Tributes from members of the New York Knicks have poured in to pay homage to late NBA legend Bill Russell, whose passing at the age of 88 was announced by his family on Sunday.
Russell, who spent his entire playing career (1956-69) with the Boston Celtics (including the last three as a player-coach), remains one of the most renowned athletes in North American sports history, one who was well known for his contributions on and off the court.
Patrick Ewing
MSG Network
Jason Kidd
The Knicks were regularly victims of Russell's on-court dominance, though modern and prior representatives were happy to put the long-standing rivalry with Boston aside to pay respect to one of the most accomplished names in the NBA's prolific history. One notable Russell incident against New York came during his rookie year in 1957 when he engaged in a physical confrontation with Ray Felix, with whom he formed a lasting rivalry. New York was also on the wrong side of Rusell's first regular season triple-double in February 1963 (17 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists in a 129-123 win) as well as one of the teams Russell got past in his final champion endeavor in 1969 (falling in a six-game set in the semifinal round).
Other Knicks connections to Russell include the fact that his number was officially retired prior to a 1972 game against the Knicks. A combination of his desire for a muted ceremony and uneasiness with his time in Boston due to bouts of racism led to a small celebration where the Knicks, two years from ending Russell's championship dominance (11 championships between 1957 and 1969, tied for the most individual titles with Henri Richard of the Montreal Canadiens), were one of the few people inside of Boston Garden for the banner raising.
Over 134 regular season contests against the Knicks, Russell averaged 16.5 points, his best average against a single opponent.
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