Quotes by Bill Russell

“We learn to make a shell for ourselves when we are young and then spend the rest of our lives hoping for someone to reach inside and touch us. Just touch usanything more than that would be too much...”

“Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.”

“What's more important than who's going to be the first black manager is who's going to be the first black sports editor of the New York Times.”

“Most people have a harder time letting themselves love than finding someone to love them.”

“I tried to treat them like me and some of them weren't.”

“I tried to treat them like me and some of them weren't.”

“He told me he couldn't wait for the basketball season to end, so he could go back to baseball and get out of shape.”

“What do you think of the Chicago Bulls winning three in a row? -- Russell: Not much.”

“I'm a pretty direct man. You say something I like, I'll tell you so; you say something I don't like, I'll tell you also. A diplomat I'm not. So I'll tell you right out that there are no secret or h...”

“If you're really looking for a reason why I feel I've played enough, I'll tell you this. There are professionals and there are mercenaries in sports. The difference between them is that the profess...”

“I played because I enjoyed it — but there's more to it than that. I played because I was dedicated to being the best. I was part of a team, and I dedicated myself to making that team the best. To m...”

“People didn't give us credit for being as good as we were last season. Personally, I think we won because we had the best team in the league. Some guys talked about all the stars on the other teams...”

“Something everybody else but Bill Russell excelled in was giving the coach good advice. I made the decisions, but I listened an awful lot. Sometimes in practice the other guys would talk for half a...”

“Nobody can write a story about the Celtics and not talk about Red Auerbach. Much of my success as a professional is a result of the way he first approached me. A lot of guys said I'd never make it ...”

“How much does that guy make a year? It would be to our advantage if we paid him off for five years to get away from us in the rest of this series.”

“[The sound of Russell throwing up] is a welcome sound, too, because it means he's keyed up for the game, and around the locker room we grin and say, 'Man, we're going to be all right tonight.'”

“Tony DiNozzo: William Felton Russell, 5-time MVP, greatest basketball champion ever. He used to get so nervous, so pumped, he had to throw up before every game... One night, the Celtics take the co...”