These days I smile benignly at the fights that I see in NBA games. There aren't any broken noses or black eyes, which happened quite often when I played.

You have to remember that coaching wasn't sophisticated back then - you didn't have the camps, clinics and all the technical advances that are available today - so from that standpoint, playing with a cast on my arm was a fortunate event in my life.

The MVP award was very satisfying in terms of personal accomplishments, but the championship was the most important thing of all.

Bob Brannum was my body guard on the court. He was 6'-6 and built like a bulldog.

I won the city scoring championship as a senior.

In whatever sport of field of endeavor you are interested, you should do whatever is necessary to compliment your God-given talent with proper mental preparation so as to do "the best you can." The criterion should be to fully exploit your potential rather than to win at any cost. What more could anyone ever ask of you than to be the best you possibly can?

Russell joined the team in December, 1956, following the Olympics.