrated wrote, "If [Russell] ever learns to hit the basket, they're going to have to rewrite the rules."^[9]
However, the games were often difficult for the USF squad. Russell and his African American teammates became targets of racist jeers, particularly on the road.^[11] In one notable incident, hotels in Oklahoma City refused to admit Russell and his black teammates while they were in town for the 1954 All-College Tournament. In protest, the whole team decided to camp out in a closed college dorm, which was later called an important bonding experience for the group.^[10] Decades later, Russell explained that his experiences hardened him against abuse of all kinds. "I never permitted myself to be a victim," he said.^[12]^[13]
Racism also shaped his lifelong paradigm as a team player. "At that time," he has said, "it was never acceptable that a black player was the best. That did not happen...My junior year in college, I had what I thought was the one of the best college seasons ever. We won 28 out of 29 games. We won the National Championship. I was the MVP at the Final Four. I was first team All American. I averaged over 20 points and over 20 rebounds, and I was the only guy in college blocking shots. So after the season was over, they had a Northern California banquet, and they picked another center as Player of the Year in Northern California. Well, that let me know that if I were to accept these as the final judges of my career I would die a bitter old man." So he made a conscious decision, he said, to put the team first and foremost, and not worry about individual achievements.^[14]
On the hardwood, his experiences were far more pleasant. Russell led USF to NCAA championships in 1955 and 1956, including a string of 55 consecutive victories. He became known for his strong defense and shot-blocking skills, once denying 13 shots in a game. UCLA coach John Wooden called Russell "the greatest defensive man I've ever seen".^[10] During his college career, Russell averaged 20.7 points per game and 20.3 rebounds per game.^[1] Besides basketball, Russell represented USF in track and field events. He competed in the 440 yard (402 m) race, which he could complete in 49.6 seconds.^[15] He also participated in the high jump; Track & Field News ranked him as the seventh-best high jumper in the world in 1956. That year, Russell won high jump titles at the Central California AAU meet, the Pacific AAU meet, and the West Coast Relays. One of his highest jumps occurred at the West Coast Relays, where he achieved a mark of 6 feet 9¼ inches (2.06 m).^[16]
After his years at USF, the Harlem Globetrotters invited Russell to join their exhibition basketball squad. Russell, who was sensitive to any racial prejudice, was enraged by the fact that owner Abe Saperstein would only discuss the matter with Woolpert. While Saperstein spoke to Woolpert in a meeting, Globetrotters assistant coach Harry Hanna tried to entertain Russell with jokes. The USF center was livid after this snub and declined the offer: he reasoned that if Saperstein was too smart to speak with him, then he was too smart to play for Saperstein. Instead, Russell made himself eligible for the 1956 NBA Draft.^[17]

[edit] 1956 NBA Draft

In the 1956 NBA Draft, Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach had set his sights on Russell, thinking his defensive toughness and rebounding prowess were the missing pieces the Celtics needed.^[1] In perspective, Auerbach’s thoughts were unorthodox. In that period, centers and forwards were defined by their offensive output, and their ability to play defense was secondary.^[18] However, Boston's chances of getting Russell seemed slim. Because the Celtics had finished second in the previous season and the worst teams had the highest draft picks, the Celtics had slipped too low in the draft order to pick Russell. In addition, Auerbach had already used his territorial pick to acquire talented forward Tom Heinsohn. But Auerbach knew that the Rochester Royals, who owned the first draft pick, already had a skilled rebounder in Maurice Stokes, were looking for an outside shooting guard and were unwilling to pay Russell the $25,000 signing bonus he requested.^[19] The St. Louis Hawks, who owned the second pick, originally drafted Russell, but were vying for Celtics center Ed Macauley, a six-time All-Star who had roots in St. Louis. Auerbach agreed to trade Macauley, who had previously asked to be traded to St. Louis in order to be with his sick son, if the Hawks gave up Russell. However the owner of St Louis called Auerbach later and demanded more in the trade. Not only did he want Macauley, who was the Celtics premier player at the time, he wanted Cliff Hagan, who had been serving in the military for three years and had not yet played for the Celtics. After much debate, Auerbach agreed to give up Hagan, and the Hawks made the trade.^[20] During that same draft, Boston also claimed guard K.C. Jones, Russell's former USF teammate. Thus, in one night, the Celtics managed to draft three future Hall of Famers: Russell, K.C. Jones and Heinsohn.^[1] The Russell draft-day trade was later called one of the most important trades in the history of North American sports.^[19]

[edit] 1956 Olympics

Before his NBA rookie year, Russell was the captain of the U.S. national basketball team that competed at the 1956 Olympic tournament. Avery Brundage, head of the International Olympic Committee, argued that Russell had already signed a professional contract and thus was no longer an amateur, but Russell prevailed.^[19] He had the option to skip the tournament and play a full season for the Celtics, but he was determined to play in the Olympics. He later commented that he would have participated in the high jump if he had been snubbed by the basketball team.^[5] Under coach Gerald Tucker, Russell helped the national team win the gold medal in Melbourne, defeating the Soviet Union 89–55 in the final game. The United States dominated the tournament, winning by an average of 53.5 points per game. Russell led the team in scoring, averaging 14.1 points per game for the competition. His Celtics teammate K.C. Jones joined him on the Olympic squad and contributed 10.9 points per game.^[21]

[edit] Professional career

[edit] 1956–59

Russell could not join the Celtics for the 1956–57 season until December, due to his Olympic commitment. After rejoining the Celtics, Russell played 48 games, averaging 14.7 points per game and a league-high 19.6 rebounds per game.^[22] During this season, the Celtics featured six future Hall-of-Famers: center Russell, forwards Heinsohn and Jim Loscutoff, guards Bill Sharman and Bob Cousy, and forward Frank Ramsey, who came off the bench. (K.C. Jones did not play for the Celtics until 1958 because of military service.)^[23]
Russell's first Celtics game came on December 22, 1956 against the St. Louis Hawks, led by star forward Bob Pettit, who held several all-time scoring records.^[24] Auerbach assigned Russell to shut down St. Louis's main scorer, and the rookie impressed the Boston crowd with his man-to-man defense and shot-blocking.^[24] In previous years, the Celtics had been a high-scoring team, but lacked the defensive presence needed to close out tight games. However, with the added defensive presence of Russell, the Celtics had laid the foundation for a dynasty. The team utilized a strong defensive approach to the game, forcing opposing teams to commit many turnovers, which led to many easy fast break points.^[24] Russell was an elite help defender who allowed the Celtics to play the so-called "Hey, Bill" defense: whenever a Celtic requested additional defensive help, he would shout "Hey, Bill!" Russell was so quick that he could run over for a quick double team and make it back in time if the opponents tried to find the open man.^[24] He also became famous for his shot-blocking skills: pundits called his blocks "Wilsonburgers", referring to the Wilson NBA basketballs he "shoved back into the faces of opposing shooters".^[24] This skill also allowed the other Celtics to play their men aggressively: if they were beaten, they knew that Russell was guarding the basket.^[24] This approach allowed the Celtics to finish with a 44–28 regular season record, the team's second-best record since beginning play in the 1946–47 season, and guaranteed a post-season appearance.^[25]
However, Russell also received negative attention. Constantly provoked by New York Knicks center Ray Felix during a game, he complained to coach Auerbach. The latter told him to take matters into his own hands, so after the next provocation, Russell punched Felix unconscious, paid a 25-dollar fine and was no longer a target of cheap fouls.^[24] With his teammates, Russell had a cordial relationship, with the notable exception of fellow rookie and old rival Heinsohn. Heinsohn felt that Russell resented him because the former was named the 1957 NBA Rookie of the Year: many people thought that Russell was more important, but Russell also had only played half the season. Russell also ignored Heinsohn's plea to give his cousin an autograph, and openly said to Heinsohn that he deserved half of his 300-dollar Rookie of the Year check. The relationship between the two rookies remained reserved.^[26] On the other hand, despite their different ethnic backgrounds and lack of common off-court interests, his relationship with Celtics point guard and fan favorite Bob Cousy was amicable.^[27]
In Game 1 of the Eastern Division Finals, the Celtics met the Syracuse Nationals, who were led by Dolph Schayes. In Russell's first NBA playoff game, he finished with 16 points and 31 rebounds, along with a reported 7 blocks. (At the time, blocks were not yet an officially registered statistic.) After the Celtics' 108–89 victory, Schayes quipped, “How much does that guy make a year? It would be to our advantage if we paid him off for five years to get away from us in the rest of this series.”^[18] The Celtics swept the Nationals in three games to earn the franchise's first appearance in the NBA Finals.^[28]
In the NBA Finals, the Celtics met the St. Louis Hawks, who were again led by Bob Pettit, as well as former Celtic Ed Macauley. The teams split the first six games, and the tension was so high that, in Game 3, Celtics coach Auerbach punched his colleague Ben Kerner and received a $300 fine.^[26] In the highly competitive Game 7, Russell tried his best to slow down Pettit, but it was Heinsohn who scored 37 points and kept the Celtics alive.^[26] However, Russell contributed by completing the famous “Coleman Play”. Here, Russell ran down Hawks guard Jack Coleman, who had received an outlet pass at midcourt, and blocked his shot despite the fact that Russell had been standing at his own baseline when the ball was thrown to Coleman. The block preserved Boston's slim 103–102 lead with 40-odd seconds left to play in regulation, saving the game for the Celtics.^[18] In the second overtime, both teams were in serious foul trouble: Heinsohn had fouled out, and the Hawks were so depleted that they had only 7 players left.^[26] With the Celtics leading 125–123 with one second left, the Hawks had the ball at their own baseline. Reserve guard Alex Hannum threw a long alley oop pass to Pettit, and Pettit's tip-in rolled indecisively on the rim for several seconds before rolling out again. The Celtics won, earning their first NBA Championship.^[26]
In the 1957–58 season, Russell averaged 16.6 points per game and a league-record average of 22.7 rebounds per game.^[22] An interesting phenomenon began that year: Russell was voted the NBA Most Valuable Player, but only named to the All-NBA Second Team. This would occur repeatedly throughout his career. The NBA reasoned that other centers were better all-round players than Russell, but no player was more valuable to his team. The Celtics won 49 games and easily made the first berth in the 1958 NBA Playoffs, and made the 1958 NBA Finals against their familiar rivals, the St. Louis Hawks.^[29] The teams split the first two games, but then Russell went down with a foot injury in Game 3 and could no longer participate in the playoffs. The Celtics surprisingly won Game 4, but the Hawks prevailed in Games 5 and 6, with Pettit scoring 50 points in the deciding Game 6.^[29]
In the following 1958–59 season, Russell continued his strong play, averaging 16.7 points per game and 23.0 rebounds per game in the regular season.^[22] The Celtics broke a league record by winning 52 games, and Russell's strong performance once again helped lead the Celtics through the post-season, as they returned to the NBA Finals. In the 1959 NBA Finals, the Celtics recaptured the NBA title, sweeping the Minneapolis Lakers 4–0.^[30] Lakers head coach John Kundla praised Russell, stating, “We don’t fear the Celtics without Bill Russell. Take him out and we can beat them... He’s the guy who whipped us psychologically.”^[18]

[edit] 1959–66

In the 1959–60 season, the NBA witnessed the debut of legendary 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) Philadelphia Warriors center Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged an unprecedented 37.6 points per game in his rookie year.^[31] On November 7, 1959, Russell's Celtics hosted Chamberlain's Warriors, and pundits called the matchup between the best offensive and best defensive center "The Big Collision" and "Battle of the Titans".^[32] Both men awed onlookers with "nakedly awesome athleticism",^[32] and while Chamberlain outscored Russell 30 to 22, the Celtics won 115–106, and the match was called a "new beginning of basketball".^[32] The matchup between Russell and Chamberlain, the greatest defensive and offensive centers in the NBA, respectively, became one of basketball's greatest rivalries.^[1] In that season, Russell's Celtics won a record 59 regular season games (including a then-record tying 17 game win streak) and met Chamberlain's Warriors in the Eastern Division Finals. Chamberlain outscored Russell by 81 points in the series, but the Celtics walked off with a 4–2 series win.^[33] In the 1960 Finals, the Celtics outlasted the Hawks 4–3 and won their third championship in four years.^[25] Russell grabbed an NBA Finals-record 40 rebounds in Game 2, and added 22 points and 35 rebounds in the deciding Game 7, a 122–103 victory for Boston.^[1]^[18]
In the 1960–61 season, Russell averaged 16.9 points and 23.9 rebounds per game,^[22] leading his team to a regular season mark of 57–22. The Celtics earned another post-season appearance, where they defeated the Syracuse Nationals 4–1 in the Eastern Division Finals. The Celtics made good use of the fact that the Los Angeles Lakers had exhausted St. Louis in a long seven-game Western Conference Finals, and the Celtics convincingly won in five games.^[34]^[35]
The following season, Russell scored a career-high 18.9 points per game, accompanied by 23.6 rebounds per game.^[22] While his rival Chamberlain had a record-breaking season of 50.4 points per game and a 100-point game,^[31] the Celtics became the first team to win 60 games in a season, and Russell was voted as the NBA's Most Valuable Player. In the post-season, the Celtics met the Philadelphia Warriors of Chamberlain, and Russell did his best to slow down the 50-points-per-game scoring Warriors center. In Game 7, the game was tied with two seconds left when Sam Jones sank a clutch shot that won the Celtics the series. In the 1962 NBA Finals, the Celtics met the Los Angeles Lakers of star forward Elgin Baylor and star guard Jerry West. The teams split the first six games, and Game 7 was tied one second before the end of regular time when Lakers guard Rod Hundley faked a shot and instead passed out to Frank Selvy, who missed an open eight-foot last-second shot that would have won L.A. the title.^[36] Though the game was tied, Russell had the daunting task of defending against Baylor with little frontline help, as the three best Celtics forwards, Loscutoff, Heinsohn and Tom Sanders, had fouled out. In overtime, Baylor fouled out the fourth forward, Frank Ramsey, so Russell was completely robbed of his usual four-men wing rotation. But Russell and little-used fifth forward Gene Guarilia successfully pressured Baylor into missed shots.^[36]^[37] Russell finished with a clutch performance, scoring 30 points and tying his own NBA Finals record with 40 rebounds in a 110–107 overtime win.^[18]
The Celtics lost playmaker Bob Cousy to retirement after the 1962–63 season, but they drafted John Havlicek. Once again, the Celtics were powered by Russell, who averaged 16.8 points and 23.6 rebounds per game, won his fourth regular-season MVP title, and earned MVP honors at the 1963 NBA All-Star Game following his 19 point, 24 rebound performance for the East.^[22] The Celtics reached the 1963 NBA Finals, where they again defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, this time in six games.^[38]
In the following 1963–64 season, the Celtics posted a league-best 58–22 record in the regular season. Russell scored 15.0 ppg and grabbed a career-high 24.7 rebounds per game, leading the NBA in rebounds for the first time since Chamberlain entered the league.^[22] Boston defeated the Cincinnati Royals 4–1 to earn another NBA Finals appearance, and then won against Chamberlain's newly-relocated San Francisco Warriors 4–1.^[39] It was their sixth consecutive and seventh title in Russell's eighth year, a streak unreached in any U.S. professional sports league. Russell later called the Celtics' defense the best of all time.^[1]
Russell again excelled during the 1964–65 season. The Celtics won a league-record 62 games, and Russell averaged 14.1 points and 24.1 rebounds per game, winning his second consecutive rebounding title and his fifth MVP award.^[22] In the 1965 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics played the Eastern Division Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, who had recently traded for Wilt Chamberlain. Russell held Chamberlain to a pair of field goals in the first three quarters of Game 3. In Game 5, Russell contributed 28 rebounds, 10 blocks, seven assists and six steals.^[18] However, that playoff series ended in a dramatic Game 7. Five seconds before the end, the Sixers were trailing 110–109, but Russell turned over the ball. However, when the Sixers’ Hall-of-Fame guard Hal Greer inbounded, John Havlicek stole the ball, causing Celtics commentator Johnny Most to scream: “Havlicek stole the ball! It's all over! Johnny Havlicek stole the ball!”^[1] After the Division Finals, the Celtics had an easier time in the NBA Finals, winning 4–1 against the Los Angeles Lakers of Jerry West and Elgin Baylor.^[40]

Russell defending Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers

In the following 1965–66 season, the Celtics won their eighth consecutive title. Russell’s team again beat Chamberlain’s Philadelphia 76ers 4 games to 1 in the Division Finals, proceeding to win the NBA Finals in a tight seven-game showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers.^[41] During the season, Russell contributed 12.9 points and 22.8 rebounds per game. This was the first time in seven years that he failed to average at least 23 rebounds a game.^[22]

[edit] 1966–69

Before the 1966–67 season, Celtics coach Red Auerbach retired. Initially, he had wanted his old player Frank Ramsey as coach, but Ramsey was too occupied running his three lucrative nursing homes.^[42] His second choice Bob Cousy declined, stating he did not want to coach his former teammates,^[42] and the third choice Tom Heinsohn also said no, because he did not think he could handle the often surly Russell.^[42] However, Heinsohn proposed Russell himself as a player-coach, and when Auerbach asked his center, he said yes.^[42] Russell thus became the first African American head coach in NBA history,^[1] and commented to journalists: "I wasn't offered the job because I am a Negro, I was offered it because Red figured I could do it."^[42] The Celtics’ championship streak ended that season at eight, however, as Wilt Chamberlain's Philadelphia 76ers won a record-breaking 68 regular season games and overcame the Celtics 4–1 in the Eastern Finals.^[43] The Sixers simply outpaced the Celtics, shredding the famous Boston defense by scoring 140 points in the clinching Game 5 win.^[44] Russell acknowledged his first real loss in his career (he had been injured in 1958 when the Celtics lost the NBA Finals) by visiting Chamberlain in the locker room, shaking his hand and saying, "Great".^[44] However, the game still ended on a high note for Russell. After the loss, he led his grandfather through the Celtics locker rooms, and the two saw white Celtics player John Havlicek taking a shower next to his black teammate Sam Jones and discussing the game. Suddenly, Russell Sr. broke down crying. Asked by his grandson what was wrong, his grandfather replied how proud he was of him, being coach of an organization in which blacks and whites coexisted in harmony.^[44]
In Russell's penultimate season, the 1967–68 season, his numbers slowly declined, but at age 34, he still tallied 12.5 points per game and 18.6 rebounds per game^[22] (the latter good for the third highest average in the league).^[45] In the Eastern Division Finals, the 76ers had the better record than the Celtics and were slightly favored. But then, national tragedy struck as Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. With eight of the ten starting players on Sixers and Celtics being African American, both teams were in deep shock, and there were calls to cancel the series.^[46] In a game called as "unreal" and "devoid of emotion", the Sixers lost 127–118 on April 5. In Game 2, Philadelphia evened the series with a 115–106 win, and in Games 3 and 4, the Sixers won, with Chamberlain suspiciously often defended by Celtics backup center Wayne Embry, causing the press to speculate Russell was worn down.^[46] Prior to Game 5, the Celtics seemed dead: no NBA team had ever come back from a 3–1 deficit.^[46] However, the Celtics rallied back, winning Game 5 122–104 and Game 6 114–106, powered by a spirited Havlicek and helped by a terrible Sixers shooting slump.^[46] In Game 7, 15,202 stunned Philadelphia fans witnessed a historic 100–96 defeat, making it the first time in NBA history a team lost a series after leading 3–1. Russell limited Chamberlain to only two shot attempts in the second half.^[18] Despite this, the Celtics were leading only 97–95 with 34 seconds left when Russell closed out the game with several consecutive clutch plays. He made a free throw, blocked a shot by Sixers player Chet Walker, grabbed a rebound off a miss by Sixers player Hal Greer, and finally passed the ball to teammate Sam Jones, who scored to clinch the win. Boston then beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4–2 in the NBA Finals, giving Russell his tenth title in 12 years.^[1] For his efforts Russell was named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year. After losing for the fifth straight time against Russell and his Celtics, Hall-of-Fame Lakers guard Jerry West stated, “If I had a choice of any basketball player in the league, my No.1 choice has to be Bill Russell. Bill Russell never ceases to amaze me.”^[18]
However, in the 1968–69 season, Russell seemed to reach a breaking point. Shocked by the murder of Robert F. Kennedy, disillusioned by the Vietnam War, and weary from his increasingly stale (and later divorced) marriage to his wife Rose, he was convinced that the U.S. was a corrupt nation and that he was wasting his time playing something as superficial as basketball.^[47] 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.^[47] Russell pulled himself together and put up 9.9 points and 19.3 rebounds per game,^[22] but the aging Celtics stumbled through the regular season. Their 48–34 record was the team's worst since 1955–56, and they entered the playoffs as only the fourth-seeded team in the East.^[48] In the playoffs, however, Russell and his Celtics achieved upsets over the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks to earn a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. L.A. now featured new recruit Wilt Chamberlain next to perennial stars Baylor and West, and were heavily favored. In the first two games, Russell ordered not to double-team West, who used the freedom to score 53 and 41 points in the Game 1 and 2 Laker wins.^[49] Russell then ordered to double-team West, and Boston won Game 3. In Game 4, the Celtics were trailing by one point with seven seconds left and the Lakers having the ball, but then Baylor stepped out of bounds, and in the last play, Sam Jones used a triple screen by Bailey Howell, Larry Siegfried and Havlicek and hit a buzzer beater which equalized the series.^[49] The teams split the next two games, so it all came down to Game 7 in L.A., where Lakers owner Jack Kent Cooke angered and motivated the Celtics by putting "proceedings of Lakers victory ceremony" on the game leaflets. Russell used a copy as extra motivation and told his team to play a running game, because in that case, not the better, but the more determined team was going to win.^[49]
The Celtics were ahead by nine points with five minutes remaining; in addition, West was heavily limping after a Game 5 thigh injury and Chamberlain had left the game with an injured leg.^[49] West then hit one basket after the other and cut the lead to one, and Chamberlain asked to return to the game. However, Lakers coach Bill van Breda Kolff kept Chamberlain on the bench until the end of the game, saying later that he wanted to stay with the lineup responsible for the comeback.^[31]^[50] The Celtics held on for a 108–106 victory, and Russell claimed his eleventh championship in 13 years. At age 35, Russell contributed 21 rebounds in his last NBA game.^[18] After the game, Russell went over to the distraught West (who had scored 42 points and was named the only NBA Finals MVP in history from the losing team), clasped his hand and tried to soothe him.^[49] Days later, 30,000 enthusiastic Celtics fans cheered their returning heroes, but Russell was not there: the man who said he owed the public nothing ended his career and cut all ties to the Celtics.^[49] It came as so surprising that even Red Auerbach was blindsided, and as a consequence, he made the "mistake" of drafting guard Jo Jo White instead of a center.^[51] Although White became a standout Celtics player, the Celtics lacked an All-Star center, went just 34–48 in the next season and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1950.^[25] In Boston, both fans and journalists felt betrayed, because Russell left the Celtics without a coach and a center and sold his retirement story for $10,000 to Sports Illustrated. Russell was accused of selling out the future of the franchise for a month of his salary.^[51]

[edit] Post-player career

Russell's No. 6 jersey was retired by the Celtics in 1972,^[52] and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975. Russell, who had a difficult relationship with the media, was not present at either event.^[53] After retiring as a player, Russell had stints as head coach of the Seattle SuperSonics (1973 to 1977) and Sacramento Kings (1987 to 1988). His time as a coach was lackluster; although he led the struggling SuperSonics into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, Russell’s defensive, team-oriented Celtics mindset did not mesh well with the team, and he left in 1977 with a 162–166 record.^[54] Ironically, coach Lenny Wilkens later used a similar concept to help the SuperSonics win the title in 1979. Russell’s stint with the Kings was considerably worse, his last assignment ending when the Kings went 17–41 to begin the 1987–88 season.
In addition, Russell ran into financial trouble. He had invested $250,000 into a rubber plantation in Liberia, where he had wanted to spend his retirement, but it went bankrupt.^[55] The same fate awaited his Boston restaurant called "Slade's", after which he had to default on a $90,000 government loan to purchase the outlet. The IRS discovered that Russell owed $34,430 in tax money and put a lien on his house.^[56] He became a vegetarian, took up golf and worked as a color commentator, but he was uncomfortable as a broadcaster. He later said, "The most successful television is done in eight-second thoughts, and the things I know about basketball, motivation and people go deeper than that."^[1]^[56] On November 3, 1979, Russell hosted Saturday Night Live, in which he appeared in several sports-related sketches. Russell also wrote books, usually written as a joint project with a professional writer. These included 1979's Second Wind and 2001's Russell's Rules. After spending several years^[when?] living as a recluse on Mercer Island near Seattle,^[56] Russell rose to prominence again in January 2006, when he convinced Miami Heat superstar center Shaquille O'Neal to bury the hatchet with fellow NBA superstar and former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, with whom O'Neal had a bitter public feud.^[57] Later that year, on November 17, 2006, the two-time NCAA winner Russell was recognized for his impact on college basketball as a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was one of five, along with John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, Dean Smith and Dr. James Naismith, selected to represent the inaugural class.^[58] On May 20, 2007, Russell was awarded an honorary doctorate by Suffolk University, where he served as its commencement speaker, and Russell received an honorary degree from Harvard University on June 7, 2007. Russell was also honored during 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix. On February 14, 2009, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award award would be re-named the "Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award" in honor of 11-time NBA champion.^[2] The following day, during halftime of the actual All-Star game, Celtics captains Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen presented Russell a surprise birthday cake for his 75th birthday.^[59] Russell attended the final game of the Finals that year to present his newly christened namesake award to its winner, Kobe Bryant.^[60]^[61]

[edit] Coaching record

Legend
Regular season	G	Games coached	W	Games won	L	Games lost	W–L%	Win-loss %
Post season	PG	Games coached	PW	Games won	PL	Games lost	PW–L%	Win-loss %

[show]Team	Year	G	W	L	W–L%	Finish	PG	PW	PL	PW–L%	Result
BOS	1966–67	81	60	21	.671	2nd in Eastern	9	4	5	.444	Lost in Div. Finals
BOS	1967–68	82	54	28	.659	2nd in Eastern	19	12	7	.632	Won NBA Championship
BOS	1968–69	82	48	34	.585	4th in Eastern	18	12	6	.667	Won NBA Championship
SEA	1973–74	82	36	46	.439	3rd in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
SEA	1974–75	82	43	39	.524	2nd in Pacific	9	4	5	.444	Lost in Conf. Semifinals
SEA	1975–76	82	43	39	.524	2nd in Pacific	6	2	4	.333	Lost in First Round
SEA	1976–77	82	40	42	.488	4th in Pacific	—	—	—	—	Missed Playoffs
SAC	1987–88	58	17	41	.293	(released)	—	—	—	—	—
Career		631	341	290	.540		61	34	27	.557

[edit] Accomplishments and legacy

Bill Russell was the cornerstone of the Boston Celtics' dynasty.

— introductory line of Russell's nba.com/history summary.^[1]

Russell is one of the most successful and decorated athletes in North American sports history. His awards and achievements include eleven NBA championships as a player with the Boston Celtics in 13 seasons (including two NBA championships as player/head coach), and he is credited with having raised defensive play in the NBA to a new level.^[62] By winning the 1956 NCAA Championship with USF and the 1957 NBA title with the Celtics, Russell became the first of only four players in basketball history to win an NCAA championship and an NBA Championship back-to-back (the others being Henry Bibby, Magic Johnson, and Billy Thompson). In the interim, Russell collected an Olympic gold medal in 1956. His stint as coach of the Celtics was also of historical significance, as he became the first black head coach in major U.S. professional sports when he succeeded Red Auerbach.^[63]
In his first NBA full season (1957–58), Russell became the first player in NBA history to average more than 20 rebounds per game for an entire season, a feat he accomplished 10 times in his 13 seasons. Russell's 51 rebounds in a single game is the second highest performance ever, only trailing Chamberlain's all-time record of 55. He still holds the NBA record for rebounds in one half with 32 (vs. Philadelphia, on November 16, 1957). Career-wise, Russell ranks second only to Wilt Chamberlain in regular season total (21,620) and average (22.5) rebounds per game, and led the NBA in average rebounds per game four times. Russell is the all-time playoff leader in total (4,104) and average (24.9) rebounds per game, he grabbed 40 rebounds in three separate playoff games (twice in the NBA Finals), and he never failed to average at least 20 rebounds per game in any of his 13 post-season campaigns. Russell also had seven regular season games with 40 or more rebounds, the NBA Finals record for highest rebound per game average (29.5 rpg, 1959) and by a rookie (22.9 rpg, 1957). In addition, Russell holds the NBA Finals single-game record for most rebounds (40, March 29, 1960 vs. St. Louis and April 18, 1962 vs. Los Angeles), most rebounds in a quarter (19, April 18, 1962 vs. Los Angeles), and most consecutive games with 20 or more rebounds (15 from April 9, 1960 – April 16 1963).^[64] He also had 51 in one game, 49 in two others, and twelve straight seasons of 1,000 or more rebounds.^[1] Russell was known as one of the most clutch players in the NBA. He played in 11 deciding games (10 times in Game 7s, once in a Game 5), and ended with a flawless 11–0 record. In these eleven games, Russell averaged 18 points and 29.45 rebounds.^[18]
On the hardwood, he was considered the consummate defensive center, noted for his unmatched defensive intensity, his stellar basketball IQ and his sheer will to win.^[18] Russell excelled at playing man-to-man defense, blocking shots, and grabbing defensive and offensive rebounds.^[1] He also could score with putbacks and made mid-air outlet passes to point guard Bob Cousy for easy fast break points.^[1] He also was known as a fine passer and pick-setter, featured a decent left-handed hook shot and finished strong on alley oops.^[18] However, on offense, Russell's output was limited. His NBA career personal averages show him to be an average scorer (15.1 points career average), a poor free throw shooter (56.1%), and average overall shooter from the field (44%, not exceptional for a center). In his 13 years, he averaged a relatively low 13.4 field goals attempted (normally, top scorers average 20 and more), illustrating that he was never the focal point of the Celtics offense, instead focusing on his tremendous defense.^[22]
In his career, Russell won five regular season MVP awards (1959, 1961–63, 1965)—tied with Michael Jordan for second all-time behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar's six awards. He was selected three times to the All-NBA First Teams (1959, 1963, 1965) and eight Second Teams (1958, 1960–62, 1964, 1966–68), and was a twelve-time NBA All-Star (1958–1969). Russell was elected to one NBA All-Defensive First Team. This took place during his last season (1969), and was the first season the NBA All-Defensive Teams were selected. In 1970, The Sporting News named Russell the "Athlete of the Decade". Russell is universally seen as one of the best NBA players ever,^[1] and was declared "Greatest Player in the History of the NBA" by the Professional Basketball Writers Association of America in 1980.^[1] For his achievements, Russell was named "Sportsman of the Year" by Sports Illustrated in 1968. He also made all three NBA Anniversary Teams: the NBA 25th Anniversary All-Time Team (1970), the NBA 35th Anniversary All-Time Team (1980) and the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team (1996). Russell ranked #18 on ESPN's 50 Greatest Athletes of the 20th Century in 1999. In 2009, SLAM Magazine named Russell the #3 player of all time behind Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.^[65] On Saturday February 14, 2009, during the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the NBA Finals MVP Award would be named after Bill Russell.^[2]
Russell was named as a 2010 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.^[66]

[edit] Personal life

Russell was married to his college sweetheart Rose Swisher from 1956 to 1973. They had three children, namely daughter Karen Russell, the television pundit and lawyer, and sons William Jr. and Jacob. However, the couple grew emotionally distant and divorced.^[67] In 1977, he married Dorothy Anstett, Miss USA of 1968,^[67] but they divorced in 1980. In 1996, Russell married his third wife Marilyn Nault,^[68] and their marriage lasted until her death in January 2009.^[69] His older brother is the noted playwright Charlie L. Russell.
During his career, Russell was one of the first big earners in NBA basketball. His rookie contract was worth $24,000, only fractionally smaller than the $25,000 of top earner Bob Cousy.^[24] In contrast to other Celtics, who had to work in the offseason to maintain their standard of living (Heinsohn sold insurance, Gene Guarilia was a professional guitar player, Cousy ran a basketball camp, and Auerbach invested in plastics and a Chinese restaurant),^[70] Russell never had to work part-time. When Wilt Chamberlain became the first NBA player to earn $100,000 in salary in 1965, Russell went to Auerbach and demanded a $100,001 salary, which he promptly received.^[71]

[edit] Personality

Russell was driven by "a neurotic need to win", as his teammate Heinsohn observed.^[55] He was so tense before every game that he regularly threw up in the locker rooms; it happened so frequently that his fellow Celtics were more worried when it did not happen.^[72] He was also known for his natural authority. When he became player-coach in 1967, Russell bluntly said to his teammates that "he intended to cut all personal ties to other players", and seamlessly made the transition from their peer to their superior.^[73]
To teammates and friends, Russell was open and amicable, but was extremely distrusting and cold towards anyone else.^[55] Journalists were often treated to the "Russell Glower", described as an "icily contemptuous stare accompanied by a long silence".^[55] Russell was also notorious for his refusal to give autographs or even acknowledge the Celtics fans, so far that he was called "the most selfish, surly and uncooperative athlete" by one pundit.^[55]

[edit] Russell-Chamberlain rivalry

For most of his career, Russell was close friends with his perennial opponent Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain often invited Russell over for Thanksgiving, and at Russell's place, conversation mostly concerned Russell's electric trains.^[74] However, the relationship deteriorated into intense loathing after Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Finals, where Chamberlain took himself out of a close game with six minutes left and never returned. Russell accused Chamberlain of being a malingerer and of "copping out" of the game when it seemed that the Lakers would lose;^[75] in retaliation, Chamberlain (whose knee was so bad that he could not play the entire offseason and ruptured it in the next season) was livid at Russell and saw him as a backstabber.^[75] The two men did not talk to each other for over 20 years until Russell attempted to patch things up, although he never uttered a genuine apology.^[76] When Chamberlain died in 1999, Chamberlain's nephew stated that Russell was the second person he was ordered to break the news to.^[5] At the eulogy, Russell stated that he never considered Chamberlain his rival and disliked the term, instead pointing out that they rarely talked about basketball.

[edit] Racist abuse, controversy and reconciliation

Russell's life was marked by an uphill battle against racism and controversial actions and statements in response to perceived racism. As a child, the young Russell witnessed how his parents were victims of racial abuse, and eventually moved into housing projects to escape the daily torrent of bigotry.^[3] When he later became a standout amateur basketball player at USF, Russell recalled how he and his few fellow African American colleagues were jeered by white students.^[11] Even after he became a star on the Boston Celtics, Russell was the victim of racial abuse. 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 memoir Go Up for Glory, "It stood out, a wall which understanding cannot penetrate. You are a Negro. You are less. It covered every area. A living, smarting, hurting, smelling, greasy substance which covered you. A morass to fight from."^[27] Before the 1961–62 season, Russell refused to play in an exhibition game in Lexington, Kentucky when he and his black teammates were refused service at a local restaurant.^[53]
As a consequence, Russell was extremely sensitive to all racial prejudice: according to Taylor, he often perceived insults even if others did not.^[17] He was active in the Black Power movement and supported Muhammad Ali's decision to refuse to be drafted.^[77] He was often called "Felton X," a mockery of the Nation of Islam's tradition of replacing a European slave name with an "X," and even purchased land in Liberia.^[55] Russell's public statements became increasingly militant, so far that he was quoted in a 1963 Sports Illustrated interview with the words: "I dislike most white people because they are people... I like most blacks because I am black", expressing that "human" was a negative trait and "black" was a positive trait which were mutually exclusive.^{[clarification needed]}^[55] However, when his white Celtics teammate Frank Ramsey asked whether he hated him, Russell claimed to be misquoted, but few believed it.^[55] Also, Taylor remarks that Russell overlooked that his career was only made possible by the white people who were proven anti-racists, namely his white high school coach George Powles (the person who encouraged him to play basketball), his white college coach Phil Woolpert (who integrated USF basketball), white Celtics coach Red Auerbach (who is universally regarded as an anti-racist pioneer and made him the first black NBA coach), and white Celtics owner Walter A. Brown, who gave him a high $24,000 rookie contract, just $1,000 shy of the top earning veteran Bob Cousy.^[56]
Nevertheless, as a result of repeated racial bigotry, Russell refused to respond to fan acclaim or friendship from his neighbors, thinking it was insincere and hypocritical. He decided that the world had given him nothing, so in return, he could give the world nothing. This attitude contributed to his legendary bad rapport with fans and journalists.^[27] He alienated the Boston Celtics fans by saying, "You owe the public the same it owes you, nothing! I refuse to smile and be nice to the kiddies."^[55] This supported the opinion that Russell (who was the highest paid Celtic) was egotistical, paranoid and hypocritical, and even the FBI described Russell in his file as "an arrogant Negro who won't sign autographs for white children".^[55] The already hostile atmosphere between Russell and Boston hit its nadir when vandals broke into his house, covered the walls with racist graffiti, damaged his trophies and defecated into the beds.^[55] In response, Russell described Boston as a "flea market of racism".^[78] After his retirement, he described the Boston press as corrupt and racist; in response, Boston sports journalist Larry Claflin claimed that Russell himself was the real racist.^[79] Despite his refusal to sign autographs, he accepted a $250,000 contract to sign 5,000 pieces of memorabilia.^[80]
Russell, who invariably saw himself as a victim of the media, was present neither when his Number 6 jersey was retired in 1972, nor when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, shunning the limelight both times.^[53] Despite the bitterness that Russell felt toward Boston, in recent years he has visited the city on a regular basis, something he never did in the years immediately after his retirement.^[81] Russell still has sore feelings towards the city, but there has been something of a reconciliation in recent years.^[81] When Russell originally retired, he demanded that his jersey be retired in an empty Boston Garden.^[82] In 1995, the Celtics left Boston Garden and entered the FleetCenter, now the TD Garden, and as the main festive act, the Boston organization wanted to re-retire Russell's jersey in front of a sellout audience.^[56] Perennially wary of the "racist" city of Boston, Russell decided to make amends and gave his approval. On May 6, 1999 the Celtics re-retired Russell's jersey in a ceremony attended by Russell's on-court rival Chamberlain, along with Celtics legend Larry Bird and Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The crowd gave Russell a prolonged standing ovation, which brought tears to his eyes.^[82] Russell was visibly shaken at this outpour of adoration. He thanked Chamberlain for taking him to the limit and "making [him] a better player" and the crowd for "allowing [him] to be a part of their lives."^[56]
On December 2, 2008, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and The Mayor's Office of New Bostonians awarded Russell the 2008 We Are Boston Leadership Awards. Russell, who according to the mayor flew a "red-eye flight" to be there, attended the annual event with his daughter. He was visibly grateful and shared anecdotes of racial bigotry when he first came to Boston as a player and bought a home in Reading, Massachusetts. Russell congratulated the mayor on wanting to be a "mayor for all of Boston" and commented that it was a city that truly changed

Leandrinho Barbosa

2011-01-19T11:32:00.000-08:00

Leandro Mateus Barbosa (São Paulo, 28 de novembro de 1982), conhecido por Leandrinho no Brasil e por The Brazilian Blur nos EUA, é um jogador de basquete brasileiro. Foi considerado pela Revista Época um dos 100 brasileiros mais influentes do ano de 2009^[1].
Mede 1,91 m e pesa 91,6 kg (temporada 2007-08). Joga pelo Toronto Raptors, time da NBA. Atua nas posições de ala e armador (1 e 2). Com um salário de quase 7,1 milhões de dólares por ano é esplendido em jogadas de bandeja.
Namora a atriz Samara Felippo, com quem tem uma filha, Alicia.
Em 2009, fundou o primeiro acampamento de basquete do Brasil, o Leandrinho Basketball Camp e foi realizado na cidade de São Bernardo do Campo, reunindo profissionais de alto nível para ensinar basquete a jovens de todo o país.
Em julho de 2010, foi envolvido numa negociação com o Toronto Raptors, sua atual equipe.
Carreira
No Brasil, a carreira de Leandrinho começou cedo, mais precisamente aos 17 anos, quando ele participou de seu primeiro torneio, o campeonato Paulista de 1999 pela equipe do Palmeiras, que, na época, era dirigida pelo técnico Lula Ferreira.
Em 2001, foi para o time do Bauru, no qual foi eleito jogador revelação do Paulista naquele ano, e campeão brasileiro no ano seguinte.
Em sua carreira na NBA tem média de 12,9 pontos, 2,7 assistências por jogo, 1,0 roubada de bola,2,4 rebotes em 26 minutos jogados por jogo (04-03-09).Participou de 407 jogos, começando como titular em 104 deles (todos pelo Phoenix Suns) e até 04-03-09 já totalizou 5231 pontos, tendo como maior pontuação em um só jogo 41 pontos.
Ganhou o prêmio de melhor sexto homem (jogador titular) da NBA na temporada de 2006-07, atuando pelo Phoenix Suns.

Marcelinho Machado

2011-01-19T11:28:00.001-08:00

Marcelo Magalhães Machado, mais conhecido como Marcelinho, (Rio de Janeiro, 12 de abril de 1975) é um jogador de basquetebol brasileiro que atua como ala-armador. Atualmente, joga pelo Flamengo.

[editar] Carreira

Marcelinho, que atua na posição de ala-armador, fez parte ativamente da Seleção Brasileira de Basquetebol após a era Oscar Schmidt. O jogador, que tem dois metros de altura, é o grande símbolo da equipe brasileira.
Tricampeão Pan-americano, MVP da Copa América de 2005 e capitão da Seleção Brasileira de Basquete, Marcelinho foi contratado pelo Flamengo aos 33 anos, como maior reforço da equipe rubro-negra para a temporada 2007/2008, com o intuito de ajudar o Clube a conquistar o inédito título Nacional na modalidade. Marcelinho atuará ao lado de seu irmão Duda, outro dos destaques da equipe rubro-negra, e que foi campeão nacional na temporada 2006/2007 pelo Universo/Brasília. O outro irmão de Marcelo, Ricardo, também estará com ele na Gávea. É o fisioterapeuta da equipe. Ou seja, o jogador estará em casa.
Até porque o famoso camisa 4 começou sua carreira, ainda muito jovem, no próprio Flamengo. Depois, passou por clubes como Fluminense, Botafogo, Tijuca, Ginástico (MG), Corinthians (RS), Rimini Crabs (ITA), Alerta Lobos Cantabria (ESP), Telemar/Rio de Janeiro e Uberlândia. Na temporada de 2006, antes de vir para o Flamengo, estava no Žalgiris Kaunas, da Lituânia. Pela Seleção, já conquistou o tricampeonato Pan-americano e o bicampeonato sul-americano.
Marcelinho tem contrato com a equipe da Gávea até 2009. Logo em seu primeiro semestre vestindo a camisa do Flamengo, mostrou ao que veio. O ala anototou mais de 400 pontos em apenas 19 partidas e foi o principal personagem da conquista do tricampeonato estadual na modalidade.
No dia 8 de Abril em 2008, contra o Boca Juniors pelo segundo jogo das semifinais da Liga Sul-Americana, o jogador atingiu a marca de 1000 pontos com a camisa do Flamengo, tudo em menos de uma temporada. Desde 2007 quando chegou ao clube até o primeiro semestre de 2009 quando conquistou a Liga Sul-Americana 2009 e o Novo Basquete Brasil de 2009 o Campeonato Brasileiro do ano Marcelinho se tornou o principal jogador do elenco, alcançando marcas incriveis em pontos e eficiência sendo o cestinha do clube em todas as competições desde então.
No dia 7 de março de 2010, contra o São José pela quinta rodada do segundo turno do Novo Basquete Brasil de 2009-10, o ala alcançou a incrível marca de 63 pontos, quebrando o recorde de pontos em nacionais de basquete do país. O recorde anterior era a marca de 59 pontos e pertencia ao lendário Oscar Schmidt, obtido no dia 4 de abril de 1999.

[editar] Honras

Cestinha do Campeonato Carioca: 2008 (268 pontos)
Cestinha do Campeonato Nacional Masculino: 2008 (732 pontos), 2009 (1047 pontos), 2009-2010 (986 pontos)
Cestinha da Liga Sul-Americana: 2009 (161 pontos)
Melhor Ala do Campeonato Nacional Masculino: 2009, 2009-2010
Melhor Jogador do Campeonato Nacional Masculino: 2009, 2009-2010
Craque da Galera do Campeonato Nacional Masculino: 2009, 2009-2010
Jogo das Estrelas NBB: 2009, 2010
Melhor jogador do Jogo das Estrelas NBB: 2010

[editar] Títulos

Flamengo

Žalgiris Kaunas

Campeonato Lituano: 2007
Copa da Lituânia: 2006

Telemar/Rio de Janeiro

Uberlândia

Campeonato Mineiro de Basquete: 2005

Seleção Brasileira

Jogos Pan-americanos: Medalha de ouro 1999, 2003, 2007
Copa América: 2005, 2009
Sul-americano: 1999, 2003
Copa Tutto Marchand: 2007

2011-01-18T21:44:00.000-08:00

Wlamir Marques (São Vicente, 16 de julho de 1937) é um ex-jogador de basquetebol brasileiro. Disputou os Mundiais de 1954 no Rio de Janeiro, 1959 em Santiago, 1963 no Rio de Janeiro e 1970 na Iugoslávia como jogador. Nos dias atuais, divide-se nas funções de professor de Educação Física e comentarista da ESPN Brasil, canal de TV fechada. Ganhou o título de Cidadão Emérito de São Vicente, sua cidade natal. Foi premiado com o Cruz do Mérito Esportivo (1953), Troféu Heims de Melhor Atleta da América do Sul (1961) e a Medalha do Mérito Esportivo.

Em clubes

Aos dez anos de idade, Wlamir Marques já jogava pelo Tumiaru, time de sua cidade natal, São Vicente. No ano seguinte em 1953, Wlamir passou a jogar pelo XV de Piracicaba, onde aprimorou o seu jogo, até que, aos 25 anos foi contratado pelo Corinthians em 1962.

Foi dez vezes campeão do Campeonato Paulista de Basquete: em 1957 e 1960 com o XV de Piracicaba e 1964-1971 com o Corinthians. Além disso, com a seleção de Piracicaba ganhou seis vezes os Jogos Abertos do Interior.

Depois de se tranferir do Tênis Clube de Campinas para o Palmeiras na década de 70, optou pela carreira de técnico.
[editar] Carreira pela Seleção

É considerado um dos maiores jogadores de basquete da história do Brasil, juntamente com ídolos como Amaury Pasos, Algodão, Rosa Branca e Ubiratan liderou a geração mais vitoriosa do basquete brasileiro durante as décadas de 50 e 60, quando a seleção foi bicampeã mundial.

É multimedalhista: possui quatro medalhas dos mundiais de basquete, sendo duas de ouro e duas de prata, além de dois bronzes olímpicos, um nos Jogos de Roma-1960 e outro nos Jogos de Tóquio-1964. Além dele, Kresimir Cosic, outro multimedalhista em Campeonatos Mundiais de Basquete da FIBA, possui dois ouros e 2 medalhas de pratas.

Em âmbito continental, medalha de prata nos Jogos Pan-Americanos de 1963 e medalha de bronze nos Jogos Pan-Americanos de 1955 e Jogos Pan-Americanos de 1959.

Possui quatro medalhas de ouro do Campeonato Sul-Americano de Basquetebol.
[editar] Como técnico

Ele começou em Limeira, prosseguindo tanto no masculino (Jundiaí, Corinthians, Tênis Clube de Campinas, Palmeiras, Hebraica, Cerquilho, e Telesp Clube Pinheiros), tanto no feminino (Corinthians, XV de Piracicaba e São Caetano).

Ele ganhou três vezes o Campeonato Paulista feminino de basquetebol e uma vez o Campeonato Paulista masculino. Ele já participou de Jogos Abertos do Interior de ambos os sexos, chegando em terceiro lugar duas vezes. Ele ganhou três Jogos Regionais e dois Campeonatos Paulistas Mirim.
[editar] Como comentarista

Em 1982 foi comentarista da Rede Globo durante o Campeonato Paulista de Basquete, que era exibido nas manhãs de domingo. A seguir, cobriu pela Rede Manchete quatro Jogos Olímpicos de Verão: Los Angeles-1984, Seul-1988, Barcelona-1992, e Atlanta-1996.[1]

Em 2002, aceitou convite de José Trajano, diretor de jornalismo para ser comentarista nos canais ESPN.

Rosa Branca entrevista

2011-01-18T21:38:00.001-08:00

Rosa Branca faz parte da geração mais bem sucedida do basquete brasileiro. É bi-campeão mundial na geração de Wlamir e Amaury e ainda bi-medalista Olímpico. Às vésperas do Mundial de 2006, nosso colaborador Linelson y Castro conversou com o campeão que contou histórias de seus temps vitoriosos.

Títulos

- CAMPEÃO MUNDIAL – 1959 (Chile) e 1963 (Rio de Janeiro)
- CAMPEÃO SULAMERICANO – 1958 (Chile), 1959 (Argentina), 1961 (Brasil), Peru (1963)1965 (Uruguai), 1967 (Paraguai), 1968 (Colômbia).
- OLIMPÍADAS – Bronze em Roma/1960 e Tóquio/ 1964
- CAMPEÃO SULAMERICANO – INTER CLUBES pelo Corinthians em 1963, 1965, 1967 e 1969.
- VICE-CAMPEÃO MUNDIAL INTER CLUBES em 1965 e 1967.
O apelido Rosa Branca se deve ao fato de um motorista de Getúlio Vargas, que se chamava Rosa Branca, ser parecido com ele. Seus companheiros do Nosso Clube de Araraquara viram uma revista em 1954 com a foto do motorista e o apelido pegou. No começo ele não gostou, mas diz que hoje sente orgulho desse apelido.

Como foi a trajetória da conquista do Mundial 63?

Bom, nossa seleção de 1963 teve uma caminhada muito vitoriosa. Começamos nosso trabalho com o campeonato de federações. Naquela época, depois veio a convocação para o Sul-Americano no Peru. Depois do Pan, em São Paulo (no qual fomos vice-campeões. Aí fomos para o Rio de Janeiro para o Mundial, no Maracanãzinho. Isso mostra todo o trabalho da seleção dirigida pelo Kanela. Para conseguir esse objetivo, ficamos quatro meses juntos.
Como foi a estréia contra Porto Rico?
Ela foi uma estréia normal. O único jogo difícil foi contra os EUA. Existiam seleções muito boas, mas nós que estávamos em nosso ápice.
Qual a sensação de bater a União Soviética, depois de ter perdido 2 vezes no Mundial anterior? Eles estavam entalados na garganta?
Sem dúvida, o prazer era imenso em ganhar da União Soviética. Era uma equipe muito forte.
Na Europa, os soviéticos criaram um selo comemorativo com a mensagem: Campeão Mundial de Basquete – Chile. Você acha que eles foram os “campeões morais”?
Não, porque se você rejeita a jogar como vai ser o campeonato… A Fiba nos condecorou como campeões. Nós já tínhamos ganhado deles na cidade de Temuco.
Qual a importância da torcida na conquista do bi?
O carioca sabe torcer. Foi uma coisa incrível ver o Maracanãzinho totalmente lotado. Tivemos que chegar no Ginásio por volta das 18h, para jogar às 21h.
É verdade que nessa época Wlamir e Amaury eram quase tão aclamados pelo povo quanto Pelé e Garrincha?
Sem dúvida.
Oscar ou Wlamir?
Oscar, pra mim, é um arremessador e Wlamir um fenômeno. É por isso que era chamado de diabo loiro.
Qual seu destaque estrangeiro do Mundial de 63? Vinces, de Porto Rico. Um jogador muito completo.
Você acha que a jogada montada pelo Técnico Kanela para obrigar o pivô Gibson a cometer sua 5ª falta (nosso pivô Ubiratan também estava pendurado) a 3 minutos do fim, foi decisiva para a vitória diante dos EUA no mundial de 63?
Acho que ela foi feita na hora exata, já que Kanela observava o desenrolar entre os dois.
Naquele tempo os reservas atuavam mais ou menos tempo que hoje em dia?
Kanela jogava com mais três jogadores: Mosquito, Jatyr , Menon e revezava o Ubiratan com Sucar.
Quais suas expectativas para o Mundial do Japão desse ano?
Depois que a nossa seleção mostrou frente aos Estados Unidos, penso que tem condições de fazer uma boa classificação. Acredito muito nesta nova safra de talentos.

Você ficou decepcionado com o Nenê pela não ida ao mundial?

Não, acho que pelo contrato dele, ficaria impossível.
O que faltou para sua geração ganhar uma medalha de ouro olímpica?
Perdemos um jogo para a União Soviética que não podíamos ter perdido, mas mesmo assim os adversários eram muito fortes, jogamos contra Oscar Robertson nas Olimpíadas, o cara era demais.
Oscar Robetson foi o seu melhor adversário?
Não, joguei contra Wilt Chamberlain em 59 e 60 (O entrevistador fica 5 segundos em silêncio para a respiração voltar ao normal).
Qual sua opinião sobre a situação atual do basquete nacional?
Houve mudanças para melhor. Gosto da comissão técnica feita pelo Lula, ele tem uma equipe qualificada e trabalhadora. Ontem foi feita uma reunião, e o Nacional vai se organizado pelos dirigentes dos clubes. Estamos conversando sobre uma volta do COC Ribeirão Preto.
(Rosa Branca hoje é dirigente da Federação Paulista de Basquete)
Você é a favor de um técnico estrangeiro na seleção brasileira? O que acha de Lula?
Não, acho o Lula um bom técnico. Inclusive fui eu que descobri ele como jogador. Ele não era muito bom, mas marcava bem. Tem o Flávio Davis, técnico do Minas, que também faz parte da comissão e estuda bastante o esporte, inclusive viajando para os EUA.
Qual o título mais importante: O Bi-Mundial de 63 ou o Pan de 87?
Ah para mim foi O Bi-Mundial, sinto muito orgulho daquela camisa listrada, até não sei porque não continua aquele como a camiseta oficial. Falei com o Grego e ele disse que era por causa da TV, é uma pena.

Marcel

2011-01-18T21:32:00.000-08:00

Marcel começou a jogar basquete aos 5 anos de idade, mas só como passatempo, influenciado por seu pai. Sério mesmo só em 1968, no Corinthians. No ano seguinte ganhava prêmio de melhor atleta juvenil de São Paulo.
O ano de 1973 foi marcado também pela estréia de Marcel na seleção brasileira. Aos 16 anos de idade ele partia para uma excursão de 10 jogos pelos EUA. Ele entrava na seleção que só abandonou após a Olimpíada de Barcelona, em 1992.
O EC Sírio era a grande sensação do basquete nacional. E foi lá que Marcel deu um novo rumo em sua carreira. Em 1979, a seleção brasileira era composta por jogadores jovens, entre os quais se destacavam Oscar e Marcel. O Sírio, visando a conquista do Mundial resolveu seguir a mesma linha e trouxe o "Mão Santa" para se juntar à equipe, que já tinha Marcel. 1979 foi o ano do Sírio, que perdeu apenas quatro partidas e acabou faturando os títulos Paulista, Brasileiro, Sul-americano e o sonhado Mundial.
O convite para jogar na Itália foi muito comemorado por Marcel. Era a chance de jogar no basquete mais organizado e competitivo do mundo. Ele foi recebido de braços abertos pela torcida do Alno Fabriano e em pouco tempo já era considerado o "salvador da pátria". Outro time defendido por ele na em terras italianas foi o Indesit Caserta.
No dia 23 de agosto de 1987, o basquete brasileiro viu sua maior conquista de todos os tempos. Era a final do Pan-americano de 1987, em Indianápolis. Após uma partida emocionante, a seleção brasileira, mais uma vez comandada por Oscar e Marcel, derrotou os poderosos donos da casa e faturou a medalha de ouro. Foi o fim de uma Era no basquete dos Estados Unidos, que passaram a incluir jogadores da NBA em sua seleção. Marcel e Oscar comandaram uma virada histórica do Brasil, para desespero das 17 mil pessoas que compareceram ao Market Square Arena. Marcel, nos momentos decisivos, acertou um arremesso de três, deu uma assistência para Oscar e converteu a última cesta. No final, o placar mostrava o milagre: Brasil 120 x 115 Estados Unidos.
Aos 38 anos de idade, Marcel sentia que chegava a hora de abandonar as quadra. Mas, Marcel jamais poderia abandonar as quadra. Partia o jogador e nascia um novo treinador.
Logo que abandonou as quadras, Marcel recebeu um convite para treinar o Guarulhos. Logo depois, uma parceria com Oscar foi tentada, mas não durou muito tempo. Após a experiência, Marcel assumiu o EC Pinheiros, clube no qual atingiu sua maioridade como técnico e conseguiu seus principais resultados.

Oscar

2011-01-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

Oscar Daniel Bezerra Schmidt (Natal, 16 de Fevereiro de 1958) é um ex-jogador brasileiro de basquetebol.
Com 2,05 m de altura, Oscar é o recordista mundial de pontuação do basquetebol com 49.703 pontos. É considerado um dos maiores jogadores de basquetebol de todos os tempos, dos que não atuaram na NBA
Clubes em que atuou

Palmeiras, São Paulo
Sírio, São Paulo
Caserta, Itália
Pavia, Itália
Forum/Valladolid, Espanha
Corinthians, São Paulo
Bandeirantes, São Paulo
Barueri, São Paulo
Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro
Pela Seleção Brasileira
- Sexto lugar no Torneio Pré-Olímpico de San Juan (Porto Rico - 1974)
- Campeão Sul-Americano (Chile - 1977, Brasil - 1983 e Colômbia - 1985)
- Medalha de bronze no Mundial das Filipinas (1978)
- Vice-campeão Sul-Americano (Argentina - 1979 e Uruguai - 1981)
- Medalha de bronze nos Jogos Pan-Americanos de San Juan (Porto Rico - 1979)
- Quarto lugar no Torneio Pré-Olímpico das Américas de San Juan (Porto Rico - 1980)
- Quinto lugar nos Jogos Olímpicos de Moscou (União Soviética - 1980)
- Oitavo lugar no Mundial da Colômbia (1982)
- Campeão do Torneio Pré-Olímpico das Américas de São Paulo (Brasil - 1984),
- Nono lugar nos Jogos Olímpicos de Los Angeles (Estados Unidos - 1984)
- Quarto lugar no Mundial da Espanha (1986)
- Medalha de ouro nos Jogos Pan-Americanos de Indianápolis (Estados Unidos - 1987)
- Campeão do Torneio Pré-Olímpico das Américas de Montevidéu (Uruguai - 1988)
- Quinto lugar nos Jogos Olímpicos de Seul(Coréia - 1988)
- Medalha de bronze na Copa América (México - 1989)
- Quinto lugar no Mundial da Argentina (1990)
- Medalha de bronze no Torneio Pré-Olímpico das Américas de Portland (Estados Unidos - 1992)
- Quinto lugar nos Jogos Olímpicos Barcelona (Espanha - 1992)
- Medalha de bronze no Torneio Pré-Olímpico das Américas (Argentina - 1996)
- Sexto lugar nos Jogos Olímpicos de Atlanta (Estados Unidos - 1996)
[editar] Pelos clubes
- Campeão Mundial Interclubes (Sírio - 1979)
- Campeão Sul-Americano de Clubes (Sírio - 1979)
- Campeão Brasileiro de clubes (Sírio - 1979)
- Campeão Brasileiro de clubes (Corinthians - 1996)
- Campeão Brasileiro de clubes (Palmeiras - 1977)
- Campeão Paulista (Sírio - 1979, 1980)
- Campeão Paulista (Palmeiras - 1974)
- Campeão Paulista (Mackenzie - 1998)
- Campeão da Copa da Itália (Caserta - 1988)
- Campeão Italiano Série A-2 (Caserta - 1983)
- Campeão Italiano Série A-2 (Pavia - 1991)
- Campeão Carioca (Flamengo - 1999,2002)
- Vice-campeão nacional (Flamengo - 2000)
- Vice-campeão da Liga Sul-Americana (Corinthians - 1996,1997).

All Time Leaders: Rebounds Per Game

2011-01-18T14:35:00.001-08:00


		Rebounds
Player	G	OFF	DEF	REB	RPG
1. Wilt Chamberlain	1,045	N/A	N/A	23,924	22.9
2. Bill Russell	963	N/A	N/A	21,620	22.5
3. Bob Pettit	792	N/A	N/A	12,849	16.2
4. Jerry Lucas	829	62	312	12,942	15.6
5. Nate Thurmond	964	744	1,827	14,464	15.0
6. Wes Unseld	984	2,085	4,974	13,769	14.0
7. Walt Bellamy	1,043	264	481	14,241	13.7
8. Dave Cowens	766	1,574	5,122	10,444	13.6
9. Elgin Baylor	846	N/A	N/A	11,463	13.5
10. George Mikan	520	N/A	N/A	4,167	13.4
11. Dennis Rodman	911	4,329	7,625	11,954	13.1
12. Willis Reed	650	47	94	8,414	12.9
13. Dwight Howard	528	1,902	4,805	6,707	12.7
13. Gus Johnson	581	N/A	N/A	7,379	12.7
15. Elvin Hayes	1,303	2,778	6,973	16,279	12.5
16. Moses Malone	1,329	6,731	9,481	16,212	12.2
17. Dolph Schayes	1,059	N/A	N/A	11,256	12.1
18. Bill Bridges	926	257	376	11,054	11.9
18. Harry Gallatin	682	N/A	N/A	6,684	11.9
20. Charles Barkley	1,073	4,260	8,286	12,546	11.7
21. Tim Duncan	1,018	3,122	8,602	11,724	11.5
22. Neil Johnston	516	N/A	N/A	5,856	11.3
22. Walter Dukes	553	N/A	N/A	6,223	11.3
24. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1,560	2,975	9,394	17,440	11.2
24. Johnny Kerr	905	N/A	N/A	10,092	11.2
26. Hakeem Olajuwon	1,238	4,034	9,714	13,748	11.1
27. Dave DeBusschere	875	134	623	9,618	11.0
28. Shaquille O'Neal	1,201	4,202	8,870	13,072	10.9
29. Swen Nater	489	1,538	3,759	5,297	10.8
29. Kevin Garnett	1,155	2,901	9,580	12,481	10.8

created: 01/18/2011 02:38:12

Time Leaders: Assists Per Game

2011-01-18T14:32:00.001-08:00

All Time Leaders: Points Per Game

2011-01-18T14:29:00.001-08:00

All Time Leaders: Points Per Game
Player	G	FG	FT	PTS	PPG
1. Michael Jordan	1,072	12,192	7,327	32,292	30.1
1. Wilt Chamberlain	1,045	12,681	6,057	31,419	30.1
3. LeBron James	588	5,762	3,916	16,266	27.7
4. Elgin Baylor	846	8,693	5,763	23,149	27.4
5. Jerry West	932	9,016	7,160	25,192	27.0
6. Allen Iverson	914	8,467	6,375	24,368	26.7
7. Bob Pettit	792	7,349	6,182	20,880	26.4
8. George Gervin	791	8,045	4,541	20,708	26.2
9. Oscar Robertson	1,040	9,508	7,694	26,710	25.7
10. Dwyane Wade	511	4,533	3,621	12,970	25.4
11. Kobe Bryant	1,064	9,350	6,813	26,874	25.3
12. Karl Malone	1,476	13,528	9,787	36,928	25.0
13. Dominique Wilkins	1,074	9,963	6,031	26,668	24.8
14. Carmelo Anthony	547	4,819	3,450	13,474	24.6
14. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1,560	15,837	6,712	38,387	24.6
16. Larry Bird	897	8,591	3,960	21,791	24.3
16. Adrian Dantley	955	8,169	6,832	23,177	24.3
18. Pete Maravich	658	6,187	3,564	15,948	24.2
19. Shaquille O'Neal	1,201	11,318	5,931	28,568	23.8
20. Rick Barry	794	7,252	3,818	18,395	23.2
21. Dirk Nowitzki	951	7,620	5,447	21,850	23.0
22. Paul Arizin	713	5,628	5,010	16,266	22.8
23. Vince Carter	884	7,302	4,052	20,020	22.6
23. George Mikan	520	4,097	3,570	11,764	22.6
25. Bernard King	874	7,830	3,972	19,655	22.5
26. Paul Pierce	924	6,771	5,595	20,660	22.4
27. Charles Barkley	1,073	8,435	6,349	23,757	22.1
27. David Thompson	509	4,213	2,815	11,264	22.1
27. Gilbert Arenas	501	3,608	2,824	11,076	22.1
27. Bob McAdoo	852	7,420	3,944	18,787	22.1

all time points leaders

2011-01-18T14:27:00.001-08:00

All Time Leaders: Points
Player	G	FG	FT	PPG	PTS
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar	1,560	15,837	6,712	24.6	38,387
2. Karl Malone	1,476	13,528	9,787	25.0	36,928
3. Michael Jordan	1,072	12,192	7,327	30.1	32,292
4. Wilt Chamberlain	1,045	12,681	6,057	30.1	31,419
5. Shaquille O'Neal	1,201	11,318	5,931	23.8	28,568
6. Moses Malone	1,329	9,435	8,531	20.6	27,409
7. Elvin Hayes	1,303	10,976	5,356	21.0	27,313
8. Hakeem Olajuwon	1,238	10,749	5,423	21.8	26,946
9. Kobe Bryant	1,064	9,350	6,813	25.3	26,874
10. Oscar Robertson	1,040	9,508	7,694	25.7	26,710
11. Dominique Wilkins	1,074	9,963	6,031	24.8	26,668
12. John Havlicek	1,270	10,513	5,369	20.8	26,395
13. Alex English	1,193	10,659	4,277	21.5	25,613
14. Reggie Miller	1,389	8,241	6,237	18.2	25,279
15. Jerry West	932	9,016	7,160	27.0	25,192
16. Patrick Ewing	1,183	9,702	5,392	21.0	24,815
17. Allen Iverson	914	8,467	6,375	26.7	24,368
18. Charles Barkley	1,073	8,435	6,349	22.1	23,757
19. Robert Parish	1,611	9,614	4,106	14.5	23,334
20. Adrian Dantley	955	8,169	6,832	24.3	23,177
21. Elgin Baylor	846	8,693	5,763	27.4	23,149
22. Kevin Garnett	1,155	9,098	4,372	19.7	22,735
23. Clyde Drexler	1,086	8,335	4,698	20.4	22,195
24. Dirk Nowitzki	951	7,620	5,447	23.0	21,850
25. Gary Payton	1,335	8,708	3,265	16.3	21,813
26. Larry Bird	897	8,591	3,960	24.3	21,791
27. Ray Allen	1,062	7,590	3,961	20.4	21,674
28. Hal Greer	1,122	8,504	4,578	19.2	21,586
29. Tim Duncan	1,018	8,170	4,835	20.8	21,201
30. Walt Bellamy	1,043	7,914	5,113	20.1	20,941

created: 01/18/2011 02:38:12

Playoff top scores

2011-01-18T14:20:00.001-08:00

Titles and MVP lists

2011-01-18T14:16:00.001-08:00

NBA Finals: All-Time Champions

YEAR	CHAMPION	OPPONENT	RESULT	MVP
2009-10	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics	4-3	Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles
2008-09	Los Angeles Lakers	Orlando Magic	4-1	Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles
2007-08	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers	4-2	Paul Pierce, Boston
2006-07	San Antonio Spurs	Cleveland Cavaliers	4-0	Tony Parker, San Antonio
2005-06	Miami Heat	Dallas Mavericks	4-2	Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
2004-05	San Antonio Spurs	Detroit Pistons	4-3	Tim Duncan, San Antonio
2003-04	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers	4-1	Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons
2002-03	San Antonio Spurs	New Jersey Nets	4-2	Tim Duncan, San Antonio
2001-02	Los Angeles Lakers	New Jersey Nets	4-0	Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles
2000-01	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers	4-1	Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles
1999-00	Los Angeles Lakers	Indiana Pacers	4-2	Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles
1998-99	San Antonio Spurs	New York Knicks	4-1	Tim Duncan, San Antonio
1997-98	Chicago Bulls	Utah Jazz	4-2	Michael Jordan, Chicago
1996-97	Chicago Bulls	Utah Jazz	4-2	Michael Jordan, Chicago
1995-96	Chicago Bulls	Seattle SuperSonics	4-2	Michael Jordan, Chicago
1994-95	Houston Rockets	Orlando Magic	4-0	Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston
1993-94	Houston Rockets	New York Knicks	4-3	Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston
1992-93	Chicago Bulls	Phoenix Suns	4-2	Michael Jordan, Chicago
1991-92	Chicago Bulls	Portland Trail Blazers	4-2	Michael Jordan, Chicago
1990-91	Chicago Bulls	Los Angeles Lakers	4-1	Michael Jordan, Chicago
1989-90	Detroit Pistons	Portland Trail Blazers	4-1	Isiah Thomas, Detroit
1988-89	Detroit Pistons	Los Angeles Lakers	4-0	Joe Dumars, Detroit
1987-88	Los Angeles Lakers	Detroit Pistons	4-3	James Worthy, Los Angeles
1986-87	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics	4-2	Magic Johnson, Los Angeles
1985-86	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets	4-2	Larry Bird, Boston
1984-85	Los Angeles Lakers	Boston Celtics	4-2	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles
1983-84	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers	4-3	Larry Bird, Boston
1982-83	Philadelphia 76ers	Los Angeles Lakers	4-0	Moses Malone, Philadelphia
1981-82	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers	4-2	Magic Johnson, Los Angeles
1980-81	Boston Celtics	Houston Rockets	4-2	Cedric Maxwell, Boston
1979-80	Los Angeles Lakers	Philadelphia 76ers	4-2	Magic Johnson, Los Angeles
1978-79	Seattle SuperSonics	Washington Bullets	4-1	Dennis Johnson, Seattle
1977-78	Washington Bullets	Seattle SuperSonics	4-3	Wes Unseld, Washington
1976-77	Portland Trail Blazers	Philadelphia 76ers	4-2	Bill Walton, Portland
1975-76	Boston Celtics	Phoenix Suns	4-2	Jo Jo White, Boston
1974-75	Golden State Warriors	Washington Bullets	4-0	Rick Barry, Golden State
1973-74	Boston Celtics	Milwaukee Bucks	4-3	John Havlicek, Boston
1972-73	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers	4-1	Willis Reed, New York
1971-72	Los Angeles Lakers	New York Knicks	4-1	Wilt Chamberlain, Los Angeles
1970-71	Milwaukee Bucks	Baltimore Bullets	4-0	Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1969-70	New York Knicks	Los Angeles Lakers	4-3	Willis Reed, New York
1968-69	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers	4-3	Jerry West, Los Angeles
1967-68	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers	4-2
1966-67	Philadelphia 76ers	San Francisco Warriors	4-2
1965-66	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers	4-3
1964-65	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers	4-1
1963-64	Boston Celtics	San Francisco Warriors	4-1
1962-63	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers	4-2
1961-62	Boston Celtics	Los Angeles Lakers	4-3
1960-61	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks	4-1
1959-60	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks	4-3
1958-59	Boston Celtics	Minneapolis Lakers	4-0
1957-58	St. Louis Hawks	Boston Celtics	4-2
1956-57	Boston Celtics	St. Louis Hawks	4-3
1955-56	Philadelphia Warriors	Fort Wayne Pistons	4-1
1954-55	Syracuse Nationals	Fort Wayne Pistons	4-3
1953-54	Minneapolis Lakers	Syracuse Nationals	4-3
1952-53	Minneapolis Lakers	New York Knicks	4-1
1951-52	Minneapolis Lakers	New York Knicks	4-3
1950-51	Rochester Royals	New York Knicks	4-3
1949-50	Minneapolis Lakers	Syracuse Nationals	4-2
1948-49	Minneapolis Lakers	Washington Capitols	4-2
1947-48	Baltimore Bullets	Philadelphia Warriors	4-2
1946-47	Philadelphia Warriors	Chicago Stags	4-1

Top 10 teams

2011-01-18T14:15:00.001-08:00

Top 10 Coaches in NBA History

2011-01-18T14:14:00.001-08:00

50 greatest players

2011-01-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

One hundred and seven NBA championship rings. More than 400 hundred NBA All-Star Game selections. Nearly one million points scored.

So boasts the collective resume of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, selected by a blue-ribbon panel of media, former players and coaches, current and former general managers and team executives. NBA Commissioner David Stern announced the 50 Greatest Players at a press luncheon on Oct. 29, 1996, in New York City.

Joining Stern in the unveiling of the 50 Greatest Players, which tipped off the League's season-long NBA at 50 celebration, were four prominent members of the list -- Wilt Chamberlain, Julius "Dr. J" Erving, George Mikan and Bill Russell.

The announcement was made at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, which occupies the site of the former Commodore Hotel, where the original NBA charter was signed on June 6, 1946.



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Panelists were asked to select the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, without regard to position. Voters did not rank their selections and former players were not allowed to vote for themselves.

At the start of the 1996-97 season the 50 players had accumulated 107 NBA Championships, 49 Most Valuable Player Awards, 17 Rookie of the Year honors, 447 All-Star Game selections, 36 scoring titles, 923,791 total points and 410,327 total rebounds.
THE 50 GREATEST PLAYERS IN NBA HISTORY

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Nate Archibald
Paul Arizin
Charles Barkley
Rick Barry
Elgin Baylor
Dave Bing
Larry Bird
Wilt Chamberlain
Bob Cousy
Dave Cowens
Billy Cunningham
Dave DeBusschere
Clyde Drexler
Julius Erving
Patrick Ewing
Walt Frazier
George Gervin
Hal Greer
John Havlicek
Elvin Hayes
Magic Johnson
Sam Jones
Michael Jordan
Jerry Lucas

Karl Malone Moses Malone
Pete Maravich
Kevin McHale
George Mikan
Earl Monroe
Hakeem Olajuwon
Shaquille O'Neal
Robert Parish
Bob Pettit
Scottie Pippen
Willis Reed
Oscar Robertson
David Robinson
Bill Russell
Dolph Schayes
Bill Sharman
John Stockton
Isiah Thomas
Nate Thurmond
Wes Unseld
Bill Walton
Jerry West
Lenny Wilkens
James Worthy

Lebron de tras da tabela

2011-01-18T14:04:00.000-08:00

http://uolesporte.blogosfera.uol.com.br/videos/lebron-entra-na-lista-de-cestas-incriveis-ao-imitar-larry-bird-e-kobe-bryant/

Scottie Pippen Top 10

2011-01-18T13:59:00.001-08:00

Yao TOP 10

2011-01-18T13:57:00.002-08:00

Basketball fans

Go To http://www.basketballrealfans.blogspot.com/ to see more

Earl Boykins

[edit] College

[edit] Pro Career

[edit] NBA

[edit] Italy

[edit] Return to NBA

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Playoffs

All Time Leaders: Three Point Field Goals Made

All Time Leaders: Three Point Field Goal Percentage

Three Points Records

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage

Three-Point Field-Goal Attempts

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage

Three-Point Field-Goal Attempts

[edit] High school career

[edit] 1960 Olympics

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Cincinnati Royals

[edit] Milwaukee Bucks and the 'Oscar Robertson suit'

[edit] Post-NBA career

[edit] Legacy

[edit] NBA statistics

[edit] Career highs

[edit] 40 point games

[edit] Top assist games

[edit] Regular season

[edit] Playoffs

[edit] Personal life

Bill Russell

[edit] College career

[edit] 1956 NBA Draft

[edit] 1956 Olympics

[edit] Professional career

[edit] 1956–59

[edit] 1959–66

[edit] 1966–69

[edit] Post-player career

[edit] Coaching record

[edit] Accomplishments and legacy

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Personality

[edit] Russell-Chamberlain rivalry

[edit] Racist abuse, controversy and reconciliation

Leandrinho Barbosa

Marcelinho Machado

[editar] Carreira

[editar] Honras

[editar] Títulos

Rosa Branca entrevista

Marcel

Oscar

[editar] Pelos clubes

All Time Leaders: Rebounds Per Game

Time Leaders: Assists Per Game

All Time Leaders: Points Per Game

all time points leaders

Playoff top scores

Titles and MVP lists

Top 10 teams

Top 10 Coaches in NBA History

50 greatest players

Lebron de tras da tabela

Scottie Pippen Top 10

Yao TOP 10

^[^edit^]^{High school career}