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What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.

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

Commission Country Greatness Thinking
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

Career Fortunate Learning Myself People Smart Work
If you really have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you.
BILL RUSSELL

Insult Integrity People Respect Yourself
Don’t knock the ball in the stands, keep it in your hands!
BILL RUSSELL

Hands Stand Yourself
The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I’d made my teammates play.
BILL RUSSELL

Important Measurement Myself Play Team
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

Happiness Hungry Light Natural Restaurant Sun Win Yourself
Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.
BILL RUSSELL

Action Luck Miracle Practice Result Skill Success
Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying “We work to become, not to acquire.”
BILL RUSSELL

Experience Learning Mission Time Work
We overreached our decision power. Sometimes our decisions have to fit the reality of the outside world.
BILL RUSSELL

Decision Power Reality World
The morale and the camaraderie that we had for one another earlier in the year is starting to come under duress because of all the losses. Some of the guys are feeling the pressure now from the last year when they were not successful.
BILL RUSSELL

Command Early Loss Moral Pressure Success
The magic to a great meeting is all of the work that’s done beforehand.
BILL RUSSELL

Greatness Hands Magic Work
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

Bear Learning Live Touch Young
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

Compare Life Play Stage
If you can take something to levels that very few other people can reach, then what you’re doing becomes art.
BILL RUSSELL

Art Level People Reach Yourself
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

Hard Myself Pretty Run
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

Paper Positive Team Thinking

What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.

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What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.

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