The Coolest Bill Russell Quote You've Never Heard

William Felton Russell finally has his statue and there's a lot to say about the man (as there probably is about most people we see fit to immortalize in bronze).

An NBA.com feature story posted today offers some great insight into Russell's superlative character and spirit – into the great variety of words and deeds that have made him so special, both on and off the basketball court.  It's well worth a read.  As Celtics fans know, however, his most enduring legacy on the court is as a Winner, with a capital "W."

You know his résumé.  You know about the back-to-back NCAA titles at the University of San Francisco; the gold medal at the '56 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia; and, of course, that stunning run of 11 NBA championships over 13 seasons between '57 and '69.  You know, too, the well-tread story that Russell was so competitive and so emotional that he nearly always vomited before games, and that Red Auerbach became more unsettled when he didn't vomit than when he did.

Bill Russell made Kevin Garnett seem low-key.

What you may not know is that Bill Russell also had a gentler side – the soul of a poet.  Which brings us to the Coolest Bill Russell Quote You've Never Heard.

From 1979's Second Wind: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man:

Every so often a Celtic game would heat up so that it became more than a physical or even mental game, and would be magical.  That feeling is difficult to describe, and I certainly never talked about it when I was playing... 

To me, the key was that both teams had to be playing at their peaks, and they had to be competitive...  And then the game would just take off, and there'd be a natural ebb and flow that reminded you of how rhythmic and musical basketball is supposed to be...  There have been many times in my career when I felt moved or joyful, but these were the moments when I had chills pulsing up and down my spine... 

Sometimes the feeling would last all the way to the end of the game, and when that happened I never cared who won...  I don't mean that I was a good sport about it – that I'd played my best and had nothing to be ashamed of...  When the game ended at that special level, I literally did not care who had won. 

If we lost, I'd still be as free and as high as a sky hawk.

Let that sink in for a second.

...

...

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand, WOW.

Right now, Boston sports fans are understandably intoxicated by our much-ballyhooed decade-plus of dominance.  For those of us whose favorite team is the newly cellar-dwelling boys in Green & White, however, the time might be right to focus in on this quote about not winning.

The Celtics probably won't rack up a lot of a W's this year, but let's keep an eye out for those fleeting moments of Basketball Magic.  With a solid coach like Brad Stevens at the helm and steely vets like Rajon Rondo and Gerald Wallace keeping the troops hungry, those moments should come (however few and far between).  And when they do, let's try to appreciate them, just as much as we do our Duck Boat-led "Rolling Rallies."

Just as much as Bill Russell did.

Because, with all due respect to soccer, basketball is a beautiful game.

Click here to read the full passage from which this quote was taken, courtesy of Bernard De Koven's "Deep Fun" blog.