Tim Richards
He was the second player chosen in the 1956 NBA draft. The St. Louis Hawks traded him to the Boston Celtics for two players who would, between them, win 12 NBA All-Star awards. Russell, however, outshone both, winning the NBA All-Star award 12 times, the NBA MVP five times, and earning a reputation as one of the greatest athletes to ever play the game.
Russell helped the Celtics win their first NBA championship in 1957, then led them to an unimaginable eight consecutive championships between 1959 and 1966; he also served as a player-coach for the final three years of his career, helping the Celtics win again in 1968 and 1969. He is one of only eight players to win basketball’s triple crown: an NCAA championship, an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA championship; however, Russell is the only one of them to have won 11 NBA championships.
Russell was the first black coach to win an NBA championship. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1975. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 for his accomplishments both on the court and in the Civil Rights movement. In 2021, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame a second time as a coach. When he died in 2022, his No. 6 jersey was retired league-wide, the only NBA player to ever receive this honor.
You might expect a player with Russell’s skill and experience to be cool as a cucumber, but that was not the case. He got so nervous before games that he vomited every time before taking the court.
Each of us has faced anxiety at some point; however, few of us let our nerves regularly make us physically sick. I am not attacking Russell for his struggle with his nerves, however, the Bible encourages us to realize that the responsibility for doing well does not rest entirely on us.
Here is how the Apostle Peter put it, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7, NIV) When Peter wrote this, Nero was beginning to persecute Christians. Peter’s promise that God cared for them must have calmed the believers’ nerves.
While I do not know your current challenges, God’s invitation to turn our anxiety over to him can help each of us. Knowing how much God cares and how he welcomes our reliance on him can help us trust him in our moments of extreme stress.
