Doc Rivers, Celtics Support Motion for Bill Russell Statue in Boston

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Feb 18, 2011

Doc Rivers, Celtics Support Motion for Bill Russell Statue in Boston When you mention the name Bill Russell in an NBA locker room today, you inevitably encounter a generation gap — not only between the modern players and Russell, but among the players themselves.

Try floating the idea of a Russell statue in Boston around Celtics circles. Your answer will vary, depending on who you ask.

“I don’t know,” said Rajon Rondo, the C’s 24-year-old point guard. “When Bill played, I don’t want to say I wasn’t born, but I wasn’t aware of basketball, really.”

Rondo was informed that actually, he wasn’t born yet — Russell walked away from the game in 1969, and Rondo entered the world in ’86.

“Oh, OK. I wasn’t born,” he said. “My parents were like 3.”

Today’s Celtics aren’t all aware of Russell’s impact on and off the basketball court, but they’re all taught when they arrive in Boston — by their elder teammates, by the fans, by the media — to respect his legacy. It’s considered common knowledge in that locker room that Russell deserves a monument in the Hub.

“I think it’s not a bad idea,” Rondo said. “He definitely has done a lot for the game of basketball.”

Ray Allen is 11 years Rondo’s senior — he was born in 1975, when Russell was well into his coaching career, leading the Seattle SuperSonics. While he too is too young to remember the Russell playing days, he had kind words for the C’s legend.

“He’s been a pillar in this community for many decades,” Allen said. “You talk about the game of basketball, he’s the cornerstone of what this franchise has embodied over the last 40 years. Maybe even 50, 60 years. He’s done so much not only for this organization, but for black athletes in sports.”

The eldest generation of modern Celtics? Doc Rivers, the team’s 49-year-old head coach, who was born just months after Russell won his fourth championship ring in 1961.

Rivers has long been an advocate of bringing more attention to Russell’s accomplishments, and he was thrilled this week to hear that President Barack Obama had thrown his support behind the movement for a Russell statue in Boston.

“It’s awesome,” Rivers said. “We talked about earlier in the year to get it more notice and get the talk going, but President Obama is probably a better spokesperson than any of us could be. So I’ve got a feeling it’ll pick up. Just the whole thing [Tuesday] was really nice.”

Celtics of all ages are united on this, even if their history knowledge may vary. The Celtics have meant a lot to Russell since he arrived in Boston in 1956, and Russell has meant a lot to them. The C’s are hoping to see their legend honored in this town — not only for his contributions on the Garden parquet, but off it as well.

“Bill meant so much more than just basketball,” Rivers said. “There’s a lot of great players, but very few of them — people like Arthur Ashe, Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King — that have been not only great sports figures, but great people for our country.”

In this country, those are the figures who get statues. We might soon see Russell get his.

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