Boston Celtics will unveil statue honoring Bill Russell

The Boston Celtics will be unveiling a statue to honor one of the game’s greats and one of the legends from the great franchise, Bill Russell. There is perhaps no one more deserving than a statue to commemorate their career than Russell, who helped lead the team to eleven championships in thirteen season.

The statue is set to be unveiled at at City Hall Plaza at 2:00 p.m. ET on November 1.

Later that day, the Celtics will take on the Milwaukee Bucks in their home opener.

From the press release:

"In 2011, President Barack Obama gave Bill Russell the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. During the ceremony, President Obama said he hoped that Boston would build a statue of Russell, “I hope that one day in the streets of Boston, children will look up at a statue built not only to Bill Russell the player, but Bill Russell the man.” … The artwork represents Bill Russell the whole man, honoring him as an athlete, coach, human rights activist, ground breaker and mentor.The larger than life sculpture of Russell is on a low base in game action, poised with basketball in hand about to pass the ball to a teammate. He aims towards a low-standing, open stone engraved with Mr. Russell’s quote, “The most important measure of how good a game I’d played was how much better I’d made my teammates play.” As visitors step up on the open base, ready to catch the pass, they become a teammate, not only in the game of basketball, but in continued advocacy for human rights and mentorship programming.Ten granite blocks, surround Russell for a total of 11 elements representing Mr. Russell’s 11 championships with the Boston Celtics. Each plinth features a key word and a corresponding quotation to illuminate the myriad of accomplishments spanning Mr. Russell’s career both on and off the court.The artwork is inscribed in a field of brick and granite pavers that reflect the proportions of a court."