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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.

— Bill Russell I'm Not Involved Anymore (1969)

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More quotes by Bill Russell

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.

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.

I'm Not Involved Anymore (1969)

He and I had one big thing in common — the will to win.

I'm Not Involved Anymore (1969)

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

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'm Not Involved Anymore (1969)

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We spend our lives fighting to get people very slightly more stupid than ourselves to accept truths that the great men have always known.

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To rank the effort above the prize may be called love.

Confucius

Greatness by nature includes a power, but not a will to power.

Martin Buber Between Man and Man (1965)

The weak shows his strength and hides his weaknesses; the magnificent exhibits his weaknesses like ornaments.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms (2010)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Bill Russell (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.