(Editor's note: This story was published before the 2022-23 NBA season as part of The Sporting News' 6 for No. 6 series.)
Bill Russell's legendary NBA career firmly puts him among the greatest to have ever laced them up in the Association, but his sporting feats go well beyond the NBA.
An 11-time champion with the Boston Celtics, five-time Most Valuable Player of the Year, and 12-time All-Star, Russell's resume speaks for itself, but the iconic big man's sporting legacy is much more than that.
After winning back-to-back NCAA titles with the San Francisco Dons teams in 1955 and 1956 — including a 55-game win streak — Russell's next destination was the NBA, however, a shot at an Olympic gold medal was a priority for Russell, who delayed joining the Celtics till December, in order to compete at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
Captained by Russell, the USA cruised to gold in Melbourne, going 8-0, with an average winning margin of 53.5 points. Russell was the team's leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points.
MORE: Celebrating the life and legacy of the NBA's greatest winner, Bill Russell
“The gold medal is very, very, very precious to me,” Russell told NBC’s Olympic Show ahead of the Sydney 2000 Games. “In terms of trophies and things, it’s probably my most prized possession.”
Now that's saying something considering the size of his trophy cabinet.
BOSTON RUSHMORE OF SPORTS: Bill Russell, Tom Brady, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr
At the time, however, there was pushback on Russell competing at the Olympics, having signed with the Celtics and thus forgoing his amateur status. However, such was Russell's ambition to be an Olympian, he was going to Melbourne no matter what — even if it wasn't for basketball.
“Ever since I was a kid, there were social and physical icons that I always heard about. And you think of these things in awe. And when I got to the age where I qualified for the Olympics, I wanted to go,” Russell said.
“Then, the honor of The Olympics was to compete. Not to win, but to compete. I really wanted that. If I hadn’t made that Olympic basketball team, I was going to participate in the high jump. I was ranked second in the country in the high jump so either way, I was going to Melbourne. I wanted to be a part of that Olympic experience.”
In 56 I could have made the Olympics in high jump but turned it down to play basketball instead we could only play one sport then. Track and Field News ranked me #7 high jumper in the world, I was ranked #2 in the US @ the time. @celtics @NBA pic.twitter.com/6FqZjiMlhG
— TheBillRussell (@RealBillRussell) June 17, 2020
Russell still holds the University of San Francisco high jump record to this day — 66 years later. Prior to the Olympic Games, Russell jumped 6 feet, 9.25 inches, tying the mark set by Charlie Dumas, who would go on to win gold in the high jump in Melbourne, clearing 7 feet.
#OnThisDay in 1956, two legends tied for 1st (2.06m/6-9.25) in the high jump at the West Coast Relays in Fresno, CA. Charlie Dumas, who became history’s first 7-footer at the Olympic Trials, and the future @NBA Hall-of-Famer @RealBillRussell.
— USATF (@usatf) May 12, 2020
📸 @sfchronicle & USATF pic.twitter.com/n17a1ACDhj
Russell's supreme athleticism on the basketball court was light years ahead of his time, making him a force on the hardwood that nearly no one could contain. His revolutionary leaping ability was just as impressive in track and field.
“There was a high jump revolution in the late ’60s,”USF assistant track and field coach Matthew McGee told SFGate.
“Everyone started using the ‘Fosbury Flop,’ so they’re going backward over the bar as opposed to forward. Russell jumped at a time before that revolution happened; it’s a much more athletically demanding form of high jumping that takes a lot of flexibility and mobility.
"It’s surprising that he was able to jump as high as he did at his height.”
Athletes at the time weren't allowed to compete in multiple sports at the Olympics, denying Russell another trailblazing feat, where he could have added another Olympic medal to his trophy case.
Gold Hoops. Highly significant 1956 #Olympic Gold Medal presented to @RealBillRussell as a member of the 1956 U.S. Men’s Basketball Team. One of the most important Olympic medals ever publicly offered with International bidding pushing final bid to $587,500. pic.twitter.com/DmxW8aFQJ3
— Hunt Auctions (@HuntAuctions) December 10, 2021
The gold medal he did win at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games sold for $587,500 at an auction in 2021, but for the greatest winner in NBA history, the honor of competing was priceless.