Best of - Bill Russell: Giant of a Man

The most astonishing winning streak in the history of sports, belonged to the Boston Celtics.  They won eleven championships between 1957 and 1969, eight of those in a row.  And the player at the center of those wins - was Bill Russell, who died this week at the age of 88.  Russell changed the game of basketball, with his incredible speed, and his ability to block shots as no player had  done before.  When he took over as coach of the Celtics (while still playing on the team), he became the first African-American coach of any major sport in the U.S. In this episode, which first ran in 2017, Russell talks about his life in basketball, and he  describes how he was shaped by the racism he confronted, on and off the court.

(c ) American Academy of Achievement 2017-2022