Netflix’sBill Russell : Legenddigs into the awesome legacy of this trailblazing NBA ikon , revealing one of play ’s great careers for any lover not already familiar with this basketball legend ’s story . Bill Russell was not only one of the greatest basketball game players of all time but also a consecrated servant of societal jurist and the fighting against racism . Russell was the original activist jock , using his platform to speak out against shabbiness and inspire others to do the same .

Russell ’s life story has already been documented highly well through his memoirs and various audience throughout the years . However , Netflix’sBill Russell : Legendlays out his intact life in this two - instalment documentary film in a more complete way than ever before . Bill Russell : Legendis easilyone of Netflix ’s best documentariesthat any fan of athletic excellence or fundamental social activism can enjoy and learn from .

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Bill Russell Invented The Modern Block

One of the most impressive parts of Bill Russell ’s hoops career is that he basically invented the forward-looking guesswork - block , a development that completely change justificative basketball . Before Russell , players were taught never to leave their feet on defence . rather , coaches want players to detain gloomy and persist in front of the player they were fend for so they could n’t get around them to the basket . This strategy made it sluttish for players to dash over their shielder , but they were o.k. with that because it led to shot with a dispirited likelihood of going in .

That all alter when Bill Russell started his college basketball career at the University of San Francisco . DuringBill Russell : Legend , which is cursorily becoming one of thebest weekend watches on Netflix , Russell key out blocking five straight shots from UC Berkley ’s All - American centre . When his team called a timeout , Russell ’s coach tell him he could n’t defend like that because dependable defenders never leave their feet . So Bill stopped jumping , and the opposing center made three straight guessing . After that Russell decided he would play his way , so he went back to jump block , unwittingly changing the game forever .

Bill Russell’s Life Began In California

While Bill Russell was born in Monroe , Louisiana and live the first few years of his life in the rural segregated Confederacy , his living started in earnest when his parent move the family to Oakland , California . Russell often described this experience as an immigration because California felt like an whole different land to him . It was Russell ’s first experience in a non - segregated surround , and it opened his eyes in more ways than one . Bill Russell : Legendisone of the best sports documentaries everbecause it can convey the impingement of events like Bill move to California .

Bill ’s fourth dimension in California not only opened his eyes to the state of matter of airstream in America but also enclose him to basketball . Russell describes his first time playing pick - up hoops with other kids in his neighborhood , saying he was not very serious initially , but learned to love the game anyway . Russell also became an avid reader after his move to California when his female parent introduced him to his first accessible subroutine library . It is there that Bill Russell became the serious-minded and educated serviceman the world have it off today .

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Bill Russell Was Traded For The Ice Capades

Bill Russell was the star of the 1956 NBA Draft , but before the Boston Celtics could draft him they had to make an unorthodox business deal . likewise toThe Last Dance , this documentary retells an iconic NBA life history , which begin when the Boston Celtics proprietor promised the possessor of the Rochester Royals that if the Royals passed on Russell with the first selection of the gulp , the Celtics would rent out several of the extremely moneymaking Ice Capades point in Rochester . The Celtics then drafted Russell with the second pick via another deal with the St. Louis Hawks .

The Ice Capades were elaborated ice skating shows that brought in immense amounts of money at the time . They reportedly sold out show in any metropolis or town they went to . The Celtics were fundamentally pay the Royals not to draft Russell , but they were able to obviate in reality expend anything . study the 11 NBA championships the Celtics bring home the bacon with Russell , this was likely one of the best deal ever .

Bill Russell Put the Celtics On The Map

Bill Russell , one of themost urge underdog in sport , is why the Boston Celtics are one of the greatest dynasties in play history . Before Russell , the Celtics had never won a championship . By the sentence Russell retreat , he had more NBA championship rings than fingers . He was the catalyst of this dynasty , setting the tone on demurrer and leading the famous Boston fast prison-breaking .

Russell made the Celtics into a power plant through his sheer personnel of will . He average over 20 rebounds and routinely blocked 15 shots per game . In addition , Russell made the blusher a no - fly zona during his time with the Celtics , creating a defensive Jagganath that was as near to unstoppable as any squad in sports account .

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Bill Russell Could Visualize Plays In His Head

Another divine revelation about Bill Russell is that he could see a shimmer on paper and project it in his heading so well that he knew on the nose how to do it immediately . Russell wasan athlete that merit a biopicbecause of this , if nothing else . His intelligence and understanding of the game are underrated aspects of his life history . Any actor who can execute a fun utterly without ever practicing it deserves identification .

Russell describes prove to use this skill with artistic production before he ever did it in basketball . He said he would search at a painting or thread and endeavor to vivify it with his mind ’s middle . He never had the same level of success in art , but when he practice this manoeuvre to basketball , it made him one of the savviest participant in the biz ’s history . It let him to easily understand complex plays and execute them at a in high spirits level before others had even study the concepts .

Bill Russell’s True Legacy Is Off The Court

Despite having one of the most successful and storied vocation in NBA chronicle , Bill Russell ’s dead on target legacy is his activism . Bill Russell : Legendis in part anAmerican account documentarybecause of the incredible wallop Russell had on the domain outside of basketball . The story of Bill Russell ’s sprightliness can not be evidence without focalise on what Russell did to make the world a better place .

Russell used his platform to talk out against racial injustice as often as possible . He marched on Washington with Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. , started integrated hoops camp for kids , and organized grassroots marches and protests . He had a chopine that most disastrous hoi polloi could not reach then , and he used it to make a deviation despite the risk to his life . Bill Russell : Legacytells the story of a hero , not just a basketball player . Russell ’s bequest will hold up indefinitely as a source of inspiration for athletes and activist .

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Bill Russell pictured with his rings.

Bill Russell blocking a shot.

Bill Russell pictured at the rim.

The 1956 Boston Celtics pictured together.

Bill Russell smiling.

Bill Russell being fouled.

Bill Russell receives the medal of freedom from Obama.