The incomparable Bill Russell

On the court and off it, too, Russell made so much history that No. 6 must be regarded as a true one of one

The Babe Ruth of Basketball left us Sunday, to borrow Adam Silver's description, except that it is not quite enough to tot up Russell's gargantuan achievements on hardwood and the unmatched winning he inspired on every level and merely invoke The Bambino.

It might not even be enough, given all the trailblazing he did in the arena of civil rights, to say …