Quotes from Bill Russell

I think what has happened to our basketball team, we've been badly distracted. They're not reading too many positive things in the paper.

Durability is part of what makes a great athlete.

If you really have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you.

This monument is going to be built as a symbol.

We overreached our decision power. Sometimes our decisions have to fit the reality of the outside world.

If Shakespeare can compare all of life to a stage, maybe it's not odd to believe that part of the play can take place on a basketball court.

The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.

Heart in champions has to do with the depth of our motivation and how well your mind and body react to pressure - that is, being able to do what you do best under maximum pain and stress.

Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.

To love someone is nothing, to be loved by someone is something, to love someone who loves you is everything.

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.

The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.

To love someone is nothing, to be loved by someone is something, but to be loved by the one you love is everything

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 us—anything more than that would be too much for us to bear.

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

The only important statistic is the final score.

Show me a man, any man, he is my brother. Show me a bigot, any bigot, he is my enemy.

Boston itself was a flea market of racism. It had all varieties, old and new. The city had corrupt, city hall-crony racists, brick-throwing, send-'em-back-to-Africa racists, and in the university areas phony radical-chic racists. . . . Other than that, I liked the city.

I envy Muhammad Ali. He faces a possible five years in jail and he has been stripped of his heavyweight championship, but I still envy him. He has something I have never been able to attain and something very few people I know possess. He has an absolute and sincere faith. I'm not worried about Muhammad Ali. He is better equipped than anyone I know to withstand the trials in store for him. What I'm worried about is the rest of us.

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.

You can do anything you want to do if you want it bad enough

Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying "We work to become, not to acquire."

If a guy pays you five dollars, you give him seven dollars worth of work.