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Bill Russell: ‘The best who ever stepped on court’

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Bailey Howell on Bill Russell: ‘The best who ever stepped on court’

Most impressive sports statistic of all-time? In my mind, Bill Russell owns it.

Get this: Russell played in 21 winner-take-all basketball games in his career. Those include college, NBA and Olympic championship games. In those games, Russell’s team was 21-0.

Rick Cleveland

“Bill Russell was the greatest basketball player who ever stepped onto the court,” Bailey Howell, Russell’s teammate for three seasons with the Boston Celtics, said Tuesday morning, two days after Russell’s death at age 88. “He was a winner. He was all about winning. In my mind, Russ was the Most Valuable Player of all-time. I think the record bears that out.”

The record does: Russell led the Celtics to 11 NBA Championships – two of those as a player-coach. In those 11 championship-deciding games, Russell averaged 29 rebounds.

Speaking from his home in Starkville, Howell continued, “There were other players who were bigger, could shoot it better or had more basketball skills. But there was nobody who made his team better than Russ. He made everyone around him better. He was the leader of 11 championship teams. Without him, the Celtics would not have won a single one of those.”

Today, most fans argue between Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the greatest-ever basketball player. Jordan won six championships, James has won four. Again, Russell won 11. Eleven!

Russell stood 6 feet, 9 inches tall but played much taller. Said Howell, “His arms were so long that he had to find shirt sleeves that were 41 inches long. Plus, he could jump so high and his timing as a jumper was unbelievable. That’s why he was such a great shot blocker and rebounder. When he blocked a shot, he didn’t swat it out of bounds or up in the stands like so many do. He blocked it and then controlled it, and usually started a fast break that ended up with a bucket on the other end.”

Howell knew Russell as an opponent before they were teammates. Howell went to the Detroit Pistons as the NBA’s second overall draft choice out of Mississippi State in 1959. Russell played against Russell for seven seasons, both as a Detroit Piston and a Baltimore Bullet.

“A couple times I heard Russell tell his teammates to keep me off his back,” said Howell, who averaged 12 rebounds per game in those seven pre-Celtics season. “I’d battle him as best I could. I didn’t get as many as he did, but I battled him.”

For sure, Howell earned Russell’s respect. Red Auerbach, the Celtics’ Hall of Fame coach and general manager, retired as a coach after 1966 season and promoted Russell to the role of player/head coach. The Celtics then traded Russell’s back-up center, Mel Counts, to the Bullets for Howell.

“I was told that Russ had his choice of Gus Johnson (another Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer) or me, and he chose me,” Howell said. “I guess he had some respect for me or he wouldn’t have taken me over Gus Johnson, who was a Hall of Famer.”

Howell’s rebounding average dropped by two per game over his time with the Celtics. That figures. Said Howell, “I remember Russ told me one time that with him and me on the same team, there weren’t any rebounds left for anyone else,” Howell said.

When promoted, Russell became the first Black head coach of any professional sports franchise. That first season (1966-67), the Celtics were beaten by Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers in the championship series.

Bailey Howell

“Most people don’t know this but Russ had some sort of leg or ankle injury in that series,” Howell said. “The Sixers were a great team and might have beaten us anyway but it would have been tougher for them. Russ played hurt.”

The next season with Russell healthy, the Celtics were back on top beating the Sixers in a seven-game championship series. Boston won again the next season as well, before Russell retired

NBA fans of a certain age –  and I am one – will remember the age-old argument: Who’s better? Wilt or Russell?

“You might not know this but Wilt and Russ were good friends,” Howell continued. “They often shared a pre-game meal when they played against each other.”

As for who was better, Howell said, “I think you just look at the championships. Wilt averaged a lot more points and a few more rebounds, but look at who won the championships. Russ made the game easier for his teammates. He made us all better.”

No doubt about it: Twenty-one winner-take-all games, 21 victories. It does not get any better than that.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi News

Attorneys file motion to delay Jackson bribery trial

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-11-21 16:41:00

SUMMARY: In connection with the Jackson bribery scandal, attorneys for federal officials and local leaders filed a motion to postpone the trial to allow time for extensive evidence review, including hours of recordings and thousands of pages of documents. Key figures charged include Hinds County DA Jody Owens, Jackson Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba, and Councilman Aaron Banks, each facing multiple counts of conspiracy related to bribery and fraud. The scandal involves alleged bribes amounting to over $80,000 related to a downtown development project, facilitated by individuals posing as real estate developers working with the FBI.

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Family of Dexter Wade rallies outside JPD nearly two years after his death

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www.wjtv.com – Tia McKenzie – 2024-11-20 14:20:00

SUMMARY: Nearly two years after Dexter Wade’s death, his family continues seeking justice. On November 20, Dexter Wade Day was observed in Jackson, declared by Councilman Kenneth Stokes. Wade, hit by a Jackson police cruiser in March 2023, was later found in a pauper’s grave in Hinds County, and his mother, Bettersten Wade, was unaware of his death until August 2023. She believes his death was covered up. No arrests have been made, and authorities consider it an accident. Jackson Police Chief Joseph Wade expressed condolences and shared updates on new policies to prevent similar tragedies.

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Man shot while helping with stalled vehicle in Jackson

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www.wjtv.com – Kaitlin Howell – 2024-11-20 19:08:00

SUMMARY: A man was shot in Jackson, Mississippi, while attempting to assist a person with a stalled vehicle on State Street at Beasley Road around 4:00 p.m. on November 20. Detective Tommie Brown reported that the victim was working on the vehicle when the suspect approached, questioned him, and then opened fire. The assailant fled the scene in a vehicle. Fortunately, the victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital. The Jackson Police Department is seeking information about the incident and encourages anyone with details to contact them or Crime Stoppers.

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