Basketball legend Bill Russell passed away peacefully last week at the age of 88, according to a statement released by his family via Twitter.
A decorated NBA player who led the Boston Celtics to 11 championships in 13 years, including eight back-to-back wins between 1959 and 1966, the family's statement described him as "the most prolific winner in American sports history."
Though the player, who had won the annual NBA MVP title five times and two of his championship titles as a player coach, an accolade he's been closely associated with in the recent decade is the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award.
Despite never taking home the Finals MVP award himself, the league renamed the trophy the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2009, shortly after his wife at the time, Marylin Nault, passed away.
The two-time Hall of Famer acknowledged the honour and called it one of his proudest basketball moments.
The award made headlines again this year when the league announced new trophies for the conferences and the finals to mark its 75th anniversary.
American jewellery Tiffany & Co, together with artist Victor Solomon, forged a new version of the trophy in gold vermeil. The ball and net design of the award matched that of the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy.
Standing 17.25 inches tall and clocking in at 11 pounds, Gold State Warriors' Steph Curry was the first player to take home the updated trophy at this year's NBA finals.
Although Russell never received the award, the league decided to rename the title after him because of his profound legacy both on and off court.
A vocal civil rights activist, Russell protested alongside Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Mohammid Ali during the 1950s and 1960s and was a constant supporter of the LGBTQ movement. In 2014 he voiced his support for equal opportunity when Division I player Derrick Gordon became the first only player in the league.
In 2011, President Barack Obama presented Russell with the Presidential Medal of Freedom to recognise the player's contribution to American culture and society.
Obama paid one final tribute in a statement highlighting the important groundwork Russell laid for a future generation. "Bill knew what it took to win and what it took to lead. On the court, he was the greatest champion in basketball history. Off of it, he was a civil rights trailblazer."
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