by TIMOTHY J. THOMPSON

Created on: February 23, 2009

There have been many great players in the history of the NBA. There have been a few elite ones as well. And, there were a precious few phenomenal ones to be sure. In my opinion, the greatest player in the history of the NBA was the legendary Bill Russell. He revolutionized the game itself, and captivated an entire generation.

William Felton Russell was born on February 12 1934 in Monroe, Louisianna. Early on in his life, Bill Russell was introduced to the harsh oppression of racism. For example, in one instance, he was sitting in the front seat of the family automoblie, when he witnessed his beloved father being denied service at a local gasoline station until every one of the white customers were tended to first. And all because of his father's skin color. And to make matters even worse, when his father calmly attempted to drive away to another station, the owner ran out screaming and cursing, then shoved a shot gun in the father's face, while threatenning to kill him unless he backed the car up and waited his turn.

In yet another instance, Bill's wonderful mother was walking down the city street wearing a beautiful dress when the big bellied sheriff stopped her and had the audacity to say, "I'll dare you to wear White woman's clothing! Now get on home, and never wear that again or I'll have you arrested." Bill never forgot the haunting image of seeing his mom sit at the kitchen table with tears running down her cheeks as she struggled emotionally to comprehend this "unwarranted viciousness". Deplorable instances such as these had a profound impact upopn the young boy, and left a very bitter taste in his mouth.

In a valiant attempt to escape the never ending racism, Bill's father saved up enopugh money, and eventually moved the family to Oakland, California in 1942. The family struggled to make ends meet, and Bill spent the remainder of his childhood residing in the projects. The constant financial strains unfortunately caused his parents to separate. And, soon afterward, Bill's mother passed away from all the stress. It seemd at that point that the weight of the entire world had come down upon the young man.

Then, things began to take a turn for the better. That's because Bill began to excel at basketball. First, he made the junior varsity team. Shortly thereafter, he was all-state as a senior at McClymonds High School in Oakland. In fact, he became such an unbelievably dominant player, that he merited a full athletic scholarship to the University of California

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