Bill Russell, the most successful basketball player in the history of the North American professional league NBA, has died at the age of 88. Russell fought racism on and off the pitch.
Bill Russell was one of the most influential figures of the North American professional basketball league NBA
“Bill Russell is one of the greatest athletes in our history – an all-time champion of champions and a good man and a great American who did everything he could to deliver on the promise of an America for all Americans,” wrote the US President Joe Biden. According to his family, Russell, the most successful NBA professional in history, passed away peacefully at home at the age of 88.
Ex-President Barack Obama also paid tribute to the former basketball star. “Today we lost a giant – both as a player and as a person,” tweeted Obama, who presented Russell with the 2011 “Presidential Medal of Freedom,” the United States' highest civilian award.
Eleven times NBA -Winner
Russell won the NBA championship eleven times as a center with the Boston Celtics between 1957 and 1969 – more times than any other player in the best league in the world. He was voted “Most Valuable Player of the Season” five times in his career. Today this trophy bears his name. In addition, he was not only active on the field in 1968 and 1969, but also coached the Celtics, making him the first black head coach to win two NBA titles.
In 2011, Russell presented the “Most Valuable Player” trophy, named after him, to Germany's superstar Dirk Nowitzki
“Bill Russell is a pioneer – as a player, as a champion, as the first black NBA head coach and as an activist,” said NBA legend Michael Jordan. “He paved the way and set an example for every black player who came into the league after him, including me.”
On and off the field, Russell had always campaigned for the fight against racism. He had demonstrated together with Martin Luther King, among others. In 1961, Russell boycotted a game to draw attention to discrimination against blacks in basketball.
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Stephen Curry – 20,064 points*
Probably no NBA professional masters the throw beyond the three-point line as well as he does. As of December 2021, Curry holds the all-time record for most three-pointers made. But the small guard of the Golden State Warriors is more than a long throw specialist. He has twice been voted the most valuable player in the league. He won the championship four times with Golden State. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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LaMarcus Aldridge – 20,558 points*
The 2.11-meter center of the Brooklyn Nets actually ended his career in April 2021. He developed heart problems during an NBA game and called it quits. Five months later he returns with the OK from his doctors and wants to win the title with the Nets. Shortly after the comeback, Aldridge became the 48th player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Chris Paul – 20,936 points*
As a scorer, he made it into the top 40 in the NBA, but his qualities as an assist provider are even greater. Paul, one of the shortest NBA players at 1.83 meters, is the third-best preparer in league history with over 10,000 assists. After stints in New Orleans, with the LA Clippers, in Houston and Oklahoma City, Phoenix is his fifth NBA club. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Russell Westbrook – 23,298 points*
Westbrook is the NBA pro with the most triple doubles, double-digit values per game in three categories. At the beginning of his career he formed a strong trio in Oklahoma City with James Harden and Kevin Durant, but they did not win the title. After stints in Houston and Washington, Westbrook is now with the Lakers. As a scorer, he has reached the top 30 in the NBA. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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James Harden – 23,477 points*
< p>With giant strides, the man with the beard is also approaching the top ranks of the basket hunter list. The opponents of “The Beard” are not to be envied. If you give him too much space, Harden hits the threesome. If you get closer, he dribbles past and moves to the basket. Harden is the 32nd NBA pro to break 23,000 points. An end up? Not in sight! (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Kevin Durant – 25,526 points*
Despite his 2.08 meters, “KD” is an agile, elegant player. He won the NBA title with Golden State in 2017 and 2018. Before that, he was named Oklahoma City's 2014 MVP of the season. He has been playing for Brooklyn since 2019. After a year out injured, he leads the Nets on the field today. Durant is about to break through into the top 20 of the scorer list. (*As of June 17, 2022).
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Hakeem Olajuwon – 26,946 points
A native of Nigeria, he is ranked 12th on the list as the best African. The elegant 2.13-meter center shaped the game of the Houston Rockets from 1984 to 2001. He won the NBA championship with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995 and was voted MVP in 1994. Hakeem “The Dream” has held US citizenship since 1993 and is a member of the US team at the 1996 Olympics.
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Elvin Hayes – 27,313 points
In the 70's Elvin Hayes is one of the best players in the NBA. An elegant center who is always successful with his outstanding jump shot from the turn. “The Big E” led the Washington Bullets to the NBA Finals three times and won the championship with the capital team in 1978. In 1303 career games, Hayes clocked up exactly 50,000 minutes.
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Moses Malone – 27,409 points
In 1974, Moses Malone became the first player to go straight from high school to the pro league. The center experienced his most successful time with the Philadelphia 76ers, with whom he won his only championship in 1983. Malone has been playing professionally for 21 years and is signed to nine teams in total. He died in 2015 at the age of 60, apparently as a result of cardiovascular disease.
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Carmelo Anthony – 28,289 points*
The 2.03 meter tall forward, who has been playing in the NBA since 2003, has developed into a reliable long-range shooter after weak odds at the beginning of his career. After eight years in Denver, Anthony is playing six seasons for New York. He will join the Lakers in 2021 via Oklahoma City, Houston and Portland – the eighth NBA club of his long career. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Shaquille O'Neal – 28,596 points
Size and power are two key arguments that make Shaquille O'Neal one of the best scorers in the NBA. The beefy 2.16 meter center scores almost all points from close range. His weakness in free throws is striking. Many opponents therefore make fouling O'Neal before the throw (“Hack-a-Shaq”) their tactic – O'Neal, active from 1992 to 2011, still mostly leaves the field as the winner.
Wilt Chamberlain – 31,419 points
Before turning pro in 1959, Wilt Chamberlain played for the Harlem Globetrotters for a year. As a professional, he sets numerous point records. His mark from the game Philadelphia against New York in 1962 is unmatched. Chamberlain scores 100 points. A total of 118 times he manages 50 or more points in a game. He died of heart failure in 1999 at the age of 63.
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Dirk Nowitzki – 31,560 points
Unexcited, always modest, often not very spectacular, but mostly impressively sure, Dirk Nowitzki brings his throws to the finish line. An unequaled 21 seasons – from 1998 to 2019 – “Dirkules” is loyal to the Dallas Mavericks. In 2011 he won the championship with the Mavs. Nowitzki is the first European to break the 20,000 point mark and is the sixth NBA professional to break the 30,000 mark.
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Michael Jordan – 32,292 points
“Air” Jordan already wore the 23 at college in North Carolina – he became a legend with the Chicago Bulls and won six titles. Jordan's particular specialty is the “Buzzer Beater”, a decisive throw with the final siren. Jordan is still considered by many to be the “best basketball player of all time”. His numbers would have been even more gigantic had he not interrupted his career twice.
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Kobe Bryant – 33,643 points
Not many basketball players can play as elegantly as the “Black Mamba”. The L.A. Lakers guard, who grew up in Italy as the son of a US basketball pro, has played in the NBA since 1996, always for the Lakers. He leads his team to five titles. At the age of 37, the back pinches and after 20 seasons it's over in April 2016. Bryant died in a helicopter crash in 2020 at the age of 41.
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Karl Malone – 36,928 points
Nicknamed the “Mailman,” almost every mail he sends finds its target in the form of a thrown basketball. The beefy power forward has 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and one year with the Lakers. He will never become a champion, but in 1992 he won the Olympics in Barcelona with the “Dream Team”. Bronze statues of Malone and his faithful mastermind John Stockton stand in front of the arena in Salt Lake City.
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LeBron James – 37,062 points*
Hardly any active NBA professional is as highly decorated as the forward, who has been playing for the Los Angeles Lakers since 2018. Four times the most valuable player in the league (MVP) and four times the MVP of the NBA Finals. James also wins the championship title four times. 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat, 2016 with Cleveland and 2020 with the Lakers. (*as of June 17, 2022)
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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – 38,387 points
No one is as successful as he is: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his almost indefensible “Sky Hook” throw are legendary. Born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor and converted to Islam in 1971, Abdul-Jabbar played for the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989. The 2.18 meter long center is six times champion, 19 times he is in the squad of the All-Star-Games.
