BILL RUSSELL

He hit a championship-winning shot with Michael Jordan.

The last 12 months have been a transformative year in the NBA when it comes to diversity among coaches.

Jaylen Brown is starting the NBA Finals on the road.

The Celtics’ transition from a team that has gone from just outside the top tier of the Eastern Conference to one that's four wins way from the franchise’s 18th NBA championship began the moment Ime Udoka took the microphone at his introductory news conference.

Somewhere, Gregg Popovich must be pleased.

Two of the NBA’s most significant dynasties emerged in the second decade of the 2000s.

National Basketball Association history includes stories of big characters, hard work and even circus clowns.

The NBA is honoring its 75th anniversary team during the All-Star Game, but the league won’t be able to duplicate the magic from 25 years ago in its return to Cleveland.

Hall of Famer Julius Erving says the commercial success he and other NBA players enjoyed in the 1980s didn't just happen.

BOSTON — (AP) — Basketball Hall of Famer Sam Jones, the skilled scorer whose 10 NBA titles is second only to Boston Celtics teammate Bill Russell, has died, the team said. Jones died Thursday night in Florida, where he had been hospitalized in failing health, Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said. The team planned a moment of silence before Friday's game against the Phoenix Suns. He went on to average 17.7 points and just under five rebounds in 12 years, winning eight straight titles from 1959-66. “You look at the championships and what he did, it’s obviously a big loss for the community here," Celtics coach Ime Udoka said before Friday's game.

The Boston Celtics say Hall of Famer Sam Jones has died at the age of 88.

Bill Russell Auction Basketball FILE - NBA great Bill Russell reacts at a as he learns the most valuable player award for the NBA basketball championships has been renamed the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award during a news conference Feb. 14, 2009 in Phoenix. Basketball fans hoping to buy something from Bill Russell’s memorabilia collection should expect some big-name competition. An online auction with 429 lots began last week and will culminate in a live event at the TD Garden on Friday. “I’d like to take some of that stuff off their hands,” O’Neal said on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on Tuesday night. “You think about Jackie at that point in the country’s history, and Bill taking that stand, at a really volatile point in the country’s history,” Hunt said.

Basketball fans hoping to buy something from Bill Russell’s memorabilia collection should expect some big-name competition.

Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell is partnering with Hunt Auctions to offer historic basketball artifacts and personal materials from his personal collection. “CBS Mornings” co-host Nate Burleson sat down with the former NBA star to discuss how it felt to be back in Boston as he takes us through his career and legacy.

Jayson Tatum scored 37 points and the Boston Celtics beat Los Angeles 130-108 in Lakers star LeBron James’ return.

The NBA, known today as a leader when it comes to culture and racial issues, was anything but during the 1950s when segregation divided the country.

Basketball Hall of Fame The class of 2021 Basketball Hall of Fame stands together on stage, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, in Springfield, Mass. The newly inducted basketball Hall of Famer called out by name — in order — the teams with the first nine picks that year and thanked them for allowing him to slip to the Boston Celtics. Bill Russell, who was inducted as a player in 1975, was honored for his coaching career; he is the fifth person to be inducted as both a player and a coach. WNBA President Val Ackerman, longtime coach Cotton Fitzsimmons, scouting pioneer Howard Garfinkel were inducted as contributors. “Hey, Chris Weber, we’re going into the Hall of Fame with Bill Russell, bro,” Chris Bosh said.

Four months after the pandemic-delayed induction of the Class of 2020, the Basketball Hall of Fame gathered to enshrine 16 more new members.

Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce was in a class of 16 scheduled to be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this weekend.

Bill Russell Auction Basketball This photo provided by Hunt Auctions, shows a No. 6 Boston Celtics basketball jersey signed by Celtics player and coach, Bill Russell. Hall of Famer Bill Russell announced, Thursday, July 22, 2021, that he is offering hundreds of items from his personal collection including trophies, rings, basketballs, jerseys, letters, photos, and other memorabilia at auction. Bill Russell announced Thursday he is offering hundreds of items from his personal collection, including trophies, rings, basketballs, jerseys, letters, photos and other keepsakes. “There’s not a lot of folks at Bill Russell’s level.

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell will be offering hundreds of items at auction from his personal collection of memorabilia.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an NBA legend, but the man known for his trademark skyhook shot has also devoted his life advocating for equality and social justice.

The post-pandemic return of spectators should be an opportunity to reset their antagonistic relationship with athletes.

Jay Wright used to sell tickets to games in the long-defunct United States Football League.

Kobe Bryant is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame now, along with contemporaries Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett, headliners of a group of nine who got their delayed and long-awaited enshrinement on Saturday night, more than a year after being announced as the Hall’s Class of 2020.

The Avalanche currently have two players on the league’s COVID-19 list: captain Gabriel Landeskog and forward Tyson Jost. AdThe Wolverines’ 13th-ranked women’s basketball team and highly competitive hockey squad also were cleared to enter their facilities. Michigan’s men’s basketball team is scheduled to play Feb. 11 at home against No. ___Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog, Buffalo defenseman Jake McCabe and Minnesota forward Nico Sturm were added to NHL COVID-19 protocol list. ___West Virginia is boosting home attendance to 2,800, or 20% of capacity, for the men’s basketball game Feb. 13 between the 17th-ranked Mountaineers and No.

Not long after came a seismic jolt, the helicopter crash of Kobe Bryant in the fog-shrouded California hills that reverberated across sports and across continents. Deep into the year, a bookend to Bryant, Diego Maradona died from a heart attack in Argentina weeks after brain surgery, the waves of grief rippling across soccer. The losses, of course, came against a backdrop of a pandemic, its number of fatalities rolled out daily on TV screens. Niekro won 318 games and pitched until he was 48, his knuckleball dancing and mystifying batters across the decades. Kurt Thomas in 1978 became the first U.S. male gymnast to win a world title but lost an Olympic shot in 1980 because of the boycott.

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 1988, file photo, former Boston Celtics teammates Bill Russell, Sacramento Kings coach, left, and K.C. Jones, Celtics coach, meet before the start of the Kings-Celtics NBA basketball game at the Boston Garden in Boston. Only Russell and fellow Celtics teammate Sam Jones won more NBA championships as players. Jones went, winning was sure to follow,” the Celtics said in a statement before their Christmas Day game against the Brooklyn Nets. Jones reunited with Russell in Boston to win eight straight NBA titles from 1959-66.

FILE - This Sept. 30, 2018, file photo shows former Boston Celtics great Tommy Heinsohn prior to a preseason basketball game in Boston. Tommy Heinsohn, who as a Boston Celtics player, coach and broadcaster was with the team for all 17 of its NBA championships, has died. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)BOSTON – Tommy Heinsohn, who as a Boston Celtics player, coach and broadcaster over more than 60 years was with the team for all 17 of its NBA championships, died Tuesday. Heinsohn was the NBA coach of the year in 1973, when the team won a then-record 68 games. “It’s hard to imagine the Boston Celtics without Tommy Heinsohn,” the team said in a statement.

That’s just fine with Los Angeles Lakers guard Danny Green. Sunday would be his 257th career postseason appearance, two shy of matching Derek Fisher for the most in NBA history. He entered Game 3 of the NBA Finals seven free-throw attempts shy of matching Shaquille O’Neal (2,317) for another postseason record. It’s the 20th NBA Finals game for Foster, the 10th for Brothers and the first for Fraher. It’ll be the eighth finals game for Zarba, the fifth for Goble and the first for Brown.

Bill Russell told reporters. The father, who Russell said was distraught, was never detained and gave a voluntary statement to police. He told police last saw his two children alive when he left for work that morning, Russell said. Russell would not specify how the children died, only noting that carbon monoxide poisoning had been ruled out. He said the mother was dealing with depression but would not say if she was being treated for her condition.