NBA fans undoubtedly remember the late Bill Russell. He is an NBA legend who played for the Boston Celtics from 1956 to 1969. He was recognized for winning 11 NBA championships with the Celtics back in that era. While there were fewer teams in the league back then, this is still a noteworthy accomplishment that cemented the Celtics’ legacy as a basketball dynasty.
Since he was retired by the 1970s, Russell eventually decided to sell a few of his NBA championship rings. Auctioning it away to the highest bidder ensured that he got a good deal for his historically significant rings. One must certainly be interested in knowing which of his rings he parted ways with and how much money he made throughout the whole process.
Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell sold two of his NBA championship rings for a combined $1.2 million
It turns out that Russell did not sell too many of his NBA championship rings. After all, they would be items of great personal value to him and reminders of his accomplishments in the prime of his life. Winning 11 NBA titles with a single team is simply no joke and perhaps a truly unbreakable record. NBA fans cant even imagine players from this generation winning 5 or 6 titles like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan did. Let alone the sum of that.
Mr. Bill Russell was fortunate enough to do so and certainly had enough rings. Therefore, he decided to part with just two of them and auction them away. These are the first and last of his championship rings. It is unclear why he chose those two. However, by selling the first and last championship rings, Russell would remain all the other rings in the middle, without missing a year.
He auctioned away his first ring from 1957 for a whopping $705,000. Additionally, his final championship ring from 1969 was sold for an impressive $558,125. Therefore, the Celtics legend was able to make more than $1.2 million by parting with his rings.
That’s not all, Russell auctioned off other memorabilia such as MVP trophies and Olympic Gold medals. All of them were bought for a hefty price. The largest amount made was for the NBA jersey Bill Russell wore during his last game. It singlehandedly made about $1.1 million.
Since he passed away with 9 championship rings and other awards in his possession, it would have most likely gone to his family, who will be free to decide whether they want to keep or auction away the rest.