Bill Russell Once Claimed He Didn't Realize The Celtics Won 8 Straight Championships Until He Was Retired

Bill Russell is a legendary figure for the Boston Celtics , and there's no doubt that he is the winningest superstar of all time. He won 11 championships with the Boston Celtics, and he was clearly the driving force behind each championship win.

At one point, the Boston Celtics won eight straight championships. However, Bill Russell once claimed that he didn't realize that the team managed to do so until he read about it later on after he retired.

“It might seem strange but I didn’t know our Celtic teams won 8 championships in a row until about 20 years ago when I read about it… Our focus was always on that particular season, always 1 year at a time. The year we played had nothing to do with the previous…”

It is clear that Bill Russell wasn't the type of player to rest on his laurels, and he had a renewed desire to win every single year. Since he focused on one year at a time, it is easy to see how he won 11 championships during his playing career.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Reveals Bill Russell Inspired Him To Be A Better Player

There's no doubt that Bill Russell was an inspirational figure to many people due to his winning pedigree, including legendary big man Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Previously, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explained how Bill Russell inspired him to be a better player.

It would be a while before we met again, but I continued to study Bill Russell the way Oppenheimer studied Einstein. I even had a 1956 photo of Bill soaring high into the air during an NCAA high jump while attending the University of San Francisco. The image of Bill with his hands splayed out in front of him as if he were flying made me think that, with hard work, I could also reach those heights. What that must feel like, I wondered, determined to find out. In the photo, Bill has only one shoe on, the other foot covered in a loose sock. To me, that showed his commitment and focus—nothing could shake his willpower to win. I realized then how much work I had to do to compete with athletes like him.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became one of the best big men of all time and a GOAT candidate, and it is clear that he learned how to win from Bill Russell. Both big men were the best player in their eras, and it is easy to see how Bill Russell influenced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and helped him develop the ability to dominate.

Though younger fans may not understand how great Bill Russell truly was, it is clear that the superstar's accolades speak for themselves. There is no doubt that the NBA world as a whole respects what he was able to do, both on and off the court.