Durability is part of what makes a great athlete.
BILL RUSSELLPeople say it was the greatest individual rivalry they’ve ever seen. I agree with that. Let me assure you that if either Wilt’s or Russ’ coach had ever told one of them he couldn’t guard the other guy, he would have lost that player forever.
More Bill Russell Quotes
-
-
The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.
BILL RUSSELL -
My father once told me that anyone who worked for three dollars an hour owed it to himself to put in four dollars’ worth of work.
BILL RUSSELL -
If you can take something to levels that very few other people can reach, then what you’re doing becomes art.
BILL RUSSELL -
Don’t knock the ball in the stands, keep it in your hands!
BILL RUSSELL -
I’ve been fortunate to meet and work with a lot of really smart people. The thing that strikes me most about them is how they continue to explore and learn every day. I have tried to apply that approach in my modest career as well.
BILL RUSSELL -
To me, the most important part of winning is joy. You can win without joy, but winning that’s joyless is like eating in a four-star restaurant when you’re not hungry. Joy is a current of energy in your body, like chlorophyll or sunlight, that fills you up and makes you naturally want to do your best.
BILL RUSSELL -
What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.
BILL RUSSELL -
What’s more important than who’s going to be the first black manager is who’s going to be the first black sports editor of the New York Times.
BILL RUSSELL -
The only important statistic is the final score.
BILL RUSSELL -
Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.
BILL RUSSELL -
My most prized possession was my library card from the Oakland Public Library.
BILL RUSSELL -
The last five or six days, I’ve been running. The last two days, I’ve been running pretty hard. Everybody’s got to be someplace.
BILL RUSSELL -
If a guy pays you five dollars, you give him seven dollars worth of work.
BILL RUSSELL -
Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying “We work to become, not to acquire.”
BILL RUSSELL -
On females officiating in the NBA -Incompetence should not be confined to one sex.
BILL RUSSELL -
Remember that basketball is a game of habits. If you make the other guy deviate from his habits, you’ve got him.
BILL RUSSELL -
The most important thing to me is the friends that I’ve made.
BILL RUSSELL -
People say it was the greatest individual rivalry they’ve ever seen. I agree with that. Let me assure you that if either Wilt’s or Russ’ coach had ever told one of them he couldn’t guard the other guy, he would have lost that player forever.
BILL RUSSELL -
Heart in champions has to do with the depth of our motivation and how well your mind and body react to pressure – that is, being able to do what you do best under maximum pain and stress.
BILL RUSSELL -
I think what has happened to our basketball team, we’ve been badly distracted. They’re not reading too many positive things in the paper.
BILL RUSSELL -
I think that David Stern is probably the greatest commissioner that any sport has ever had in the history of this country.
BILL RUSSELL -
We learn to make a shell for ourselves when we are young and then spend the rest of our lives hoping for someone to reach inside and touch us. Just touch us-anything more than that would be too much for us to bear.
BILL RUSSELL -
If you really have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you.
BILL RUSSELL -
Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.
BILL RUSSELL -
The magic to a great meeting is all of the work that’s done beforehand.
BILL RUSSELL -
If Shakespeare can compare all of life to a stage, maybe it’s not odd to believe that part of the play can take place on a basketball court.
BILL RUSSELL