Whereas William Bill Felton Russell was born on February 12, 1934, in West Monroe, Louisiana; Whereas, after graduating from McClymonds High School in Oakland, California, in 1952, Russell was recruited to play basketball at the University of San Francisco; Whereas, in 2 seasons, Russell led the University of San Francisco Dons men's basketball team to a combined record of 57–1 and 2 national championships and was named most outstanding player of the 1955 National Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Tournament; Whereas, in the 1956 draft for the National Basketball Association (commonly known as the NBA ), the Boston Celtics acquired Russell, who the St. Louis Hawks had selected with the second overall pick in the draft; Whereas, at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, Russell was the captain of the United States Men’s Olympic Basketball team, averaged a team-high 14.1 points per game, and led the United States to a gold medal victory over the Soviet Union; Whereas, throughout his career in the NBA as a player and a coach, Russell earned an unprecedented number of awards and accolades, including— (1) a record 11 NBA championships, received in years 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, and 1969; (2) five Most Valuable Player awards, received in years 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, and 1965; (3) twelve All-Star designations, received in years 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969; (4) three All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Awards, received in years 1959, 1963, and 1965; and (5) an NBA Lifetime Achievement Award, received in 2017; Whereas, in Game 7 of the 1957 NBA Finals between the Celtics and the St. Louis Hawks, during the final minute of regulation, Russell, who scored 19 points and had 32 rebounds, hit a left-handed lay-up and then chased down and blocked a shot in transition, forcing the first of 2 overtimes; Whereas the Celtics won the game and championship in what fellow Celtics player Tom Heinsohn called the greatest game ever