David Stern was so afraid of inviting notoriously cantankerous Bill Russell to Stern’s induction ceremony into the Basketball Hall of Fame, the former NBA commissioner had a mutual friend ask the Boston Celtic legend.
Russell always felt that black players and coaches were given short shrift in the Hall of Fame, and hadn’t been there in 40 years. He refused to attend both the ceremony when his No. 6 jersey was retired in 1972 by the Celtics and his own induction into the Hall of Fame in 1975.
But Russell is more forgiving these days and graciously joined Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to honor Stern on Saturday in Springfield, Mass.