Bill Russell has received a record 11 NBA Championship rings in his career. But did he really receive 11 rings? An experienced NBA photographer revealed that the Boston Celtics legend did not.
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Legendary photographer Nat Butler joined Brian Windhorst on ESPN’s The Hoop Collective to discuss his career in the NBA. During their sit-down, Windhorst brought up Russell’s 11-ring picture as one of his most iconic non-action photos.
That’s when Butler (who clicked the picture) revealed the real story behind that frame.
“Bill Russell did not receive 11 rings. And a lot of fans don’t know that after they won a couple of championships, they no longer got rings. So, we had to borrow rings from some of the teammates and some of the front office people in order to signify that particular shot.”
Butler’s picture of Russell wearing 11 rings indicates the dominance of the Celtics. Every member of the team had multiple Championships under their belt. So he didn’t have to go too far to collect 11 rings.
Butler then went on to share a rumor from back in the day. He mentioned that the Celtics players received other items instead of a championship ring at the time,
“There’s rumors that one year instead of a ring he got cufflinks, he got a watch. There was a rumor that the Celtics had a deal with Zenith and guys got a Zenith TV console instead of getting a ring.”
Over the years, some moments in the history of sports get immortalized with a well-timed picture, and the NBA is no different. Russell’s picture donning all 11 of his rings had impact outside the NBA as well.
The influence of Russell’s iconic picture
One of the greatest to ever play the game of soccer, Lionel Messi too donned a similar pose with Adidas. The former FC Barcelona star posed for a picture after winning his 8th Ballon d’Or.
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In the picture, Messi can be seen wearing four rings on each of his hands and sitting in the same fashion as Russell did in his iconic picture.
