"A warrior on the court and for social justice" - NFL community mourns the loss of NBA great Bill Russell

Bill Russell, an NBA great who spent his entire 13-year career with the Boston Celtics, passed away at the age of 88. He won 11 NBA titles, was a five-time NBA MVP, and was a 12-time All-Star. The NFL community took to social media to share on the loss of the celebrated Celtics center.

Former NFL players Robert Griffin III, Benjamin Watson, Torrey Smith, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Tim Brown shared their thoughts on the late NBA player:

Current NFL players Randall Cobb, Darius Slay, Tyler Lockett, and Trevon Diggs expressed their sentiments about Russell and offered their condolences:

The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks also tweeted out their regards of the NBA great:

Russell was drafted second overall by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1956 NBA Draft out of the University of San Francisco. However, he never played for the Hawks. Boston Celtics head coach and general manager Red Auerbach traded with St. Louis to acquire the center the same year he was drafted.

He led the league in total rebounds per game five times in his career. He is second all-time in NBA history with 21,620 rebounds and rebounds per game with 22.5.

His 11 NBA titles are the most by any player in the history of the game. Additionally, his five MVP awards are second to fellow Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won the award six times. Following the retirement of Auerbach in 1966, he named the center as his successor, making him the first black head coach in NBA history.

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The Life of Bill Russell

The Hall of Famer was born in Monroe, Louisiana on February 12, 1934. His family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he attended McClymonds High School in Oakland. His size earned him a scholarship at the University of San Francisco where he evolved as a player, ultimately to be drafted by the Hawks.

In 1975, he became the first black player to be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was married to Jeannine and had two sons, William and Jacob, and one daughter, Karen.