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People say it was the greatest individual rivalry they've ever seen. I agree with that. Let me assure you that if either Wilt's or Russ' coach had ever told one of them he couldn't guard the other guy, he would have lost that player forever.

Bill Russell

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Bill Russell
Age: 90
Born: 1934
Born: February 12
Actor
Basketball Coach
Basketball Player
Coach
Monroe
Louisiana
William Felton Russell
William Russell
William Felton Bill Russell
Would
Greatest
Guard
People
Either
Coach
Seen
Coaches
Forever
Basketball
Guy
Agree
Russ
Individual
Couldn
Wilt
Lost
Player
Rivalry
Ever
Told
Assure

More quotes by Bill Russell

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The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.
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Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.
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Don't knock the ball in the stands, keep it in your hands!
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We couldn't sustain it. And they got a lot of kids that can shoot. We just couldn't close out well enough.
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A rebounder, or a shot-blocker for that matter, is always at a disadvantage if he tells himself the only way he can succeed is by out jumping the guy next to him. Sometimes he will have to, but most of the time he will not. Most of my rebounds came from positioning, where I was able to get the ball while in heavy traffic.
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The most important thing to me is the friends that I've made.
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After I played him for the first time, I said 'Let's see. He's four or five inches taller. He's 40 or 50 pounds heavier. His vertical leap is at least as good as mine. He can get up and down the floor as well as I can. And he's smart. The real problem with all this is I have to show up.
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Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying We work to become, not to acquire.
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If you really have integrity, there are very few people who can insult you, or honor you.
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You can do anything you want to do if you want it bad enough
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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.
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Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.
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What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.
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If you can take something to levels that very few other people can reach, then what you're doing becomes art.
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Friendship is a full-time job.
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Most people have a harder time letting themselves love than finding someone to love them.
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My father once told me that anyone who worked for three dollars an hour owed it to himself to put in four dollars' worth of work.
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The last five or six days, I've been running. The last two days, I've been running pretty hard. Everybody's got to be someplace.
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We overreached our decision power. Sometimes our decisions have to fit the reality of the outside world.
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You got to have the killer instinct. If you do not have it, forget about basketball and go into social psychology or something. If you sometimes wonder if you've got it, you ain't got it. No pussycats, please.
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